Zero Waste
➢ aims to eliminate rather than manage waste
➢ a whole-system approach to change the way materials
flow through society
➢ an end-of-pipe solution which encourages waste diversion
through recovery, and a guiding design philosophy for
eliminating waste at source and throughout the supply
chain
➢ a unifying concept for a basket of existing and emerging
technologies to eliminate waste
➢ a way to transform the current cost-plus waste industry
into a value-added resource recovery industry
➢ re-designs one-way industrial systems into cyclical system
modelled
➢ helps communities achieve a local economy that operates
efficiently, sustains good jobs, and provides a measure of
self-sufficiency
➢ maximises recycling, minimises waste, reduces
consumption and ensures products are made to be reused, repaired or recycled back into nature or the
marketplace
Source: Zero Waste New Zealand Trust (2001)