zero waste

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

a philosophy and set of practices aimed at eliminating the sending of materials to landfill or incineration by redesigning products and systems so that all materials are reused, repaired, composted, or recycled; zero waste applies the circular economy principle of keeping materials in use at their highest value for as long as possible, treating waste as a design failure rather than an inevitable byproduct of consumption; zero waste advocates work at the level of individual households, businesses, municipalities, and industrial systems to reduce waste generation at source, extend product lifespans, and create infrastructure for material recovery; the concept challenges the linear take-make-dispose model that has characterised industrial production since the nineteenth century