Zero Waste Week: what, why and how!
/Zero Waste Week was set up by Rachelle Strauss in 2008. The campaign aims to raise awareness of the environmental impact of waste and looks to help householders, businesses, schools and community groups increase recycling, reduce landfill waste and participate in the circular economy.
Each year has a different focus and each day offers a different activity to help people get involved with the challenge and help you reduce your waste.
A good place to begin before the week starts is to do a waste audit. Zero Waste Week provide a free printable Waste Audit that allows you to track what you’re putting in your bin and to consider why you’re throwing it away, where it will end up and what improvements can be made. We really like to embrace all the various day, week and month challenges as they remind you to stop and assess where you currently are! Life can be so busy sometimes that its great to do a review and consider what habits have stuck, which have slipped and what new ones you may want to start! A waste audit is always a great place to start, even if you’ve been on the zero waste path for a while!
Here are some words of wisdom from the Zero Waste Week team and ambassadors about the week and why we should join in:
Rachelle Strauss - Founder
As a consumer, we’re actually very powerful. We have the opportunity to vote with our money every time we buy something. So the questions is, what are you saying yes to?
Anna Pitt - Author and Speaker for Zero Waste Week
Zero waste isn’t a goal, it is a way of life. It means making the most of things and looking at the whole life cycle of everything. Before I buy something, I think about what will happen when I don’t need it anymore. Can it still be useful? If it can’t than I don’t want it. I call this ‘Pre-cycling’.
Laura Tweedale - Writer
Zero waste has provided our family a collective aspirational goal to base our values around. It offers us all a strong moral compass for decision making which has enabled us to better understand the impact the small, everyday actions can add up to in order to create big change.
Helen Lederer - Author and Comedian
Most of us know what we should be doing to reduce our waste and our use of resources, but its not hard to relapse now and again. Zero Waste Week is great for getting back on track with how we want to be living.
Ander Zabala - Recycling Manager
There are 7 billion people in the world, if we all did one tiny thing that would have a huge global impact. Recycling alone is not the solution, and using a reusable straw alone won’t save the turtles, but it is all the actions put together that generate a change in consumption patterns.
Lets all start tackling our waste!
To take part in Zero Waste Week and for more info head to the website www.zerowasteweek.co.uk where you can sign up to take part in the challenge and receive daily emails during the week to help you on your zero waste journey!
