What is Zero Waste?

Zero waste is just that. No waste. It's not just recycling or reusing.

The familiar old “reduce, reuse, recycle” leaves out two important parts of zero waste: refuse and rot.

Zero waste is about refusing what you don't need, reducing what you do, reusing what you have, and recycling or rotting (composting) the rest.

So, it's the 5 R’s...

Refuse

Reduce

Reuse

Recycle

Rot

The order of these R’s is important. For example, if you say no to using a plastic bag at the checkout (refuse) you won't need to worry about reusing the bag before eventually recycling it.

What's one zero waste practice you do or want to do more often?