What a Waste!

What is Waste and Why does it Matter

What a Waste! Well today March the 30th, marks the International Day of Zero Waste — a day established by the United Nations to wake us up to a problem that affects every single one of us. So today, we’re starting with the basics. We’re asking: what is waste, where does it go, and why does this issue deserve its own global day of recognition?

First, let’s talk about the day itself. The International Day of Zero Waste was officially established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2022. The resolution was championed by Türkiye and co-sponsored by over 100 other nations. That’s significant. It means this isn’t a fringe environmental issue. It’s a global political priority. The UN created this day to raise awareness about how critical waste management is for achieving sustainable development. It’s a formal acknowledgment that our current “take-make-dispose” culture is unsustainable and demands urgent attention.

So, what exactly are we talking about when we say “waste”? Simply put, waste is anything we no longer have a use for. But it comes in many forms. There’s food waste, which is the single largest component of most landfills. When food rots buried underground, it produces methane — a greenhouse gas over 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide. There’s plastic waste, from bottles to bags to micro-plastics that now contaminate our water and soil. Globally, less than ten percent of all plastic ever produced has been recycled. There’s paper and cardboard, which also generate methane when landfilled. And there’s e-waste — our old phones, laptops, and batteries. This is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and it’s toxic, containing lead and mercury that leach into our environment.

Now, where does all this waste go after we throw it “away”? That word “away” is misleading because there is no such place. Most waste follows one of three paths. The first is landfill — a giant hole in the ground where rubbish is buried. Modern landfills are engineered to contain toxins, but they still consume vast amounts of land, generate methane, and represent a complete loss of valuable resources. The second path is incineration, often called “waste-to-energy.” Burning rubbish reduces its volume and can generate electricity, but it’s expensive and can release air pollutants. The third path is export. A significant portion of what we put in our recycling bins gets bundled up and shipped to developing countries, where it often ends up in uncontrolled dumps, polluting local communities. None of these are true solutions. They just move the problem elsewhere.

So why does this matter? Why did the UN dedicate an entire day to waste? It matters for three interconnected reasons: climate, nature, and health. On climate, our waste system is a major driver of greenhouse gas emissions — from the energy used to manufacture products we discard, to the methane from landfills, to the emissions from incineration and shipping. On nature, we see the devastation in our oceans, where millions of tonnes of plastic choke marine life and destroy ecosystems. On health, the impact is most acute for communities living near landfills and dumpsites, who suffer from polluted air, contaminated water, and higher rates of disease.

The International Day of Zero Waste is not just about highlighting problems. It’s a call to action. It reminds us that waste is not inevitable. It is a design flaw. And if we redesign our systems — if we refuse what we don’t need, reduce what we do, and reuse and repair wherever possible — we can build a world where nothing is wasted. Over the rest of this week, we’ll be exploring exactly how we get there.