The United Nations General Assembly enacted a resolution on December 14, 2022, to mark International Day of Zero Waste on March 30th of each year.
With the intent to divert up to 90% of waste from landfills through the use of reducing, recycling, composting, reusing, repurposing, repairing, and donating, the resolution seeks to advance the strategy that aims to maximise recycling, minimise waste, lower consumption, and guarantee that products are made to be recycled, repaired, or reused back into nature or the marketplace.
It also helps people make the shift from their current ways of living to more sustainable natural cycles, in which waste products can be recycled and used as resources for others.
Every year, households, small businesses, and public services create around 2 billion tons of solid waste.
— UN Volunteers (@UNVolunteers) March 30, 2024
The action starts at home🏠 : Reduce your footprint by minimizing single-use plastics or supporting local clean-up projects. #InternationalDayofZeroWaste 🗑️ pic.twitter.com/8fkcrCbZTU
Encouraging zero-waste efforts on this worldwide day can contribute to the advancement of the aims and goals found in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, particularly Goals 11 and 12.
Enhancing recycling, collection, and other sensible waste management practices continue to be top priorities. Yet, treating garbage as a resource is necessary if we are to address the waste challenge. This means taking the lifetime approach and cutting back on waste production. As far as possible, resources should be recovered or reused, and products should be made with low-impact, long-lasting materials.
These kinds of upstream solutions can reduce the extraction of valuable and finite natural resources while also minimising pollution of the air, land, and water. All stakeholders must take action at all levels to achieve zero waste.
With each garbage tossed, the numbers keep expanding like a bacteria over the present waste facts, which are:
1. Municipal solid waste generated in one year, if stuffed into standard shipping containers and placed end-to-end, would go 25 times around the planet.
2. Humans generate 430 million tons of plastic a year, two-thirds of which are products with short lifespan that quickly become waste.
3. Municipal solid waste generation will skyrocket to 3.8 billion tons yearly by 2050 if no urgent action is taken.
Happy International Zero Waste Day. Don't just say it back, take action today! It's up to you to play your part. Remember Michael Jackson's advice and start with the man (or woman) in the mirror!
— Vashti James
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