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Zero Waste Week

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Zero Waste Week
Official nameZero Waste Week
Observed byUnited Kingdom, United States and others
TypeInternational
DateSeptember 2 to September 6
FrequencyAnnual
First timeSeptember 2 to September 6, 2008
Started byRachelle Strauss
Rachelle Strauss with a box containing some typical items that can be recycled including paper, cardboard, cartons and aluminium.

Zero Waste Week is an environmental campaign to reduce landfill waste, and takes place annually during the first full week in September.[1][2][3] It is a non-commercial grass-roots campaign to demonstrate means and methods to reduce waste, foster community support[4] and bring awareness to the increasing problem of environmental waste and pollution.[2]

Aims

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The aim of Zero Waste Week is reduce landfill waste,[5] increase recycling and encourage people to participate in the circular economy.[6] A Zero Waste Week campaign runs predominantly on social media and the internet and aim to reach people who want to reduce their household or business waste, reuse or recycle materials.[7]

Zero Waste week actively encourages people to reduce the use of synthetic materials and plastic packaging, and promotes plastic reuse and conscientious recycling to reduce the amount of waste sent to landfill or for incineration. Zero Waste week adopts the adage there’s no such place as away meaning when we throw something away, it goes somewhere else, often causing harm or toxicity to the eco-system. The campaign's main directive is to bring awareness to people that we are all individually and collectively responsible for what we consume and that the short time of usefulness is only a small part of the overall lifecycle of any product.[2]

Zero Waste Week's long term goals are to create long term change in people's habits, including generating more demand for sustainable products, to lobby producers, and governmental decision makers, and to bring awareness for the need of good custodianship to the upcoming generation.[8][9]

Events

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Screenshot taken from Twitter, September 5, 2016 showing that the #ZeroWasteWeek trended in the UK for nine hours

An online campaign runs during Zero Waste Week, and events organized by different groups take place in London, Scotland, New York, Hong Kong, and others.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Local and national events are held annually where participants and communities make a concerted effort to demonstrate that household, business and industrial waste can be eliminated or reduced.

Challenges

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During Zero Waste Week people are challenged to meet different goals, for example repairing clothes or sewing to combat disposable fashion, or to reduce their weekly waste so that it can fit in a jam jar.[16][5]

History

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Zero Waste week was founded by Rachelle Strauss in 2008 and began as a national campaign in the United Kingdom.[17][18][19] The term Zero Waste Week is now used by many organisations, groups and individuals not connected to the original campaign.[20][2] Strauss first became interested in zero waste after being affected by the Boscastle flood of 2004,[21][22] a freak weather event that event that she saw as the result of manmade climate change.[23][22] In September 2008 Strauss launched the first Zero Waste Week with an internet campaign from her blog, to persuade people to reduce, reuse and recycle waste.[24] In September 2013 a new website was setup for Zero Waste Week,[25] and by 2017 people from seventy-three countries had taken part.[26] In 2018 Zero Waste Week reached its ten year milestone.[27] Many countries run their own Zero Waste Week campaign in co-ordination with the original Zero Waste week or independently.[28]

Awards and recognition

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In 2015 the UK's parliament passed an early day motion to celebrate Zero Waste Week.[29] Founder Rachelle Strauss received the Points Of Light award in September 2018 from the UK government for her work on Zero Waste Week.[30]

Society and culture

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Zero Waste Week was described in the National Geographic Documentary Naked Science Series: 'Surviving Nature's Fury' 2005[31] and in the film Trashed.[32][33]

Other campaigns for Zero Waste Week

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The term Zero Waste Week has been gradually adopted by other campaigns and organisations to run a week of events and activities, often with focus on specific current sustainability issues.

National Marine Sanctuaries

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Students for Zero Waste Week is a school-driven, week-long campaign to reduce waste on school campuses and within local communities and started in the year 2015/2016.[34]

Harvard University

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During Earth Week 2014, Harvard University's Gutman Café held a zero waste week during which it tried to divert as much of its trash as possible from the landfill.[35]

Hong Kong Cleanup

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Hong Kong Cleanup, a week long campaign of public awareness and on-ground activities.[36][37]

The Island's Sounder

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Orcas Christian School in Eastsound, Washington held Zero Waste Week during the first week of April 2018[38] with a focus was on sustainability and re-usability.[38]

Emory University

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Emory University OSI/RHA Zero Waste Week raises awareness and support for sustainable practices on campus. Students interested in reducing their waste signed up to participate received email reminders and tips about living waste-free.[39]

References

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  1. ^ Parthiban, K. T.; Krishnakumar, N.; Karthick, M. (2018-08-01). Introduction to Forestry & Agroforestry. Scientific Publishers. p. 325. ISBN 978-93-87991-74-3.
  2. ^ a b c d "Zero Waste Week: What is it and how can I get involved? - CBBC Newsround". Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  3. ^ Norton, Siobhan (September 4, 2018). "How to cut down on household rubbish for Zero Waste Week". iNews The Essential Daily Briefing. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  4. ^ Restorick, Trewin (2015-04-08). "Who are the Pioneers in the Fight Against Food Waste?". huffpost.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  5. ^ a b Strauss, Rachelle (2014-08-27). "Zero Waste Week: a challenge to send nothing to landfill". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  6. ^ Timmermans, Frans (2015-12-07). "Towards a circular economy". European Commission. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  7. ^ "Zero Waste Week". Zero Waste Week. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  8. ^ "Zero Waste Week facts". Zero Waste Week. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  9. ^ "Zero Waste Week". Investors in the Environment. 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  10. ^ Local, N. Y. U. (2016-11-16). "It's Zero Waste Week At NYU, Time To Carry Your Trash". Medium. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  11. ^ Martin, Jake. "Flagler students get a lesson in composting, recycling". The St. Augustine Record. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  12. ^ "Zero Waste London (London, United Kingdom)". Meetup. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  13. ^ Zero Waste Week Scotland
  14. ^ "Nature lover vows to clean up Hong Kong waters EJINSIGHT - ejinsight.com". EJINSIGHT. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  15. ^ "Peterborough Environment Capital -". www.environmentcapital.org. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  16. ^ Southworth, Phoebe (2019-09-02). "Bring back 'make do and mend' spirit to prevent £140m worth of clothes in landfill every year, campaigner urges". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  17. ^ Cannard, Karen (September 1, 2008). "A Date to remember". The Rubbish Diet. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  18. ^ Cole, Rob (September 3, 2018). "Majority of Britons concerned about plastic as Zero Waste Week begins". Resource Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  19. ^ Cole, Rob (September 4, 2017). "A Zero Waste Story: How Zero Waste Week grew from organic shoots". Resource Magazine. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  20. ^ "Home". Zero Waste Week.
  21. ^ Strauss, Rachelle (August 27, 2014). "Zero Waste Week: a challenge to send nothing to landfill". The Guardian. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  22. ^ a b McGrath, Matt (June 1, 2014). "Climate change to boost summer flash floods, says study". BBC News Science and Environment. BBC News. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  23. ^ Kendon, Elizabeth J.; Roberts, Nigel M.; Fowler, Hayley J.; Roberts, Malcolm J.; Chan, Steven C.; Senior, Catherine A. (2014-06-01). "Heavier summer downpours with climate change revealed by weather forecast resolution model". Nature Climate Change. 4 (7): 570–576. Bibcode:2014NatCC...4..570K. doi:10.1038/nclimate2258. ISSN 1758-678X.
  24. ^ "Reduce your rubbish and win some prizes". MY ZERO WASTE. 2008-08-08. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  25. ^ "ZeroWasteWeek.co.uk WHOIS, DNS, & Domain Info - DomainTools". whois.domaintools.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  26. ^ Cooper, Rachel (September 7, 2018). "Zero Waste Week - 'Plastic Unwrapped'". Climate Action. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  27. ^ Cannard, Karen (August 29, 2018). "Zero Waste Week marks 10-year milestone". Bury Free Press. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  28. ^ Wilson-Powell, Georgina (1 September 2020). "What is Zero Waste Week?". Pebble. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  29. ^ Ferrier, Margaret (September 10, 2015). "Early Day Motion 420 Zero Waste Week". Parliament UK. Retrieved September 14, 2018. "That this House celebrates Zero Waste Week 2015, which runs between 7 and 13 September 2015; notes that it is in its eighth year owing to the hard work of founder Rachelle Strauss, co-ordinating the project in her own free time; further notes that this campaign has been successful on social media in encouraging people, businesses and charities to do more to minimise their waste by promoting re-use; agrees that reusing and recycling is vital to the preservation of this planet; and calls on the House to legislate to reduce waste and promote re-use."
  30. ^ May, Theresa (September 3, 2018). "Zero Waste Week". Points Of Light. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  31. ^ "Zero Waste Week facts". Zero Waste Week. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  32. ^ Peake, Libby (8 February 2013). "Trashed Documentary Highlights Wastefulness". Resource. Retrieved 20 June 2021.
  33. ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
  34. ^ "Zero Waste Week | Office of National Marine Sanctuaries". sanctuaries.noaa.gov. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  35. ^ "Gutman Café: Zero Waste Week Challenge". Sustainability at Harvard. 2014-05-05. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  36. ^ "ZERO WASTE WEEK". Ecozine. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  37. ^ "HK Cleanup". Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  38. ^ a b Mandi Johnson (2018-04-14). "OCS part of 'Zero Waste Week'". Islands' Sounder. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
  39. ^ "Zero Waste: Abandoning the Trashy Life". The Emory Wheel. 2018-04-04. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
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