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The Zero Waste Alliance
Zero waste suggests that the entire concept of waste should be eliminated. Instead, waste should be thought of as a “residual product” or simply a “potential resource” to counter our basic acceptance of waste as a normal course of events. Opportunities such as reduced costs, increased profits, and reduced environmental impacts are found when returning these “residual products” or “resources” as food to either natural and industrial systems. This may involve redesigning both products and processes in order to eliminate hazardous properties that make them unusable and unmanageable in quantities that overburden both industry and the environment.
Zero Waste strategies consider the entire life-cycle of our products, processes and systems in the context of a comprehensive systems understanding of our interactions with nature and search for inefficiencies at all stages. With this understanding, wastes can be prevented through designs based on full life-cycle thinking. Indeed, we should work to "design" our wastes, if any, so that they have future applications.
The Zero Waste Alliance (ZWA) has been formed to promote the use of Zero Waste strategies. Together with our Resource Network, we support the needs of businesses and organizations in the areas of Zero Waste strategy, education, and technical services. ZWA uses the tools of industrial ecology, especially Life-Cycle Assessments, Design for the Environment, Green Chemistry, Full Cost Accounting, Product Stewardship, Waste Exchanges and Environmental Management Systems to assist businesses/organizations in their efforts to move from the greatly inefficient, costly, and environmentally destructive “take-make-waste” practices to becoming more efficient, competitive, profitable, and environmentally responsible using cyclical “Zero Waste” strategies.
The Zero Waste Alliance is a bridge between a business/organization’s needs and the capabilities available through universities, national labs, state, federal and local government resources and private consulting firms. ZWA promotes and supports the concept of Zero Waste through education and supporting services. Its approach is to prevent waste through the redesign of processes and products so they do not waste material, energy, or human resources by efficiently creating more profitable, competitive, and environmentally responsible products that have future applications at their life’s end.
http://www.zerowaste.org/index.htm
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