How clean your hometown would be if it became a zero-waste city?
One of the greatest damage to the environment and public health is the excess of waste dumped on the streets! This awful lack of hygiene caused by scattered garbage generates diseases that can become an epidemic. The zero-waste initiative could end this! See how this phenomenon happens!
We are about to literally get buried in the garbage!
While commercial waste has decreased due to businesses shutting down, residential waste appears to be rising, quickly. So it is about time to control our waste wherever it is necessary so!
Why the zero-waste agenda must be done ASAP!
- Pollution control: to control various types of pollution, such as water, air, and soil. The increase in the carbon footprint means a not-controlled emission of gases, such as methane, into the atmosphere.
- Conservation of natural resources: to promote the disposal of organic waste, maintaining the sustainability of forests and urban centers, at ideal levels.
- Disease control: to prevent the spread of infectious diseases, due to excess garbage in the streets, parks, forests, rivers, lakes, and seas.
It became very difficult to avoid non-selected garbage from landfills!
A large number of plastics, tires, electronics and other objects, crowd the dumps, spreading diseases and other evils to the environment!
Time to make the zero-waste agenda come true!
The concept of the zero waste city includes a 100% recycling of municipal solid waste and a 100% recovery of all resources from waste materials!
List of some cities that joined the zero-waste initiative:
Hernani/Spain
Located at the Basque Country, Hernani started the project, with the installation of collection containers in parks, squares, and condominiums. With the participation of almost 100% of the population, the result came up in a short time: 30% of recycled waste increased to 80%!
Ljubljana/Slovenia
The Slovenian capital, also known as the "Green Capital of Europe", has managed to reduce to 5%, which goes to landfills. Everything else is repurposed in many ways. Strict laws were enacted, punishing those who disobeyed the rules and achieved private investments.
Bogota/Colombia
To reach zero-waste rate, the Colombian capital, the "Bogotá Basura Cero Collective" was based on 4 requirements to the companies that joined the program: 1-waste policy of each garbage group; 2-strict attitudes towards garbage collection; 3-annual report, to ensure visibility with environmental organizations. It worked satisfactorily! In other words, success!
New York/United States
The New York city council's plan is to get to zero waste rate in 15 years. In practice, "zero" means reaching at least 90% of waste landfills. The engagement of industries was fundamental to achieve the goals. "And the capital of the world will be even better to live," prophesies its Mayor.
San Francisco/United States
In terms of results, the beautiful Californian city is the one that has evolved the most in the country, in meeting the goals of zero-zero garbage. The goal of zeroing 100% of landfill waste will be by 2020. It will probably be the first city to come close to that goal. The engagement of the population is intense. Stores give discounts for those who prove that it was a good destination for waste. Strict laws have been enacted.
Stockholm/Sweden
The approach of the Swedish capital's campaign is peculiar: the garbage that leaves the house is immediately incinerated. That's approximately 2 million tons of burnt waste a year. With the drastic reduction in the use of fossil fuel, the volume of waste in waste landfills has virtually zero. However, a side effect has arisen with this practice. Sweden is the world's pioneer in ecological campaigns and it is a real success! This has been going on since the '70s. The slow movement, initiated in the country as well, strengthens these initiatives for sustainability.
Buenos Aires/Argentina
The zero-waste policy in the capital of Argentina has been going on since 2005. Garbage disposal is prohibited in landfills. The great heroes of the city's recycling program are the garbage collectors. They have their own cooperative and sheds, where they can make the garbage selection.
A simultaneous and harmonized application of sustainable behavior and consumption, product stewardship, a 100% recycling and recovery of resources, legislated zero landfills and incineration are required to transform current big cities into a zero-waste city!