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ORF Home > Environmental Protection > Waste Disposal > Zero Waste

Zero Waste

What is zero waste?

Zero waste is an approach to waste management and the use of resources. It focuses on a “whole system” approach by going beyond the "end-of-the-line" treatment of waste and promoting the four "R's" of recycling: reduce, reuse, recycle, and rebuy. Zero Waste maximizes recycling, minimizes waste, reduces consumption, and ensures that products are made to be reused, repaired, or recycled back into nature or the marketplace.
 

Examples of Zero Waste Success in the Business World

  • Hewlett-Packard (9,000 employees) is diverting 92-95% of its solid waste, saving almost a million dollars a year in avoided waste disposal costs.
  • Toyota claims a 97% zero-landfill status average over its 14 assembly plants.
  • Copy-machine maker Ricoh has had a zero-landfill status at its U.S. plants since 2002.
  • Anheuser-Busch has recycled 99% of the solid waste generated at its 12 breweries.
  • Subaru claims that 99.8% of the refuse from its Indiana plant is diverted from going to landfills by recycling and reusing parts.
     

GrassRoots Recycling Network External Site  

GrassRoots Recycling Network Zero Waste FAQs External Site PDF


 

 
This page was last updated on Nov 27, 2012