Beverage containers – plastic bottles, glass bottles, and aluminum cans – are highly recyclable and can be redesigned to be reusable. Yet, every year, billions of beverage containers end up in landfills, incinerators, or the environment as litter. Why? Because communities don’t have effective systems to collect, manage, and recycle or reuse these containers. 

Modern bottle recycling systems, or “Bottle Bills,” are a Zero Waste system that directly addresses this problem. These programs place a small, refundable deposit on all bottles and cans. Consumers get that money back when they return the empty containers for recycling or reuse. This creates a separate recycling system solely for beverage containers, which keeps the containers clean and sorted – increasing their recyclability. More importantly, the refundable deposit placed on each container motivates people to recycle them. 

Bottle Bills are an excellent example of why Zero Waste systems are the path forward. They consistently reduce litter, raise recycling rates, and generate green jobs – at no cost to consumers or state and local governments. Currently, only ten U.S. states have Bottle Bills: California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Iowa, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New York, Oregon, and Vermont. But Just Zero is working with several other states and communities across the country to implement new Bottle Bill programs and modernize existing ones. 

Food waste is a significant contributor to both the waste and climate crises. Almost 40% of the food produced in the U.S. each year isn’t eaten. Meanwhile, millions of people struggle with food insecurity. Most of that uneaten food ends up in climate-damaging incinerators and landfills.  

We produce more than enough food to feed everyone. But we don’t have good systems in place to help this food reach those who need it most, while also keeping the rest out of landfills, incinerators, and sewers. Just Zero is working to change that. We have readily available Zero Waste systems for managing food waste. With these systems in place, most food waste can be eliminated, and what remains can be composted.

Composting is a natural process where bacteria and fungi break down organic material so it can replenish soil and strengthen plant growth. No polluting landfill or incinerator needed! Composting also saves people money, reduces climate-damaging emissions, and puts organic waste to good use.

Just Zero helps develop laws and policies that tackle food waste. Whether in the form of state legislation or local ordinances, these policies help reduce food waste, increase the amount of food that is donated, and bolster food waste recycling programs like composting. We also work with elected officials and government agencies to implement composting programs in ways that keep organic materials out of landfills.

Roughly one third of all U.S. household waste is single-use packaging – like plastic wrap, cardboard boxes, plastic containers, bubble wrap, and plastic foam. Practically all this packaging is preventable. Plus, a significant portion of it is unrecyclable plastic that is made of and coated with toxic chemicals that can seep into products like food and cosmetics. 

Companies have no incentive to redesign their products and packaging to reduce waste, remove toxic chemicals, or ensure they are reusable or recyclable. Instead, companies prioritize manufacturing things as cheaply as possible. And that’s because they don’t have any responsibility for all this packaging once it’s thrown away. So, who ends up paying the financial cost of collecting and (attempting to) recycling it? Local governments and individuals like you and me.

That’s where Packaging Reduction and Recycling policies (sometimes called Extended Producer Responsibility for Packaging Laws) come in. These Zero Waste systems require companies to take back the financial burden of collecting and managing the waste their products create. Even better, these companies are responsible for funding new systems that reuse and recycle packaging materials – rather than disposing of them. At their best, these systems force companies to reduce or eliminate single-use packaging, as well as redesign their products to be reusable, recyclable, and less toxic.  

Just Zero works with communities across the country to implement new Packaging Reduction and Recycling Laws that make companies – not individuals – responsible for addressing the packaging waste crisis. 

The waste crisis is about so much more than the individual choices that fill up our trash bins each week. Individual choices and actions can only get us so far when we’re facing a pervasive and systemic problem. Right now, the status quo of “make, bury, burn,” is threatening our health and the environment. We have better, less expensive, less dangerous options that don’t damage our climate or poison our communities. The good news is that many states, counties, and cities take a holistic approach to the waste they produce and how it’s managed using Solid Waste Management Plans.

The bad news is that these plans often take a lackluster, business-as-usual approach to waste planning that is rooted in toxic and climate-damaging landfills and incinerators that have plagued our planet and communities for decades. But it doesn’t need to be this way. Solid Waste Management Plans can and should be an effective tool to completely re-evaluate your community’s relationship with waste. These plans can provide the groundwork for programs that eliminate waste, invest in real Zero Waste systems, create jobs, and protect the environment.

Just Zero works with communities across the country to help ensure that Solid Waste Management Plans are setting us on a path to Zero Waste.  We help educate folks about where their trash is going and the impact these decisions have on our health and environment. We connect people who are striving to implement toxic-free and sustainable Zero Waste Systems. And we weigh in on Solid Waste Management Plans to ensure they’re focused on solutions, not perpetuating environmental injustice.