FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
3/23/23
Contact:
Richard Anthony, President
Zero Waste International
Alliance (ZWIA)
The Zero
Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) is a worldwide network formed in 2003 to
promote positive alternatives to landfill and incineration and to raise
community awareness of the social and economic benefits to be gained when wasted
materials are regarded as resources which can create both employment and
business opportunities.
At the
urging of First Lady of Türkiye, Emine Erdoğan, the United Nations (UN) has proclaimed March 30, 2023 “International Day of Zero
Waste.”
We
enthusiastically support the UN in this effort and will work to ensure that the
UN and its Member States recognize the internationally peer-reviewed definition
of Zero Waste
and follow the Zero Waste hierarchy, which emphasizes that redesign
and reduction are the primary strategies for Zero Waste and any form of burning
is not acceptable.
“Zero
Waste: The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production,
consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without
burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the
environment or human health.”
Richard
Anthony, President of ZWIA, will attend the UN meeting of Member States,
international and regional organizations, and other stakeholders on March 30,
2023 to raise awareness of national, subnational, regional, and local Zero
Waste initiatives and their contribution to achieving sustainable development.
ZWIA
urges that the pursuit of Zero Waste be founded on environmental and social
justice principles that help create vibrant communities in harmony with nature.
These have been codified in the Zero
Waste Declaration
with the follow key elements:
§ Center Equity
§ Redesign
§ Ban wasteful products
§ Make producers responsible for
problem products
§ Separate at the source
§ Rescue food and compost organics
§ Support and expand repair and
reuse
§ Build Zero Waste infrastructure
§ End welfare for wasting
§ Advocate and adapt as needed