Thanks for sharing your Istanbul report
malc...@gmail.com
Dear Sonia,
Many thanks for forwarding your excellent summary of the Istanbul Zero Waste Forum. It’s clear that you captured a lot of ground, and the range of topics covered shows just how far the term Zero Waste has travelled in policy circles since those early years. I’ll be circulating your notes among colleagues here, as they’ll help inform ongoing discussions.
Over the next couple of days, I’ll be in Scotland with a number of community organisations attending the Circular Communities Scotland conference in Glasgow. We’ll have a chance to put these various issues on the table and may draft some form of collective or official comment on the Turkey event and its wider implications for the global movement.
That said, I must admit to being deeply concerned by the way Turkey is presenting its partnership with the UN and using our long-established language and identity to claim a leading role twenty-five years after the fact. It looks very much as though Ankara is trying to steal our coat and wear it—rebranding the movement as a government programme while pushing incineration as part of its “Zero Waste” policy.
I speak as one who battled and lost the Waste to Energy argument myself here in Wales back in 2007/8. Whilst Wales is now reputedly second in the world for recycling achievement at 66% this year -we are now struggling to get to 70% simply because the Welsh Government in its “wisdom” procured incineration capacity to burn one third of Wales’s Municipal Waste arisings thus limiting us to 66%. England is a basket case and is still considering more incineration simply because waste companies make more profit burning waste than recycling it. We mustn’t let them get away with that – it is very simply wrong to destroy scarce resources.
If ZWIA doesn’t assert its voice soon, this Turkish-UN alliance will quietly rewrite both the history and the meaning of Zero Waste.
Still, your report gives us a valuable reference point for that discussion, and I’m grateful to you for taking the time to share it.
Warm regards,
Mal
ZeroWaste International Trust
Administration Address
c/o 15 Geoffrey Ashe Court
Cardiff Rd
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7EP
Tel 07971 199346
Would you like me to make a version of this suitable for circulation to ZWIR colleagues as well (so it reads less personally and more as a collective note)?
From: zwia...@googlegroups.com <zwia...@googlegroups.com> On Behalf Of Mal Williams
Sent: 10 November 2025 20:16
To: ZWIAPlan <zwia...@googlegroups.com>; zw...@googlegroups.com; iain.g...@gmail.com; recyc...@gmail.com; ray.ge...@protonmail.com; es...@zerowasteeurope.eu; Jack McQuibban <ja...@zerowasteeurope.eu>; Rodrigo Sabatini (rodrigor...@gmail.com) <rodrigor...@gmail.com>; s...@zerowaste.co.nz; ri...@xtremezerowaste.org.nz; Rick Thorpe <rickthor...@gmail.com>; gerry.b....@gmail.com; Shibu K Nair (shibu...@gmail.com) <shibu...@gmail.com>; ja...@hsrzerowaste.com
Cc: shlomo...@gmail.com; charles...@resourcemedia.co.uk; Max Purnell (mok...@gmail.com) <mok...@gmail.com>
Subject: [zwiaplan] Open Letter on ZWIA Integrity and Next Steps
Dear friends and colleagues,
Many of us have invested cash personally to create ZWIA in the first place here in Wales in 2003 and worked on the front line before and since to keep Zero Waste true to its sensible, agreed founding principles.
The letter below sets out shared concerns about recent partnerships and commercial misuse/dilution of the ZWIA definition and proposes steps to restore transparency and independence.
I have already circulated four discussion papers regarding this concern to assist in the discussion.
I invite you to address your comments to this circulation, signatures, and any additions.
With respect,
Mal
Open Letter to the Board of the Zero Waste International Alliance (ZWIA) and stakeholders worldwide – please forward to anyone who you think relevant.
Subject: Restoring Integrity and Independence to the Global Zero Waste Movement
The memorandum recently circulated by Ruth Abbe underscores a deeper crisis inside ZWIA. What began as a volunteer alliance dedicated to eliminating waste at source has drifted into partnerships and practices that now threaten its credibility.
A Distortion of Purpose
Evidence shows that organisations and individuals historically connected with ZWIA have participated in or benefitted from the TRUE Zero Waste certification programme—a commercial offshoot that sells “Zero Waste” accreditation to corporate clients, including Raytheon Technologies, the world’s fifth-largest arms manufacturer. The programme uses the ZWIA definition while charging fees for site-level certification, enabling some of the planet’s most extractive or militarised enterprises to display “Zero Waste Platinum” logos in their publicity.
ZWIA’s public association this year with the Zero Waste Foundation of Türkiye, through a Memorandum of Understanding and the Istanbul Forum, has compounded the concern. Türkiye remains one of the world’s largest importers of foreign plastic waste and a documented destination for illegal dumping and open burning. The decision of ZWIA officers to co-brand an event under government patronage, without clear conditions or disclosure, stands in stark contradiction to the movement’s founding principle of community-led integrity.
Meanwhile, overtures to the United Nations—an institution now promoting “International Day of Zero Waste” with Türkiye as co-sponsor—risk allowing state-level greenwashing to masquerade as global progress, unless ZWIA draws a clear line between advocacy and endorsement.
Our Core Concerns
- Commercial misuse of the ZWIA definition
The TRUE/USZWBC programme monetised the definition that communities created in good faith. Its metrics count diversion, not social or ecological impact. - Conflicts of interest and loss of trust
Individuals linked to ZWIA or its affiliates have held positions in or received payments from these certification schemes. The absence of transparent governance damages every grassroots group working under the Zero Waste banner. - Political co-option
Engagements with governments or intergovernmental bodies that preside over incineration, waste dumping, or arms production undermine the credibility of all who fight those very practices on the ground. - Dilution of meaning
“Zero Waste” now risks being interpreted as a PR slogan rather than a systemic redesign ethic. The moral clarity of no burning, no burying, no harm must be restored.
Required Actions
- Immediate detachment from commercial certification
ZWIA must state publicly that it holds no organisational or financial relationship with any body selling “Zero Waste” accreditation. All references to ZWIA definitions or logos must cease unless strict ethical conditions are met. - Independent ethics and conflicts review
An external panel should audit all financial and institutional relationships involving ZWIA officers or affiliates in connection with TRUE/USZWBC, the Zero Waste Foundation of Türkiye, or similar ventures. Where personal income or material benefit has been derived, appropriate remedies—disclosure, repayment, or resignation—must follow. - Governance reform
- Establish an Ethics and Transparency Committee, elected by grassroots members, empowered to review partnerships and conflicts.
- Publish annually all MoUs, funding sources, and board affiliations.
- Enforce a two-year cooling-off period before any officer may take paid work from certification or governmental partners negotiated while in office.
- Reaffirm the definition and hierarchy
The 2003 ZWIA Definition and Hierarchy remain the only legitimate standard. ZWIA must restate unequivocally that Zero Waste means Zero Waste—not “toward,” not “90 percent,” and never a purchasable status.
The Path Forward
The Zero Waste movement’s strength has always come from ordinary people: those who design reuse systems, oppose incineration, and repair what others discard. They built the credibility now being traded by commercial and political actors.
We therefore call on the ZWIA board to:
- Suspend any officer with undeclared financial or political conflicts pending review.
- Publish, within sixty days, a roadmap implementing these reforms.
- Convene a transparent global assembly to ratify them.
If ZWIA cannot restore the ethical clarity on which it was founded, affiliates and community networks worldwide will be justified in forming a new, independent body to guard the definition and uphold its principles.
Zero Waste was never for sale. Let’s make sure it never will be.
ZeroWaste International Trust
Administration Address
c/o 15 Geoffrey Ashe Court
Cardiff Rd
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7EP
Tel 07971 199346
Email -- mal.wi...@zerowastewales.net
Shared under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 – free to share & adapt for non-commercial use (with credit).
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malc...@gmail.com
Slightly blurred Photo of those attending the ZWIA inauguration event at the Bulkeley Hotel Beaumaris Wales in October 2003,
It had been a long four days
Regards
Mal
ZeroWaste International Trust
Administration Address
c/o 15 Geoffrey Ashe Court
Cardiff Rd
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7EP
Tel 07971 199346
Email -- mal.wi...@zerowastewales.net
Sonia Mendoza
Rodrigo Sabatini
Subject: Reflections and Strategic Notes after the Global Zero Waste Forum
Dear Mal, dear Sonia,
First of all, thank you both for your reflections — I believe Sonia’s message captured perfectly the atmosphere and tone of the Forum, and Mal’s response touched the structural tension we all feel between authentic Zero Waste and its institutionalized version.
I must say I shared the same concerns — in fact, I was worried even before we travelled to Türkiye, which is why I had written a few articles in advance. Once there, those fears were confirmed. Beyond the inspiring technical sessions, what I saw was a carefully orchestrated state project, born from the will of the Turkish First Lady and the political regime around her.
It is important to say — though few dared to mention it openly — that we were constantly surrounded by “observers”: security agents who sat near us, always listening, rarely speaking. There was even a moment when the guards asked everyone to stop talking during the coffee break because the First Lady was in a nearby room — something that, of course, didn’t work very well with so many non-Turks in the corridor!
But more importantly, behind the political choreography there is a strategic occupation of the Zero Waste narrative by interests very distant from our movement. One key figure in this process is Carlos Silva Filho, former president of Abrelpe (Brazil) and later of the International Solid Waste Association (ISWA).
I first met him back in Rio+20 (2012), when I invited him to speak at a youth event. Soon after, in early 2013, he launched the ISWA Youth Movement, which immediately gained visibility and influence. This was not something that came later, but part of a deliberate and early strategy. It was a quick and precise move that gave ISWA access to a generation of young professionals entering the market — forming them technically to support a specific waste-management logic.
A decade later, he became President of ISWA Global and now, not by coincidence, he holds a seat on the UN Zero Waste Advisory Committee — the very committee that defines what “Zero Waste” means at the UN level. That means: an ex-president of ISWA, a promoter of waste-to-energy, now represents the “Zero Waste” narrative inside the UN. From a strategic standpoint, that was a mistake on our side — we didn’t build enough institutional presence to ensure at least one independent seat in that group. And since he is Brazilian, there’s “no room” for another one from the Global South. The “quota for subalterns” is already taken.
This explains much of what we saw in Istanbul: the appropriation of Zero Waste language to validate incineration-based systems, high-cost waste contracts, and corporate profit models disguised as sustainability.
Nevertheless, we — the independent movement, the educators, the community builders — remain the real bearers of Zero Waste ethics. As Mal wisely said, “the young blood will see them off.” I fully agree — and I believe our strategic task now is to strengthen our alliances, reinforce the global grassroots leadership, and make sure the definition of Zero Waste continues to be based on ethics, responsibility, and community practice, not corporate convenience.
Lessons and Reflections
One important lesson from this process concerns youth. When we created the Zero Waste Youth movement, we never received the proper recognition or attention that youth deserves in the global context. For 14 years, this work has advanced slowly, built through persistence and voluntary effort. Meanwhile, as early as 2013, ISWA understood the power of youth and began to form young professionals around the world — providing them with technical arguments to sustain their waste-management agenda. This contrast reveals a strategic gap: while we have acted as a flexible and horizontal network, they have operated as a coordinated structure with defined objectives and training pipelines.
Another reflection concerns organization and continuity. In 2014, when ISWA held its World Congress, Brazil organized, in parallel, the First International Congress of Zero Waste Cities, with representatives from seven countries. It was an inspiring milestone, but it did not evolve into a recurring platform. ISWA, on the other hand, has maintained a systematic rhythm — one global event each year, always reinforcing its discourse and presence. The Zero Waste International Alliance, despite its achievements, has not yet built this same operational structure. I include myself in this analysis — it is not a judgment, but a recognition that our current model leaves us vulnerable and dependent on personal continuity rather than institutional planning. I am genuinely concerned about succession: what will happen to our movement after this generation? We lack young leaders in universities and new professional arenas, and this needs urgent attention.
Regarding certification and recognition of good practices, it is clear that new actors will soon propose their own “Zero Waste certifications.” We already see several fragmented initiatives — Brazil’s certification system, a different one emerging in Canada, an early European model that disappeared, and a few in Latin America that also faded. Now, ISO 59000 on Circular Economy introduces metrics that legitimize waste-to-energy and combustion practices.
At the same time, we must recognize that one essential dimension of our movement has been underestimated: the integration of Zero Waste Principles into every sphere of practice — from communities to governments, from education to the economy. Zero Waste can and should be inspired by the B System and GAIA, promoting and recognizing good practices within the economic helix as much as in public policy and civil society. We already have strong examples of good practices in public policies; we already have a vibrant social movement — whose methods of engagement we can and must share — and now we need to turn our attention to the economic sphere.
This broader vision connects purpose with practice, ethics with efficiency. The Zero Waste Principles must guide us to bring coherence to the movement and meaning to our cause — linking environmental responsibility, social justice, and economic regeneration. The moment urges us to position Zero Waste as an instrument of transformation — from a culture of disposability to a culture of care.
Governance and Future
One last and fundamental point concerns structure and governance. The lack of an established structure — of a team, of joint planning, of a professional backbone — makes it difficult for us to operate beyond the voluntary and idealistic level. ISWA has staff, committees, and a corporate-style planning system with clear diffusion goals. We, on the other hand, remain a voluntary alliance, animated by ethics but limited by dispersion.
Our methodologies and good practices are still spread in an incipient, fragmented, and almost artisanal way. They depend on individuals, not on systems. I learned, for example, from Sonia and Freudan, through the Zero Waste Schools experience back in 2010 — a seed that helped ignite a nationwide movement in Brazil. But that growth took 15 years of effort that could have been accelerated if our best practices were systematically documented, shared, and scaled through books, training, and digital platforms.
Our alliance nature — horizontal, autonomous, and beautiful in essence — has also limited our ability to reach consensus, to work together efficiently, and to overcome differences and egos. We must reflect deeply: do we want to remain as an open alliance with loose coordination, or should we evolve toward a more professional, efficient, and strategic management system capable of defending the Zero Waste vision in a world increasingly dominated by corporate interests and liberal logic?
What was meant to be a movement of ethical anarchy may have, over time, been absorbed by the liberal order it sought to challenge. Recognizing this is not defeatism — it is maturity. It is the necessary step if we want to rebuild strength, integrity, and coherence for the next generation of Zero Waste leadership.
With respect and friendship,
Rodrigo Sabatini
President – Instituto Lixo Zero Brasil
Representative – Zero Waste International Alliance (Brazil)
Belém, COP-30 Host City
Sonia,
Thank you – I don’t supposed we should be surprised that someone in a position of power and resource has realised that Zero Waste is a good idea – we’ve all been saying that for a quarter of a century or more – and the folk at the coal face (forgive the inappropriate pun please – I’m from the Rhondda valleys) have been proving it in practice for all that time too.
But its National Greenwash – no more no less and if we don’t identify the enemy of our ideas as being profiteering corporates lobbying the sources of high-cost and duration contracts to “manage waste” in new ways we will never face them down. Gaia have been doing their level best -with quite a lot of help from ZWIA folk – but they’re still punting at the slightest opportunity – and Turkey offers them that new casino in the sky.
But – the force is definitely with us – “those guys” can delay zero waste for a generation --and it looks like they will (they have stalled our excellent efforts in Wales) -but “those guys” are dinosaurs and the new young blood will see them off.
I think we in the “old guys” age group need to hand over the baton now and trust the social media generation to outflank the behemoths via Tik Tok, Roblox and Minecraft type communications -they don’t need permission to do what’s needed and they have the power of the masses at their electronic fingertips.
I wish them well and will be cheering
Good to know you’re reading all this Sonia
Regards
Mal
ZeroWaste International Trust
Administration Address
c/o 15 Geoffrey Ashe Court
Cardiff Rd
Cowbridge
Vale of Glamorgan
CF71 7EP
Tel 07971 199346
Email -- mal.wi...@zerowastewales.net
To view this discussion visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/zwiaplan/DB7PR02MB378621E1E1635452E077B286F7CFA%40DB7PR02MB3786.eurprd02.prod.outlook.com.
Gerry Gillespie
On 11 Nov 2025, at 6:36 pm, Mal Williams <mal.wi...@zerowastewales.net> wrote:
Sonia,Thank you – I don’t supposed we should be surprised that someone in a position of power and resource has realised that Zero Waste is a good idea – we’ve all been saying that for a quarter of a century or more – and the folk at the coal face (forgive the inappropriate pun please – I’m from the Rhondda valleys) have been proving it in practice for all that time too.But its National Greenwash – no more no less and if we don’t identify the enemy of our ideas as being profiteering corporates lobbying the sources of high-cost and duration contracts to “manage waste” in new ways we will never face them down. Gaia have been doing their level best -with quite a lot of help from ZWIA folk – but they’re still punting at the slightest opportunity – and Turkey offers them that new casino in the sky.But – the force is definitely with us – “those guys” can delay zero waste for a generation --and it looks like they will (they have stalled our excellent efforts in Wales) -but “those guys” are dinosaurs and the new young blood will see them off.I think we in the “old guys” age group need to hand over the baton now and trust the social media generation to outflank the behemoths via Tik Tok, Roblox and Minecraft type communications -they don’t need permission to do what’s needed and they have the power of the masses at their electronic fingertips.I wish them well and will be cheeringGood to know you’re reading all this SoniaRegards
MalZeroWaste International TrustAdministration Addressc/o 15 Geoffrey Ashe CourtCardiff RdCowbridgeVale of GlamorganCF71 7EPTel 07971 199346
From: Sonia Mendoza <so...@motherearthphil.org>
Sent: 11 November 2025 03:33
To: malc...@gmail.com
Cc: shlomo...@gmail.com; charles...@resourcemedia.co.uk; Max Purnell <mok...@gmail.com>; Mal Williams <mal.wi...@zerowastewales.net>; ZWIAPlan <zwia...@googlegroups.com>; zw...@googlegroups.com; iain.g...@gmail.com; recyc...@gmail.com; s...@zerowaste.co.nz; ray.ge...@protonmail.com; es...@zerowasteeurope.eu; Jack McQuibban <ja...@zerowasteeurope.eu>; Rodrigo Sabatini <rodrigor...@gmail.com>; ri...@xtremezerowaste.org.nz; Rick Thorpe <rickthor...@gmail.com>; gerry.b....@gmail.com; Shibu K Nair <shibu...@gmail.com>; ja...@hsrzerowaste.com; Froilan Grate <fro...@no-burn.org>; Ambily Adithyan <amb...@no-burn.org>; Mirinda BK <mir...@breakfreefromplastic.org>; Rahyang Nusantara <rah...@plasticdiet.id>; Marian Ledesma <mled...@greenpeace.org>; Ana Le Rocha <a...@nipefagio.co.tz>
Subject: Re: Thanks for sharing your Istanbul report
Evidence shows that organisations and individuals historically connected with ZWIA have participated in or benefitted from the TRUE Zero Wastecertification programme—a commercial offshoot that sells “Zero Waste” accreditation to corporate clients, including Raytheon Technologies, the world’s fifth-largest arms manufacturer. The programme uses the ZWIA definition while charging fees for site-level certification, enabling some of the planet’s most extractive or militarised enterprises to display “Zero Waste Platinum” logos in their publicity.
<image001.png>
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Sonia S. MendozaChairman
(632) 8879 7005 | a...@motherearthphil.orgSocial MediaFacebook: MEF | Zero Waste Pilipinas | Plastic-Free Philippines | Zero Waste Youth PilipinasTwitter: MEF | Zero Waste Pilipinas | Plastic-Free Philippines
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Gerry Gillespie
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Sonia S. MendozaChairman
(632) 8879 7005 | a...@motherearthphil.org
Social Media
Facebook: MEF | Zero Waste Pilipinas | Plastic-Free Philippines | Zero Waste Youth Pilipinas
Twitter: MEF | Zero Waste Pilipinas | Plastic-Free Philippines