Zero Waste
According to Global Footprint Network在美国，人类消耗资源的速度超过了地球补充资源的速度. “Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.地球提供我们使用的资源并吸收我们的废物. 这意味着现在地球需要一年零六个月的时间来再生我们一年的用水量.”
在美国，这个数字甚至更大. According to a 2008 report from Global Footprint Network如果世界上每个人都像美国公民一样生活，我们将需要4个.地球可以在一年内补充所使用的资源并吸收所产生的废物.
生活在这种“生态债务”中不可能永远持续下去. World Resources Institute 据估计，世界上85%的森林已经被砍伐殆尽, degraded, or fragmented, leaving only 15% intact. A 2010 report from the United Nations stated, “据报告，可获得评估信息的世界鱼类种群中有80%被充分开发或过度开发.” The planet’s resources are finite, 如果我们继续以超过地球自我补充能力的速度提取和消耗资源, 我们最终会耗尽可开采的原始材料.
开采和资源枯竭在很大程度上是为了获得消费品的材料. Many of these consumer goods are single-use items; objects we use once, then throw away. 流入北美市场的大部分物质产品都被丢弃了。The Story of Stuff). 这个数字包括“上游废物”(开采过程中产生的废物), manufacturing, and production of items), as well as the consumer goods, themselves, that are thrown away.
简而言之:我们正在迅速消耗地球的自然资源，以创造出立即被扔掉的材料. Learn more about what happens to our waste 以及各种废物管理策略的影响.
The Zero Waste Solution
通过鼓励人们以一种尽可能少产生垃圾的方式生活，零废物挑战了这个效率极低的系统. 而不是促进一个线性系统(在那里东西是制造的), then disposed of), 零浪费理念推动了一个模仿自然循环过程的循环系统, 没有任何东西被浪费，所有资源都被回收利用.
In nature, there is no such thing as waste. Natural materials grow, die, 并以一种可以完全回收的方式分解到生态系统中. For example, when a leaf dies in a forest, it decays into humus, which enriches the soil and feeds new growth. “零浪费”努力创建一个反映这一点的系统. This can be done in two steps:
Consume less overall, 这样我们就不会以超过地球补充速度的速度开采资源.
- 通过只消费可以完全回收到市场和/或生态系统的商品来帮助地球补充提取的资源.
Achieving Zero Waste
Because we live within a linear system, it is important to note that zero waste is a concept; it is impossible to live within the system and send absolutely nothing, ever, to landfill. 零浪费不仅仅是让你的垃圾桶空着. 零浪费是指采取措施减少你的影响. 它是关于认识到我们的系统是坏的，并做 something to work toward fixing it. 它是关于参与一个相信并促进真正可持续发展的运动.
不要把“零浪费”中的“零”看作是一个数字度量, 而是作为一个圆圈象征着自然的循环过程. 任何了解我们的线性系统存在问题并想要做些事情来改变它的人都已经是零浪费运动的一部分.
Getting Started
Bea Johnson, author of Zero Waste Home 以及把零浪费带到聚光灯下的活动家, 将零废物生活方式的优先次序纳入“5r”范畴;
The first three (Refuse, Reduce, and Reuse), 实现零浪费的第一个目标:限制消费，停止开发地球资源. The final two (Recycle and Rot), 解决第二个目标:消费可以充分和安全地回收的商品, cradle-to-cradle, back into the market and ecosystem.
Taking small steps, one at a time, with this hierarchy in mind, is the best way to take part in the movement. Be mindful and make changes that are sustainable to you; overwhelming yourself will likely lead to unhappiness and the desire to revert back to wasteful habits. 即使在你的生活中做出一个改变，也会带来不同，并支持这一运动.
Suggested changes:
- Refuse: Opt out of junkmail. 对活动、工作、聚会等场合的免费赠品说不. (比娅·约翰逊(Bea Johnson)在她的书中说:“每次你拿走一个，你就创造了一个制造更多的需求。”). 使用公共厕所时，要用手擦干，而不是用纸巾. Say “no straw, please” when ordering a drink. Carry items by hand out of the store, when possible, 而不是用一次性袋子装一两件东西, or use a reusable bag.
- Reduce: Avoid unnecessary purchases. Limit the amount of clothes you buy; try to avoid food waste; make your own simple household cleaners, personal care products, and food staples; avoid plastic packaging at the grocery store (试着购买没有包装的食物)，试着停止冲动消费.
- Reuse: Avoid single use items! Use a reusable water bottle, reusable silverware and dishes, reusable grocery bags, reusable produce bags, reusable food containers, reusable coffee cups, etc. Check out our list of Zero Waste swaps for more reusable alternatives. Additionally, buy secondhand whenever possible, 捐赠有用的物品，而不是把它们扔掉, 利用你当地的图书馆来支持共享经济.
- Recycle: Zero Waste does not mean recycling more, it means recycling less. 总是选择可重复使用的选择，而不是一次性的可回收的选择. For remaining items that you cannot refuse, reduce, or reuse, see if it can be recycled by checking out our Mini Disposal Guide. 我们在地区废物转运站接受若干特殊废物循环再造, such as batteries, fluorescent bulbs, textiles, books, etc. Check out our A to Z Disposal Guide for more information on recycling and disposal.
- Rot (compost): 食物、院子里的垃圾和其他有机材料可以通过堆肥远离垃圾填埋场! 在艾迪生县，你有很多选择来处理可堆肥的材料. Start a backyard compost pile, get a worm bin比如，用食物残渣喂鸡等动物 Green Cone Solar Digester, 把食物残渣送到镇上的垃圾和回收站, 联系你的垃圾搬运工收集路边的食物残渣, or drop off food scraps for a small fee at the District Transfer Station.
Additional Resources
有关更多提示、技巧和想法，请参阅以下文章 Zero Waste Home and Going Zero Waste.