Zero Waste is Good for the Environment

From individual action to industrial resource use, zero waste can be implemented at any level in any sector. Just start with the “Rs of Zero Waste” – “Reduce” being a top one!

Here a few ways that following zero waste principles help protect the environment:

Zero waste practices conserve water and keep it clean.

Whether you’re shaving a minute off your shower time or developing water efficiency practices on the farm, reducing water usage is key to maintaining our surrounding environment. Look closely at your local watershed plans and get involved in how your water is used, diverted, or packaged up.

Consider the embedded water in your everyday products, like a cotton tee or your smartphone. When you keep using the things you already have, you show that you value the water—and other resources—that were used to produce those items in the first place. Single-use stuff starts to make less sense when you think about all the resources that go into producing it, don’t you think?

Zero waste principles keep the air breathable.

Visualize air pollution. Did your imagination include some kind of industry smokestack? It’s not something you may think about when you’re looking at the latest gadget for sale, but the manufacturing of the plastic parts is causing neighborhoods increased rates of asthma and lung cancer.

We produce so much trash that many municipalities don’t know what to do with it. Unfortunately, some of them accept burning as a solution to the problem, which destroys the material, the embedded energy and water, takes energy itself, and releases toxic ash and air pollutants. Similarly to plastic cracker plants, incinerators are bad for people’s health.

The definition of zero waste specifically states ‘without burning’, as things should be made to be reused.

Zero waste practices restore the soil.

Composting is in the Rs of zero waste as “Rot” or “Re-earth” (as it is called by TRUE Zero Waste). This is a way to manage our food scraps that gives nutrients back to the earth and regenerates our soils.

Each time we grow crops, it removes nutrients from the soil, nutrients that we eat. Taking care of the environment and giving back to the Earth means that we want to replenish those nutrients. The process of composting makes our food systems circular and helps avoid the unfortunate deleterious effects of synthetic fertilizers.

Furthermore, since food scraps in landfills are a major contributor to methane gas emissions, it's important to make sure they and other compostable items are managed correctly. When we remove food scraps from landfills and compost them, we reduce emissions and free up landfill space for specific wastes that cannot be reincorporated into the circular economy, like tampons or condoms.

Zero waste is a climate solution.

Beyond emissions and pollution from disposal, each of the above problems has associated emissions from the extraction and production phases that affect the climate. Moving toward zero waste goes beyond end-of-life waste management; it starts at the beginning, with thoughtful consideration of what is necessary and what will regenerate.

Moving toward a circular economy where things are repaired and restored will lead to a reduction of the need for extraction and production—and even waste management itself.

Applied zero waste reduces both upstream and downstream emissions, protecting the environment and mitigating climate change.

This article was written by R20W Communications Director Hayden Sloan in honor of World Environment Day 2026.

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