In the guide below, we list some of the potential pros and cons of zero waste.
Summary – Pros & Cons Of Zero Waste
Firstly, What Is Zero Waste?
We explain what zero waste is, along with other important aspects of the topic in this guide.
Potential Pros
May Have A Number Of Potential Sustainability & Environmental Benefits
May Have Some Economic Benefits, & Benefits For Businesses
May Have Benefits For Human Health & Well Being
Some Cities Have Already Implemented Some ‘Zero Waste’ Practices
Some Companies Have Already Implemented Some ‘Zero Waste’ Practices
Some Governments Across The World Have Declared Zero Wast As A Goal
There Are Some Clear Strategies & Tools That Some Cities, Towns, Or Companies Might Use To Achieve Some Zero Waste Goals
Potential Cons
There May Not Be Uniform Agreement On The Specific Goal/s Of ‘Zero Waste’
Achieving ‘Zero Waste’ According To Some Criteria Might Be Practically Impossible
Some Practices May Not Be Implemented Unless Government Regulation Is Introduced
Some Practices May Have Economic Drawbacks, & Disincentivize Businesses
Some Practices May Have Other Drawbacks Or Tradeoffs
Some Argue That It May Be Too Difficult To Change Some Human Behavior To Align With Some Zero Waste Principles
Zero Waste Can Be Used As A Part Of Greenwashing
Some Suggest That There Are Better Or More Important Sustainability Concepts Than Zero Waste
Potential Pros Of Zero Waste
May Have A Number Of Potential Sustainability & Environmental Benefits
Including but not limited to:
– Less Waste Pollution & Environmental Pollution
In the event there is less waste pollution, or waste is treated before being discharged or disposed of, there may be less overall environmental pollution
This is better for the environment, and also the wild life that live in different habitats where this waste can be discharged or leach/run-off into
– More Sustainable Resource Use
In the event less resources are used, resources are used more efficiently, or there is less overall waste involved in manufacturing processes, resources might be used more sustainably.
This benefits both current and future generations looking to meet their wants and needs from resources.
– Less Land Required For Existing & New Landfill Sites
If less waste is sent to landfills, less land might be required to store waste on existing and new landfill sites.
This may help address some of the concerns that some groups may have that landfills sites are filling up, or that we’re running out of suitable land for new landfill sites.
Additionally, with land being a scarce resource, this land might instead be used for other important land uses.
May Have Some Economic Benefits, & Benefits For Businesses
Including but not limited to:
– Lower Production Costs
If businesses can cut down on material use, or reuse waste, there may be some savings in production costs.
– Higher Profit Margins
If businesses can cut down on production costs without lowering product prices for consumers, they are able to operate at higher profit margins.
– Lower Prices For Consumers
In the event producers can cut production costs, and they pass those cost savings onto consumers to be more price competitive in the marketplace, consumers get lower priced products.
– May Help Grow Some Industries
Such as product design, material development, waste treatment, material recovery (especially waste that would have previously been discarded and not utilised again to extract more value from), recycling, composting, repurposing, and more.
Any industry, product or service that helps support zero waste systems may essentially see growth, provide employment, provide income, and so on.
Some waste may be able to create by-products too, such as some organic waste that can create soil amendments or organic fertilizer after going through composting.
– May Save Money Spent On Some Forms Of Waste Disposal & Landfill Sites
If less waste is sent to landfills, money might be saved on landfill operation and waste disposal in some instances.
May Have Benefits For Human Health & Well Being
If less waste is produced, there’s less pollution, and less waste ends up in landfill near some communities of people, there might be less risk or threat to human health and well being, with humans not being as exposed to these potential risk factors.
Toxicity in waste is an example of one key risk factor that might be reduced.
There might also be a lower incidence rate of fresh water sources and drinking water sources become contaminated or polluted.
Some Cities Have Already Implemented Some ‘Zero Waste’ Practices
Some Companies Have Already Implemented Some ‘Zero Waste’ Practices
Such as discontinuing to offer some single use or disposable products, and in some instances replacing them with reusuable products
One example of this might be supermarkets or stores that have discontinued offering single use plastic bags to customers
Some Governments Across The World Have Declared Zero Waste As A Goal
wikipedia.org lists the locations of these governments
There Are Some Clear Strategies & Tools That Some Cities, Towns, Or Companies Might Use To Achieve Some Zero Waste Goals
wikipedia.org for example notes the following two points:
– In terms of strategies, cities, towns and companies might first define zero waste and identify their goals, and then formulate ‘… a planned structure to reach Zero Waste through [specific and clearly outlined] steps’
– In terms of tools, a ‘Zero Waste Hierarchy’ might be taken into consideration, which ‘… describes a progression of policies and strategies to support the zero-waste system, from highest and best to lowest use of materials’
Potential Cons Of Zero Waste
There May Not Be Uniform Agreement On The Specific Goal/s Of ‘Zero Waste’
Different organisations and groups have slightly different definitions, criteria and goals for zero waste.
Some may simply indicate that zero waste means no waste ends up in landfill, whilst others may have a more detailed and slightly different definition.
Additionally, different groups can disagree on individual points about zero waste.
For example, there may be disagreement on what the ‘maximum value’ of recovered resources and waste is.
Some might say that maximum value is simply recycling a material and using that recycled material in new products, whilst other might say that the product that that material came from (such as a plastic bottle) should be kept in tact and re-used as it is.
This disagreement or difference of views and priorities may make it difficult to effectively implement zero waste lifestyles or strategies on an individual or community level to different degrees.
Achieving ‘Zero Waste’ According To Some Criteria Might Be Practically Impossible
This depends on the definition of zero waste used, or the criteria used.
If the definition is that specifically that no waste ends up in landfill, it might be accurate to say that this is practically impossible for any city or town, at least in the short term.
Some waste that needs to go to landfill is inevitable.
Some single use or non recyclable plastics that serve critical functions in society (such as for food hygiene and safety, for medicine and health, and so on) might be an example of this.
It may also be impossible to eliminate all plastics from modern society.
Some Practices May Not Be Implemented Unless Government Regulation Is Introduced
Some zero waste practices may not be implemented by suppliers and producers unless government regulation makes it mandatory.
There can be a number of reasons for this, with practicality, protection of profit margins, and potential risk related to changes in business processes being potential examples.
In places where government policies don’t support zero waste in an adequate way (i.e. the policies are lacking, or they simply don’t help achieve zero waste outcomes), zero waste practices may have issues being implemented, or being effective.
Some Practices May Have Economic Drawbacks, & Disincentivize Businesses
Some zero waste practices may have the following negative economic effects, and disincentivize businesses in the following ways:
– May restrict or prevent some free market choices
– The restriction or prevention of some free market choices may increase the cost of production, and prevent businesses from being able to offer lower prices for consumers
– The restriction or prevention of some free market choices may force businesses to offer products with lesser performance or less desirable traits
– Changing from one set of practices to a new set of untested practices may carry some level of risk for businesses (as there may be uncertainty that the new set of practices will feasibly work)
– Profit margins in some cases may be reduced, and this may disincentivize some businesses to continue operating
– May reduce competition in the marketplace if less businesses have the financial resources or practical ability to compete
– Some industries may grow at the expense of other industries (like landfill management) shrinking
– New products and materials that match zero waste criteria may have tradeoffs in performance, and this may create a liability or product risk for businesses (with one example being making products from recycled material that is inferior from a performance perspective to virgin material that might be stronger, more durable, and less prone to failure)
– And, there may also be other effects not listed here
Some Practices May Have Other Drawbacks Or Tradeoffs
The goal of trying to modify or redesign waste systems, and the products and materials that contribute to waste, may come at the expense of other goals.
A few examples might include but aren’t limited to:
– Tradeoffs In Ethics
As one example of this, wikipedia.org points out that ‘… a material could be reusable, organic, non-toxic, and renewable but still be ethically inferior to single use products’
wikipedia.org gives several examples of waste that meets the definition of being zero waste, but the products or items are either ethically inferior products or items to non-zero waste products and items (i.e. animal derived bags vs single use plastic bags), or, there’s a tradeoff to be made in the product or item’s lifecycle somewhere other than another lifecycle stage where there might be a benefit.
– Tradeoffs In Performance
Some products, items and materials that match zero waste criteria might experience tradeoffs in performance.
One example of this is a recycled plastic that doesn’t have the structural integrity of virgin plastic (because the polymer bonds are weaker after recycling)
Another example might be a reusable glass bottle or container that is more prone to breakage than a plastic bottle.
Some Argue That It May Be Too Difficult To Change Some Human Behavior To Align With Some Zero Waste Principles
Humans have in-built biological drives and desires, and they also have behaviors and habits that impact their actions
Some argue that it might be too hard to change some human behavior if some people are already too attached to or value convenience, fast results, social status, status quo, etc.
These are all things that may align with a faster, more convenient, more consumption heavy lifestyle that might lead to more waste being generated than a zero waste lifestyle.
So, some zero waste principles may be too difficult for some humans to practice or follow with this being the case.
This is something we also discussed in relation to some consumers potentially finding it difficult to switch over from faster fashion, to slower or more sustainable fashion.
Zero Waste Can Be Used As A Part Of Greenwashing
For example, some organisations or companies may run certain campaigns or initiatives, or provide certain products or services, and attach the phrase ‘zero waste’.
There may be no evidence provided that the offerings of these organisations and companies are producing results that lead to zero waste in any meaningful way.
Unless there’s an easy way for members of the public or consumers to definitively know when zero waste criteria is definitely being upheld, this greenwashing may continue and mislead some people.
Some Suggest That There Are Better Or More Important Sustainability Concepts Than Zero Waste
Zero waste focusses very specifically on prevention and reduction of waste, and similar waste related goals.
However, some suggest that there are better or more important sustainability concepts such as assessing the entire lifecycle of a product along with a broad range of sustainability indicators, or, focussing on other sustainability indicators altogether, such as water use, energy use, and so on
Sources
1. Various ‘Better Meets Reality’ guides
2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zero_waste
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