The concept of zero waste has been growing around the world for several years. Zero waste is based on the understanding that all the materials we use are resources and only become waste as a result of poor management, bad design and out-dated attitudes to sorting and disposal. Subscribing to zero waste is therefore a way of thinking, a path to travel, rather than meaning we must instantly eliminate every last piece of waste whatever the cost. Zero waste simply defines waste as something that is not acceptable. It sets a new paradigm with a target of a 100% resource-efficient economy where material flows are cyclical and everything is reused or recycled harmlessly back into society or nature. ‘Waste’ as we think of it today will cease to exist because everything will be viewed as a resource.
Leicester is committed to the principal of zero waste and through this Strategy has set an ambitious target of achieving zero waste by 2020. By setting such an extreme target for waste reduction it is hoped that new levels of innovation and efficiency will be catalysed and the next few years will focus on steadily working towards a life without waste.