What the heck does it mean to live a zero waste lifestyle? Can I really not make any trash?

Don’t let the term fool you. Zero waste is an industrial term referring to a circular economy in which all processes of design (the plan for how it’ll be made), manufacturing (how it’s made), consumption (how you’ll consume it), disposal (what you’ll do with it after you’re done), and recovery (can that thing be used again or not?) are designed to reduce or eliminate waste.

Needless to say, we are far from that. In our current linear economy, products are designed to flow from manufacturing to purchase, and subsequently, to our trash cans—and ultimately, to the landfill.

Global municipal solid waste generation is predicted to grow from 2.1 billion tonnes in 2023 to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050, according to the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Waste Management Outlook 2024.

Saying you live a zero-waste lifestyle doesn’t mean you generate zero trash. It means you are becoming more informed about how products are designed, where they come from, and ultimately what happens to them when we are done using them. And you’re using that information to reduce your waste.

The Scale of the Waste Problem

The numbers are staggering. The average American produces approximately 4.9 pounds of trash per day, totaling nearly 1,800 pounds per year. Austria, Denmark, and the United States are among the largest waste generators per capita, with the average person producing over 1,764 pounds annually—nearly three times the global average of 617 pounds per person.

Only 9% of all plastic waste ever produced has been recycled. The rest—79%—has accumulated in landfills, dumps, or the natural environment. Around the world, one million plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute, while 500 billion single-use plastic bags are used worldwide every year.

The consequences extend beyond landfills. Municipal solid waste (MSW) landfills in the U.S. account for about 14% of human-caused methane emissions, making them the third-biggest source of human-related methane emissions.

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Quantitative Impact: What Zero Waste Can Achieve

Research shows that adopting zero-waste practices can have measurable environmental benefits:

Waste Reduction Potential

• Individual Impact: By reducing the 4.9 pounds of daily trash, one person can prevent thousands of pounds of waste from entering landfills annually
• Circular Economy Benefits: The UN’s modeling shows that a complete circular economy approach could lead to a net economic gain of $108.5 billion per year by 2050, compared to business-as-usual scenarios

Carbon Footprint Reduction

• Reusable Packaging: Studies show reusable packaging can achieve average savings of 3.9 pounds CO2e per pound of reused goods compared to single-use alternatives
• Food Waste: The production of wasted food in the United States is equivalent to the greenhouse emissions of 37 million cars
• Reusable vs. Single-Use Food Containers: Research shows reusable food containers have the least environmental impact in 9 of 10 environmental categories when reused a minimum of 37 times

Economic Savings

• Household Level: The average American family of four throws out $1,600 a year in produce alone
• National Scale: Including upstream losses at farms, processing, distribution, and retail steps in the food chain, along with the cost of all wasted resources (water, labor, land, energy), $408 billion a year for the U.S. economy
• Global Value: Globally, $460 billion of value is lost each year when people discard clothes that could still be worn

Putting Value on Zero Waste

Living a zero-waste lifestyle is about significantly reducing and ultimately eliminating the amount of trash we produce each day. We can put value back into our belongings, resources, and ecosystems by reusing and recycling. However, first, we can reduce heedless consumption by simplifying and reconnecting with our local communities and food systems.

We need a collective effort to transition our society from a linear economy, where products are designed for the trash can, to a circular economy. However, current progress is concerning: the global circularity rate actually decreased from 9.1% in 2018 to 7.2% in 2023—a 21% drop in five years.

So when you say you are living a zero waste lifestyle, you are saying you want to drastically eliminate the amount of trash you create, send a message to businesses and manufacturers to design and take responsibility for their products, and be an example of circular — that is, a zero waste — economy. It’s not about being perfect or creating zero trash; it’s about urging our society towards a more intentional design and consumer culture and creating a lifestyle that rejects our throwaway culture.

Rethinking Trash: Practical Steps

1. Simplify

There are numerous ways we can simplify our lives, and the answers will vary for each person. Simplifying our lifestyles can come from evaluating our actual needs and wants.

• What really brings me joy?
• What do I really use?
• What are the things that inspire me and bring beauty into my life?

When we simplify, we edit down our possessions and create more space. With fewer distractions, we feel less overwhelmed. Asking these questions can help us curb our consumerism and put value and meaning back into the items we own and use.

2. Refuse Single-Use Disposables & Become Materially Mindful

We weren’t always wasteful. Many cultures embraced resourcefulness, quality design, craftsmanship, and product integrity. Today, many products are designed without these qualities. Planned obsolescence is a business strategy that involves designing a product with an intentionally limited useful life, making it obsolete or useless within a specified timeframe.

Single-use disposables are a major problem. Half of all plastic produced is designed to be used only once—and then thrown away.

The textile industry presents another major challenge. Every year, 92 million tons of textile waste are produced globally, about one garbage truck full of clothing incinerated or sent to landfills every second.

3. Reuse and Repeat

One of the easiest ways to drastically reduce your trash is to find durable, lasting, reusable alternatives to single-use disposable items.

Simple swaps include:

• Reusable coffee cup instead of disposable plastic-lined coffee cups
• Say no to plastic straws when ordering drinks, or invest in reusable straws
• Use reusable produce bags instead of plastic bags
• Bring your own shopping bags
• Carry a handkerchief
• Carry your own set of reusable utensils
• Take a small glass or metal take-out container for leftovers
• Shop the perimeter of the grocery store (where fresh, less-processed foods are)
• Reduce prepackaged foods and learn to cook simple, healthy meals

At home, consider:

• Switch to a safety razor instead of disposable razors
• Use cloth rags instead of paper towels
• Switch to 100% recycled toilet paper wrapped in paper instead of plastic
• Use reusable food wraps instead of plastic cling wrap
• Switch to plant-based bristle brushes and kitchen sponges
• Make your own simple cleaning solutions

Community and Consumer Power

Companies and businesses need to hear from you! Consumer demand triumphs all. Give them an incentive (ahem, your loyalty = your money!) to make changes to their packaging and policies.

Get in touch with your community about sharing programs, local community gardens, farmer’s markets, car-sharing programs, compost pick-up businesses. And encourage businesses to rethink their trash footprint by opting out of plastic-based or styrofoam to-go containers, straws, and to offer compost and recycling options.

The Path Forward

The EU and its member states are implementing strict regulations, including requirements that PET beverage bottles incorporate 25% recycled plastic by this year. The requirements increase to 30% for all plastic beverage bottles by 2030. Many countries are also banning everyday single-use plastic items, such as cutlery, plates, and straws.

Zero waste isn’t about being perfect or creating zero trash. It’s about urging our society towards more intentional design and consumer culture, creating a lifestyle that rejects our throwaway culture, and becoming a positive activist for systemic change. Every choice matters, and collectively, we have the power to create a circular economy that values resources, reduces waste, and protects our planet for future generations.

And when in doubt, follow Be Zero’s Guide: How to Make Less Trash — The Simple Way:

Image courtesy of Be Zero

Editor’s Note: Originally published on June 29, 2016, this article was substantially updated in October 2025. Feature image credit: crazystocker / Shutterstock.

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