Zero waste: the game-changer to climate change that doesn't get the attention it deserves.

When policymakers talk about climate action plans there is often a focus on energy, fuel, and water use, but reducing waste has just as much of an impact. Plus, it is a simple and immediate solution that we can all take part in. In the U.S., the production, consumption, and disposal of our goods and food makes up 42% of our total greenhouse gas emissions. The material ‘flow’ of everything we buy and consume is impacted when we reduce our waste (i.e. extraction of resources, transport of goods/materials, manufacturing, landfill methane, incineration emission, ocean pollution, deforestation). For example: biodegradable materials (paper, food, yard trimming) when thrown away and sent to a landfill don’t breakdown as they would naturally. Instead, decomposition happens anaerobically, resulting in the creation of methane. Methane is a greenhouse gas 72 times more potent than CO2. Methane stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than CO2, with an atmospheric residence time of 8 to 12 years, as opposed to the 100s of years CO2 resides. However, methane is responsible for 75% as much warming as CO2 over a 20 year period. This means reducing methane has a more immediate effect on our climate. The solution is simple – reduce food and yard waste and compost when needed! Obviously, we need changes to our energy sources, transportation choices, and other tech and infrastructure shifts to support an effective climate action plan (and we must demand this from our governing bodies and the business world), but going zero waste is something you and I can do today. There’s huge opportunity to start community-level action that promotes such shifts - start a meetup, host an event, get local waste management and farmer’s markets involved, and inform those at your office/university and in your social networks.