How can you design zero waste solutions that benefit the environment and your bottom line?

1 Assess your waste streams

The first step to design zero waste solutions is to understand what and how much waste you generate. You can conduct a waste audit to identify the sources, types, and quantities of waste in your operations. A waste audit can help you measure your current performance, set realistic goals, and prioritize actions. You can use tools like the EPA's Waste Reduction Model (WARM) to calculate the environmental benefits of reducing or diverting your waste.

2 Apply the waste hierarchy

The waste hierarchy is a framework that ranks the best practices for managing waste according to their environmental impact. The hierarchy consists of five levels: prevention, reuse, recycling, recovery, and disposal. Prevention is the most preferred option, as it avoids generating waste in the first place. Reuse is the second best option, as it extends the life of products and materials. Recycling is the third best option, as it transforms waste into new resources. Recovery is the fourth best option, as it captures the energy or nutrients from waste. Disposal is the least preferred option, as it sends waste to landfills or incinerators.

3 Implement circular design strategies

Circular design is an approach that strives to produce restorative and regenerative products and systems. This type of design can help create zero waste solutions that reduce resource consumption, increase resource efficiency, and boost resource value. Some of the strategies for circular design include designing for durability, modularity, compatibility, recyclability, and biodegradability. For instance, making products that can last longer and be easily maintained and repaired, disassembled and reassembled into different configurations or functions, work with other products or systems without requiring additional components or adapters, be separated into their constituent materials and recycled into new products, or decompose naturally without harming the environment.

4 Engage your stakeholders

Designing zero waste solutions is a complex task that involves more than just technical challenges. You must engage your stakeholders, such as customers, suppliers, employees, and regulators, to ensure the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of your solutions. To do this, you can use co-creation to involve stakeholders in the design process and generate ideas that meet their needs and expectations. Additionally, you can educate stakeholders on how to use or dispose of your products and materials. Furthermore, you can incentivize stakeholders with rewards or benefits for adopting your solutions. Finally, you can collect data on the performance of your solutions and share the results and improvements with stakeholders.

Designing zero waste solutions can help you reap environmental, economic, and social benefits. By applying environmental engineering principles, you can reduce waste, save costs, and increase value. Ultimately, it will contribute to a more sustainable and resilient future for yourself and your community.

5 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?