The EcoAction Committee of the Green Party of the US hosted a webinar on Zero Waste on Monday, May 12th at 8 PM ET. 

Zero waste, or waste minimization, is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are repurposed and/or reused. The goal of the movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, oceans, or any other part of the environment.

A waste-free society is essential to public health and the integrity and sustainability of the biosphere. Natural ecosystems are self-sustaining and generate no waste. We humans are a part of these ecosystems, and while we obtain resources from them, we have a responsibility to return only those things that can be re-absorbed without detriment. Waste is not an inevitable part of production and consumption, as it is viewed in the current economic model. (See Green platform)

Chris Burger is Chair of both NY State and National Sierra Club Zero Waste Committees. He is co-founder of the Network for a Sustainable Tomorrow (NeST), His presentation discusses the why and how to get to zero waste. Told through the experience of a family of four who reduced their waste to nearly zero by 1992 and have maintained that level ever since. Strategies on how to create a zero-waste community are also discussed.

Amber Haukedahl is the owner and entrepreneur of TARE Market in Minneapolis, the state’s first Zero Waste shop. Opened six years ago. Amber is a Conservation Biologist by trade and education. Amber has taught environmental education to urban youth and children with special needs and spent time managing biological field stations in South America and Africa."