going zero waste is NOT about the trash in your trash can.

Every pound of waste we throw away generated and average of 7-32 pounds of waste during its production and shipping processes.

The most harmful extraction and emissions occur upstream of the consumer during manufacturing and packaging, before products even get to store shelves.

zero waste is about decreasing demand for the production of new things

Take it from ZeroWaste.Org:

"We talk about upstream framing," Samuel [of ZeroWaste.Org] explains. "A really good example is recycling. A lot of people jump straight to recycling as a solution, and we have to debunk that and say recycling is great, compost is great, but by basically a factor of ten, eliminating the purchase of something is better. If you can reduce the purchase of one new thing, you're doing so much more than throwing it away correctly."