Zero Waste Day is an annual observance that promotes awareness about the environmental impacts of waste generation and encourages more sustainable practices to minimize waste. The day serves as a reminder of the importance of reducing, reusing, and recycling waste to mitigate harm to the planet. Waste comes from many sources like homes, schools, markets and industries. Pakistan generates around 48.5 million tons of solid waste annually. Improper waste management leads to various issues like pollution, public health problems, use of limited resources, and visual blight. The "Zero Waste" approach aims to reduce these problems through refusing unnecessary items, reducing consumption and waste, reusing materials, recycling, and composting organic matter.

2. "Zero Waste Day" is an annual
observance aimed at promoting
awareness about the environmental
impacts of waste generation and
encouraging individuals, businesses,
and communities to adopt
sustainable practices to minimize
waste generation. The day serves as
a reminder of the importance of
reducing, reusing, and recycling to
mitigate the negative effects of
waste on the planet.
Zero Waste Day

3. Waste refers to any unwanted or unusable materials. It can be something you throw away after using it,
like a banana peel, or something that isn't working anymore, like a broken lamp. There are many
different types of waste, including:
Solid waste: This is the most common type of waste, and it includes things like food scraps, paper,
plastic, metal, and glass.
Liquid waste: This includes things like sewage and runoff from industrial facilities.
Hazardous waste: This is waste that can be harmful to people or the environment, such as chemicals,
batteries, and paint.
What is waste

4. What is waste
All of us generate waste everyday. Waste comes
from our homes, schools, colleges, markets,
industries, agriculture and commercial places.

5. Generation of waste in major cities of Pakistan
• Pakistan generates 48.5 million tons of solid waste
annually.
• The per capita MSW waste in Pakistan is up to 0.612
kg/day which increases by 2.4% annually.
• Current solid waste generation rate in Pakistan
is 0.65Kg/person/day.
• The Government of Pakistan (GOP) estimates that
87,000 tons of solid waste is generated per day,
mostly from major metropolitan areas.

6. Waste creates a multitude of problems, affecting our environment, health, and even
aesthetics. Here's a breakdown of some key issues:
Pollution: Improper waste management leads to pollution of air, water, and soil. Landfills
can leak chemicals, waste incineration releases toxins in the air, and plastic pollution is a
major threat to oceans and marine life.
Public health: Waste attracts pests like rodents and insects, which can spread diseases.
Contaminated water sources due to waste disposal can also lead to health problems.
Why “Zero Waste”?

7. Strained resources: Landfills
are taking up more and more
space, and the resources used
to make new products are
constantly being depleted.
Why “Zero Waste”?

8. Climate change: Waste contributes to climate change in a few ways. Decomposing waste
in landfills produces methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Incineration also releases
greenhouse gases. Additionally, the resources used to make disposable products often
require a lot of energy to extract and process.
Visual blight: Litter and overflowing landfills are unpleasant to look at and can detract
from the beauty of our natural environment.
Why “Zero Waste”?

9. What is “Zero Waste”?
• Reduceour ecological foot print
• Apply the 5R’s :
Refuse
Reduce
Reuse
Recycle
Rot

10. Refuse: Don’t purchase
Reduce: Cut back
Reuse: Use over and over again,
Reform, repair, DIY
Recycle: Reuse materials as resource
Rot: Composting

11. REFUSE
There is enough for everybody’s need but not greed.
Refuse single-use plastic bags at the grocery store by bringing your reusable bags.
Refuse disposable straws when ordering drinks at restaurants or cafes.
Refuse promotional items or freebies that you don't need or won't use.

12. REDUCE
• Reduce food waste by planning meals, making shopping lists, and
buying only what you need.

13. REDUCE
• Reduce energy consumption by turning off lights and unplugging electronics when
they're not in use.
• Why Energy Save?
• Every time we use energy, that energy is most often produced by the
burning of fossil fuels such as oil, coal or gas. There is a finite amount of
fossil fuels in the world and once you burn oil once and release it’s stored
energy you cannot burn it again and when we burn fossil fuels, we release
greenhouse gases into the earth’s atmosphere and this is causing global
warming.
• Did you know that an ordinary 100 watt bulb uses 5 times more
electricity an energy saving bulb. (CLF light bulbs)

14. REDUCE
• Reduce water usage by fixing leaks, taking shorter showers, and using a dishwasher
or washing machine only when full.
• Avoid single use items

15. REUSE
• Reuse glass jars from pasta sauce or pickles to store leftovers or bulk food items.
• Reuse old clothing or fabric scraps for crafting projects or as cleaning rags.
• Reuse containers from takeout meals for storing leftovers or packing lunches.
• Reuse shipping containers (boxes, inserts, cartons).
• Reuse printer cartridges and have them refilled.

16. 1
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17. RECYCLE
• Breaks material down to its main
component and produces new products.
• glass and beverage containers;
• aluminum and steel cans;
• newspaper;
• cardboard and magazines;
• plastics; white paper for businesses;
• nickel cadmium and lead-acid batteries
etc.

18. ROT
Rot (Compost):
• Compost fruit and vegetable scraps, coffee
grounds, eggshells, and yard waste to create
nutrient-rich compost for your garden.
• Use a compostable bin liner or simply
compost directly in a designated bin or pile.
• Research what can and cannot be
composted in your area to ensure you're
composting properly.
 Veggie and fruit scraps
 Egg shells
 Paper bits
 Coffee grounds
x Meat & fish
x Oils / butter
x Any animal fat
x Dairy products

21. Take Home Message
Things to remind yourself on
zero waste day

22. Closet/ Bedroom
• Buy less
• Buy well (= quality)
• Buy responsibly
• Swap
• repair

23. At the office
• Refillable pen
• Only print when truly necessary
• Use scrap paper
• No post-‐its
• Reduce theuse of notebooks
• Chosecardboard over plastic

24. Lunch

25. Groceries

26. Kitchen
• Store in jars/ boxes
• Minimalize your inventory

27. What can we do for better life?
• REFUSE everything, that you don‘t need
• REDUCE everything, that you can
• REUSE and fix it
• RECYCLE everything, what you can‘t refuse, reduce or reuse
• ROT the rest