It’s not every day that you see the words “zero waste” and “climate” in the same sentence. Zero waste practitioners, both individuals and civil society organizations, vie for individual lifestyle change while also calling for a systems change in the way things are produced and consumed. Sadly, big plastic, oil, and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) businesses, on the other hand, push for programs that often will benefit them more than actually mitigating climate change.
Decentralized and community-led zero waste practices are a low-hanging fruit in addressing the climate crisis. While allied with campaigns to break free from plastic and stop waste burning, the zero waste campaign also meshes with climate mitigation and adaptation. You simply cannot go zero waste without having a positive impact on the climate.
The waste sector is the third largest source of anthropogenic methane emissions, a third of the global total, according to the “Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions.” The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) report placed methane reduction as a key climate target policy in 2021, prior to the launch of the Global Methane Pledge.
Methane is a short-lived greenhouse gas responsible for one-fifth of man-made global warming. It degrades in 12 years, making methane reduction initiatives and efforts an important component in any climate mitigation policies. According to the report “Methane Matters: A Comprehensive Approach to Methane Mitigation,” methane emissions from the waste sector are produced primarily from the breakdown of biodegradable materials in dumpsites, landfills, or sewage treatment environments that restrict oxygen.
Looking at the waste composition in Asia alone, with over 50 percent organic waste, we see why waste segregation and organic composting will go a long way in keeping the temperature increase below the 1.5 degrees threshold, a target set in the Paris Agreement and signed by 195 countries. These two activities alone can reduce methane emissions from landfills by 92 percent.
This is where government intervention comes into play.
At the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Azerbaijan this year, climate financing is on top of the agenda, and next year’s conference in Brazil will see the submission of new Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) that will serve as roadmaps for national climate action. As countries prepare for these upcoming summits, the need to redirect financing and national strategies toward zero waste is critical.
Countries in Asia are moving in this direction, with some of them leading and others taking on lessons learned and applying best practices of neighboring countries. One such group is the Zero Waste Cities Network, a network of local government officials and zero waste advocates in Asia formed during the International Zero Waste Cities Conference held in Manila in 2023 to advance sustainable waste management in their countries.
This year, the Philippine chapter of the Network was formally launched. The newly elected officers of the Network are taking it a step further, recognizing the importance of mainstreaming zero waste practices not just as an optimal solution to waste management problems such as the plastic crisis, but as a climate mitigating measure.
The timing could not have been more apt with Asia’s recent experiences of the wrath of climate change, alternating El Niño and La Niña at an unprecedented rate.
There are zero-waste cities and communities in Asia that serve as living examples of the transformative power of zero waste. Siqujor, the Philippines’ first Zero Waste province, has banned small plastic bottles and created a glass bottle-refill system, while San Fernando in Pampanga, the Philippines, has achieved a 90 percent waste diversion rate from landfills. Kerala, India; Kamikatsu, Japan; Bandung, Indonesia; and Penang, Malaysia – The list of cities and communities goes on beyond the borders of Asia, with an even longer list of innovative zero-waste initiatives catering and responding to the actual needs of the community.
Seeing these successes, the Zero Waste Cities Network in the Philippines made the decision to urge the Philippine Climate Change Commission to include zero waste into the National Climate Action Plan (NCAP) and the NDCs and institutionalize the environment and natural resources offices in every local government. The Network is also proposing to collaborate with the Commission in developing training programs for local governments to integrate zero waste strategies into their local Climate Action Plans.
The Network is also calling on the Commission to support the legislation of the Magna Carta for Waste Workers that will safeguard the rights of the workers, a key component of the Environmental Justice Principles for Fast Action on Waste and Methane. The EJ Principles, a result of a consultation process that gathered inputs from lived experiences of environmental justice organizations, zero waste practitioners, and community leaders from 41 countries, recognize the multidimensional nature of environmental justice founded on the principles of human, political, economic, social and cultural rights; democratic decentralization; and accountable governance. The EJ Principles was first launched in 2023 at the COP28.
The EJ Principles provide guidance to policymakers working on climate policies in the waste sector to ensure that such policies take into consideration (1) Respect for planetary boundaries to ensure intergenerational equity, (2) Respect for all waste pickers and waste workers, (3) Enhancing inclusion and building from local knowledge, (4) Responding to pollution and environmental harm with accountability, and (5) Supporting holistic solutions through systems change.
Keeping the momentum going on climate change mitigation through zero waste systems, and with an environmental justice lens, a Regional Congress on Organics and Climate Change is set to take place in India. The Congress will bring together civil society organizations, government leaders, policy advocates, businesses, academics, and the public to talk about and inspire action for climate change mitigation through the reduction of methane emissions from organic waste.
The Congress will feature a conference where speakers from around Asia will share both technical and practical know-how on sustainable organics management, an expo for sustainable businesses and suppliers on organics management, and a study tour to showcase organics management on the ground.
While both the Zero Waste Cities Network in the Philippines and the Organics Congress in India are geared toward pushing for zero waste systems with the goal of methane emissions reduction, in Singapore, the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, which was recently passed into law, is a different case. There is no mention of climate or methane emissions reduction in the law and as the name suggests, its main focus is on encouraging food donation and the protection of food donors. But the end result will be the same: less organic waste winding up in landfills.
These three different examples show the increasing opportunity for local efforts to contribute to a critical global issue. The time is right to include zero waste practices and methane reduction emission measures in the NDCs.
The chair of Mother Earth Foundation in the Philippines, Sonia Mendoza, has expressed renewed hope in how Zero Waste Cities Network is tackling both zero waste strategies and climate change mitigation measures. “Leaders from zero waste model communities across the country are coming together to emphasize that beyond waste management – they are building a movement,” she said.
“The collective effort of cities and champions gives us hope. Through their example and experience, we can mitigate the climate crisis, reduce methane emissions, and empower cities and municipalities to address environmental challenges. Embracing zero waste principles contributes to global sustainability goals, paving the way for resilient and thriving communities nationwide.”
There are challenges ahead as some choose to remain mum on climate change and others hold their ground to finance waste “solutions” such as incineration technologies, which have been debunked by scientists and environmentalists.
But zero waste campaigns for climate change mitigation give us hope that solutions are within reach, that different stakeholders – individuals, civil society organizations, academia, philanthropists, national and local governments, and international governing bodies – have the opportunity to work together, that waste workers and waste pickers are empowered, that Indigenous knowledge is sought, and solutions go far and beyond addressing the climate crisis to address several other injustices of this world.
Policymakers can take off the lid in the hodgepodge of false solutions to climate mitigation and adaptation, and allow grounded solutions to take space in their national climate action plans. Cities, communities, and countries in Asia can learn from each other in tackling climate issues with zero waste solutions.