You don’t have to be a mother to join the movement. Our Zero Waste campaign team welcomes new members. Sign up for email updates or to volunteer.
MASSACHUSETTS > BROOKLINE CHAPTER > ZERO WASTE
What is Zero Waste?
Zero Waste is a global movement focused on eliminating the unnecessary, making reuse the norm, and recycling the rest so we can have a healthier planet for ourselves and our children.
Achieving zero waste requires both individual and collective action. Individuals can choose to avoid single use items, such as cups and bags. And when we work together, we can create policy changes that will force industry to develop more sustainable and responsible practices.
Did You Know?
- Brookline’s trash gets hauled over 50 miles to Rochester, MA to be incinerated.
- From 1950-2015, 9% of all plastics made had been recycled, 12% had been incinerated, and 60% had entered the natural environment in landfills or as litter. We need to eliminate single use plastics!
- Plastic alternatives, including bio-based plastic, paper, wood/bamboo and aluminum ALL have harmful environmental impacts. We need to transition to reusables!
- In Massachusetts, food waste is estimated at 25% of total trash. Let’s get it composted and returned to the earth instead!
- Textiles are estimated at 6% of our trash stream, but can often be either reused or recycled instead. We need a successful textile recovery program!
Learning Topics
Campaign Updates
Resources
Books
Zero Waste Living by Stephanie Miller
“Empowering the busy individual to do the easy things that have a real impact on the climate and waste crises.”
The Zero Waste Solution by Paul Connet
Read about “the most successful zero-waste initiatives around the world, showing activists, planners, and entrepreneurs how to re-envision their community’s waste-handling process.”
Reuse It! by Mary Boone
For kids! Wonderful early reader that introduces kids to our waste problem and how kids can be part of the solution.
Podcasts
The Indisposable Podcast by Upstream Solutions
“Celebrating solutions to plastic pollution and featuring heroes of the movement”
Recycling! Is it BS? from How to Save a Planet
“In this episode, we take a look at the science to help you understand whether recycling is an environmental boon or hindrance, and we open up the Pandora’s box that is plastic.”
Facebook Groups
Post anything you’d like to give away, lend, or share in Brookline’s Buy Nothing community group, and ask for anything you’d like to receive for free or borrow.
Find information on how to reduce waste and live plastic-free. Explore recipes, events, and tips and share your experiences, achievements, and projects!
“Zero Waste Moms is a group for anyone, especially mothers, concerned about the state of our environment and making more informed choices that positively affect future generations.”
Films
The Story of Plastic from the Discovery Channel
A feature length documentary that “presents a cohesive timeline of how we got to our current global plastic pollution crisis, and how the oil and gas industry has successfully manipulated the narrative around it.”
The Plastic Problem: A PBS Newshour Documentary
An hour long documentary to “look at this now ubiquitous material and how it’s impacting the world, why it’s become so prevalent, what’s being done to mitigate its use, and what potenial alternatives or solutions are out there.”
Online Resources
Zero Waste Activism Toolkit from the Conservation Law Foundation