“Products, packaging, and materials”
Products nowadays rarely come on its own. They typically come in plastic packages to shield them from external damages when being delivered, lengthen food shelf life, encase separate pieces or otherwise ensure that it leaves the shelf as a viable purchase. Packaging can constitute a substantial amount of waste generated with more than a quarter of all waste sent to U.S. landfills are from packaging.
The materials in this definition refer to the raw materials used to create these products we buy from the shelf. Not all parts of the raw material are used in this process. Some gets repurposed for other uses while others are discarded as waste. Once again, zero waste must encompass responsible management of waste produced at all stages of the product life cycle.
| By means of responsible production, consumption… | Without burning them and without discharges… |