26 Aug 2025
Zero Waste Week: Simple steps, big impact
Every September, Zero Waste Week encourages us to take a closer look at what we throw away and how much of it we could actually reuse, repair, or avoid altogether. This year, Zero Waste Week runs from September 1st -5th.
What is Zero Waste Week?
Zero Waste Week is an annual awareness campaign that encourages people, households, schools, and businesses to reduce the amount of waste they send to landfills.
Whether it’s using up leftovers, cutting down on packaging, or switching to reusable options, the idea is to take small steps that reduce your personal (or family’s) waste footprint. The campaign started in 2008 and has grown into a powerful movement, helping people across the UK think differently about what they buy, use, and discard.
Why does it matter?
The UK sends millions of tonnes of waste to landfill each year. A large portion of that could be recycled, composted, reused, or avoided altogether. When we think of excess waste, we think about overflowing bins. However, it's also about the resources used to make and transport products and the carbon emissions released along the way.
When we reduce waste, we:
- Save energy and raw materials
- Cut down on pollution
- Protect natural habitats
- Reduce our carbon footprint
- Save money at home
Less waste means a cleaner, greener, healthier place to live, for us and for future generations.
How to take part
You don’t have to make sweeping changes overnight. Here are a few simple ideas to try during Zero Waste Week:
- Plan your meals in advance to reduce food waste
- Use up what you have before buying more
- Switch to reusables (water bottles, coffee cups, lunch boxes)
- Buy loose fruit and veg instead of plastic-wrapped
- Repair or repurpose something broken instead of binning it
- Share or swap things with friends or neighbours
- Join a local litter pick to see waste in the wild
You can also sign up for ideas and tips at Zero Waste Week.
Why Zero Waste Week matters
Reducing waste is just as much about how we live as about what we throw away. Zero Waste Week gives us a moment to pause and ask: could we be doing things differently?
From reducing food waste to saying no to single-use plastics, small changes made by many people can lead to big results. We don’t need perfection, we need progress.
This September, let’s take the chance to shift habits, cut down on waste, and show what’s possible when a community comes together with one shared goal.