Zero
waste
movement
Since
1988
,
China
had
been
the
for
half
of
the
planet's
waste
since
it
allowed
several
foreign
countries
to
dump
their
plastic
waste
for
disposal
.
But
on
December
31st
,
2017
,
China's
ban
on
imported
plastic
waste
went
into
effect
.
Researchers
from
the
University
of
Georgia
estimated
that
this
will
leave
approximately
111
metric
tons
of
waste
over
the
same
time
frame
,
30
years
,
for
these
countries
to
their
garbage
on
their
own
.
The
ban
has
sent
countries
to
what
to
do
with
all
of
its
own
plastic
waste
.
Consumerism
and
packaging
are
the
main
culprits
for
creating
this
waste
?
mainly
from
single
use
bottles
,
plastic
bags
,
and
food
wrappers
.
This
is
causing
many
countries
to
rethink
packaging
,
recycling
,
and
reusing
containers
.
China
decided
to
this
ban
in
order
to
reduce
emissions
and
pollution
.
Most
people
remember
the
complaints
from
the
Olympic
athletes
competing
in
Beijing
regarding
the
poor
air
quality
while
competing
.
Countries
were
sending
their
plastic
waste
there
to
be
disposed
of
in
very
poor
conditions
.
Most
people
do
not
separate
their
plastics
or
clean
them
before
they
recycle
or
dispose
of
them
.
Countries
decided
it
was
cheaper
to
pay
China
to
deal
with
the
cleanup
and
disposal
rather
than
to
do
it
on
their
own
soil
.
The
poor
air
quality
and
China's
rapid
economic
growth
were
the
for
making
this
change
.
This
has
sparked
a
new
movement
called
the
zero
waste
movement
,
which
is
an
effort
made
by
consumers
to
reduce
their
waste
into
the
size
of
a
small
jar
for
an
entire
year
.
Thus
,
these
consumers
reuse
,
recycle
,
or
compost
everything
they
purchase
.
Anything
that
cannot
be
reused
,
recycled
,
or
composted
gets
put
into
the
jar
.
These
people
make
a
conscious
effort
to
separate
their
waste
in
order
to
save
the
planet
.
Many
decades
ago
in
the
United
States
,
people
had
many
delivered
to
their
doors
,
such
as
milk
.
The
milkman
would
bring
glass
containers
of
milk
to
everyone's
door
directly
from
the
farm
or
grocery
store
.
People
would
give
the
bottles
back
to
the
milkman
every
week
when
he
would
bring
new
milk
to
reuse
them
.
Now
,
some
stores
are
offering
discounts
for
consumers
to
buy
certain
items
in
bulk
,
like
cereal
,
dried
fruits
,
nuts
,
etc
.
People
bring
reusable
containers
and
purchase
by
the
pound
,
ounce
,
or
kilo
.
Stores
in
many
European
countries
charge
for
bags
if
consumers
do
not
bring
their
own
and
need
one
.
Grocery
stores
in
many
countries
are
now
offering
to
do
the
shopping
for
consumers
.
People
can
order
online
and
the
store
will
select
the
best
items
for
them
and
have
them
ready
at
a
specific
time
for
the
customer
.
In
other
countries
,
people
can
have
their
groceries
delivered
.
This
may
eventually
reignite
the
practice
of
customers
returning
reusable
containers
.
Some
stores
may
eventually
offer
a
discount
for
customers
who
return
their
containers
to
be
reused
.
For
many
consumers
,
the
only
way
they
will
recycle
is
if
they
have
an
to
do
so
or
if
it
is
convenient
.
In
some
countries
,
stores
will
give
refunds
for
aluminum
,
plastic
,
or
glass
containers
so
that
they
can
be
recycled
.
Often
,
it
is
not
convenient
for
people
to
recycle
,
so
cities
will
have
to
offer
pickup
services
for
recyclable
materials
to
interest
.
Let's
check
what
you
can
remember
!
Crear