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On 30 March 2025, we celebrated International Zero Waste Day at the United Nations in New York. Last week, we celebrated World Clean Up Day on 20 September. These two bookends mark the global waste management agenda. While Zero Waste Day is about changing the way we consume to reduce waste, World Clean Up Day focuses on tackling waste we could not prevent.
On this 80th year of the United Nations, we have truly entered the age of cities. In 1980, 2.3 billion people – 40 per cent of the world’s population – lived in urban areas. This number is projected to raise to 9.2 billion by 2080, approximately 85 per cent of the world’s population. If in 1980 there were 275 cities with a population of a million or more, this number will go up to 1,600 cities by 2080.
Just as there is a fivefold increase in the number of cities, the piles of waste that we generate are also projected to grow many times over. How cities and communities deal with this will determine whether we leave a living planet or a planet of garbage for future generations.
Defining Zero Waste
At the Global Zero Waste Forum on 17-19 October this year, we will be not only be exploring the full range of how we manage waste but advocating for a mindset and cultural shift towards Zero Waste Living. But first we need a definition of Zero Waste – and I am glad to say that the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste will be meeting on the sidelines of the forum to help us establish one.
I am grateful that Minister Murat Kurum, Türkiye’s Minister of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change, will be convening a ministerial roundtable at the forum to take stock of the waste challenge. By championing Zero Waste as a key point for policy-making, the ministerial meeting will strengthen multilateral co-operation to align urbanisation and climate change.
I am also really looking forward to learning from subject experts, practitioners, businesses, mayors and ministers as they share policies, practices, innovative solutions and practical examples of Zero Waste living. Indore’s Mayor Pushyamitra Bhargav, who will be at the forum, will share pioneering municipal policies that made her city one of the cleanest in India. We will also have grassroots movements leaders help position Zero Waste as an issue of justice and equity.
Professor Jeffrey Sachs will frame waste reduction in the context of global development, linking it with climate action, poverty reduction and public health. Tim Breker, the co-founder of Vytal Global, will show how start-ups are scaling reuse models across markets. These speakers will help create a shared definition that bridges activism, science, governance and entrepreneurship.
More importantly, the forum is about pragmatic solutions. It is not enough to have mere policy, regulation and guidelines. We also need to learn from mayors and practitioners who have created the right conditions for Zero Waste. This includes sharing evidence-based insights on policy design and environmental outcomes. Tübingen’s progressive municipal regulations, including local bans and deposit-return schemes that have reshaped consumption, are one example of how local governments make it possible for citizens to adopt a Zero Waste lifestyle.
Andrés Del Castillo from the Center for International Environmental Law in Geneva will speak to the international legal framework, focusing on plastics and the global treaty process. Policy experts will outline the role of multilateral conventions in setting global standards for chemicals and hazardous waste. Together, they will reveal how local, national and international policy can be successfully aligned to drive systemic change.
Cities leading the charge
Cities are at the frontline of the Zero Waste transition. The realities of life in African cities such as Freetown, where population growth and limited infrastructure demand innovation rooted in communities and informal systems, will be given a spotlight. The Latin American view will include shared experiences from Buenos Aires’s journey to embed Zero Waste policies into public services and citizen culture.
From Seberang Prai, in Malaysia, comes a bottom-up model where close co-operation between public, private and people partnerships have helped increase recycling rates by 40 per cent. A European perspective is also expected, showing how large metropolitan areas are experimenting with reuse and repair and data-driven waste reduction. Here the forum will stress the importance of local leadership in shaping global circularity.
The circular economy
Financing is also one of the critical levers for scaling circular economy solutions. Hakima El Haite, a member of the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Zero Waste, will help frame the discussion by linking Zero Waste to climate finance and global investment flows. The forum will also highlight how reducing methane emissions from waste represents one of the fastest and most cost-effective ways to mitigate climate change, while also unlocking new business opportunities. The venture capital perspective from Latin America includes illustrating how funds such as CO_Capital are identifying, backing and scaling innovative circular start-ups.
Food, textiles and digital waste
Ultimately, Zero Waste is about changing the way we consume to reduce waste. The forum will also be addressing the global food waste crisis from multiple vantage points. Mette Lykke, CEO and co-founder of Too Good To Go, will share how she created the world’s largest food-rescue marketplace, linking consumers with surplus meals. Sergio Villava Gómez will present Yenxa’s innovative model of transforming used cooking oil into cleaning products, demonstrating how circular business models can close loops in food systems.
Shobhita Soor will bring insights from Legendary Foods in Ghana, which is pioneering alternative proteins to ensure nutritious, sustainable diets. We will also have OLIO’s CEO Tessa Clarke, who will share how OLIO works with communities to combat food waste. Together, they will illustrate how technology, entrepreneurship and systemic redesign can ensure food feeds people and communities instead of landfills.
We will also explore how the fashion and textile sectors can shift from a linear to a circular model. Pedro Bulnes will bring the perspective of Rembre, showcasing how textile recycling and waste recovery can create new value chains in Latin America, turning discarded fabrics into raw materials. Adam Baruchowitz will add the experience of Return To Vendor, a company addressing the massive issue of returns and unsold stock by creating systems that recover and repurpose clothing. Together, they will illustrate how innovation in recycling and logistics can help fashion become part of the Zero Waste transition.
In this digital age, electronics are among the fastest-growing waste streams worldwide. The forum will explore how to move from disposable to durable technology. Abdul Basit Bashir will bring the African perspective with Revnics Energy, showcasing innovations in extending the life of electronic devices while creating local repair and reuse ecosystems. Hernán Hochschild will add insights from Kyklos in Chile, demonstrating how circular strategies can be applied systemically to manage e-waste and support a culture of repair and refurbishment. Together, they will underline that durable design, infrastructure for reuse, and inclusive business models are essential to prevent electronics from becoming mountains of waste.
Zero Waste living
Finally, we will be launching the International Zero Waste Awards at the forum. Inspired by Her Excellency Mme Emine Erdogan, First Lady of Türkiye and patron of the Zero Waste Foundation, we will be celebrating the journey of living without waste that have brought improved the quality of life for citizens.
We want to celebrate leaders at the frontline of Zero Waste innovation. The Zero Waste Forum, which will be held in Istanbul, will be the place to be if you are looking to leave our planet a better place for future generations.
by Samed Agirbas, President, The Zero Waste Foundation
Business Reporter Team
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