| | | | Happy #ZeroWasteDay, dear Reader! | |
As we wrap up a massive month for the International Day of Zero Waste, we are incredibly proud of how our community showed up to value our food and our planet. We also shared a major milestone yesterday (hint: it's something that you might want to listen to). Read on for the reveal of our new project!
| | | | | | | | | | | #ZeroWasteDay 2026: A month of food waste awareness | |
Yesterday, we celebrated the International Day of Zero Waste (30 March) – and our network showed up in a big way! This year's theme, food waste, is one close to many of our members' hearts, and throughout March we have been sharing the inspiring work happening within the movement.
Across our network, the breadth of grassroots action this month was something to be proud of: Zero Waste Nederland hosted festivals packed with fermentation and composting workshops, VOICE Ireland's PickerPals brought food waste lessons to 500+ classrooms, and the FoodConnect platform connected surplus food to people in need across Cyprus, Malta and Portugal.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | New ZWE podcast: Within boundaries – your food waste has a dirty secret | | If you follow us on social media, you might already know this... if not, we're happy to reveal that yesterday, on International Day of Zero Waste, we launched our brand-new podcast, Within boundaries!
Hosted by our Communications colleagues Giulia Lodi and Nanna Bille Cornelsen, the podcast sets out to explore the practical, often messy, and deeply essential work of building a zero waste future.
Echoing the theme of the International Day of Zero Waste, the first season of Within boundaries traces the hidden journey of our food waste, from our plates to the compost pile, gas plant or, as we see too often, the landfill. With the help of experts from across Europe, Giulia and Nanna look at how food waste impacts our climate and what can be done to slow down accelerating emissions. | | | | | | | Hybrid event: How can the second-hand sector thrive within European textiles EPR? | | The second-hand textiles sector is facing an unprecendented crisis, as fast and ultra-fast fashion is drowning operators in unusable and low-quality texile waste. With Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) set for implementation by April 2028, there is a short window to ensure that European textiles EPR is inclusive, ambitious, and grounded in reality – giving the second-hand industry a lifeline that is essential for its survival.
To tackle this mounting challenge, ZWE is co-organising a hybrid event at the European Parliament on 15 April, 'How can the second-hand sector thrive within European textiles EPR?'. Together with the European Environmental Bureau (EEB), RREUSE, and MEPs Delara Burkhardt (S&D Group) and Saskia Bricmont (The Greens/EFA), we will look at what measures can effectively support the second-hand sector in the EU, as well as the regions that are heavily impacted by used textile exports from the EU.
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | The Plastic Detox: new Netflix documentary highlights the impact that toxic chemicals in plastics can have on our health | | After watching Netflix's new documentary The Plastic Detox, released on 16 March, you might get a sudden urge to throw away all plastic items in your house. The documentary approaches the topic of toxic chemicals in plastics through a small-scale fertility experiment, led by epidemiologist Dr Shanna Swan, who shows six childless couples how they can increase their chances of getting pregnant by swapping out harmful plastic products with non-toxic versions.
The documentary does some things really well, including bringing awareness to the massive issue of hidden toxins in everyday household products, exacerbated in recent years by consumers buying mountains of cheap and often toxic plastic toys, decor, and clothing from platforms like Temu and Shein.
However, while the diagnosis is mostly right, the documentary gets the cure wrong. It is currently impossible for individual citizens to meaningfully protect themselves against harmful additives like phthalates and bisphenols. As a member of the Break Free From Plastic movement (BFFP) and the Rethink Plastic alliance (RPa), we believe that governments – but also manufacturers who use harmful chemicals in their products, plastic and otherwise – need to finally recognise the harm caused by these substances and act to deliver on the promise of a toxic-free environment.
| | | | EBM: Keeping digital waste to a minimum in Slovenia | | Just as we mark International Day of Zero Waste every March, other parts of our membership have their own March traditions. In Slovenia, Ekologi brez meja (EBM) runs the annual Očistimo Slovenijo digitalnih odpadkov campaign (in EN: Let's Clean Slovenia of Digital Waste), inviting individuals, schools and companies across the country to delete unnecessary data from their devices. The campaign tackles a often overlooked dimension of waste: our digital footprint. Data centres, networks and servers consume vast amounts of energy, and digital clutter adds up. This year's edition will run until 7 April, with participants logging the gigabytes deleted to measure their collective impact.
| | UKWIN: Fighting plastic waste with the Big Plastic Count | | From 9-15 March, members and supporters of the United Kingdom Without Incineration Network (UKWIN) joined tens of thousands of people across the country for the latest edition of The Big Plastic Count. As the UK’s largest people-powered investigation into household plastic waste, the campaign saw participants counting every piece of plastic packaging they threw away over a period of seven days. By gathering this data, UKWIN and its partners aim to uncover the true scale of the plastic crisis and pressure the UK government to move beyond ineffective recycling claims. This year’s results, which will be revealed in mid-April, will serve as a tool for influencing domestic policy towards a reduction in plastic production. | | | | | | | | | | | | | Evaluating the Single-Use Plastics Directive | | | How can a festival help build a movement? | | | | | Call on the European Commission to mandate Extended Producer Responsibility for Food Products | | | | | | | | | | | Nudges Against Food Waste: how to turn smart food habits into everyday practice in European households? | | | Denmark is making reuse the norm: learnings from the study visit to Copenhagen and Aarhus | | | | | How Sardinia uses economics to underpin its collection success | | | | | | | | Zero Waste Europe gratefully acknowledges financial assistance from the European Union: Commission Directorate General (DG) Environment. The sole responsibility for the content of this newsletter lies with Zero Waste Europe. It does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the funder mentioned above. The funder cannot be held responsible for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. | | | | Copyright © 2026 Zero Waste Europe, all rights reserved.
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