zero-waste

adjective

ze·​ro-waste ˈzir-(ˌ)ō-wāst 

ˈzē-(ˌ)rō-ˈ

variants or zero waste

: generating little or no waste

a zero-waste event

zero-waste manufacturing

zero waste noun

The creative waste management strategy of "zero waste" is a combination of community and industrial responsibility that includes deconstruction in spite of demolition, composting to keep odorous organic waste out of landfills, recycling, and a screening facility to allow more separation and reuse of waste rather than incineration.

—Aimee Dolloff

Examples of zero-waste in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Herz also loved thrift shopping and realized a dream of hers by opening her zero-waste boutique thrift shop, Twice As Good. —Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 23 Apr. 2026

The company also consults on zero-waste practices for sets such as recyclable craft services items, and helps divert leftover craft services meals to Every Day Action, which distributes food to organizations in need. —Pat Saperstein, Variety, 22 Apr. 2026

The event allows attendees to learn from a professional instructor on how to create an original, zero-waste painting using coffee. —Abby Hamblin, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2026

The architecture feeds the eyes, but on-site restaurant Anemoia feeds something deeper—chef Markos Marmatakis's zero-waste kitchen transforms citrus rinds into sorbets and childhood memories into desserts (don’t miss his riff on bread with olive oil and sugar, a Cretan staple). —Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for zero-waste

• aftertaste
• interfaced
• interlaced
• abased
• barefaced
• debased
• defaced
• disgraced
• displaced
• distaste
• effaced
• embraced