Skip to content

E-04

Establish global zero waste through circular economies

An economy where products are reused, repaired and recycled, and nothing ends up as waste.

43 organizations tracked  ·  0 vetted

The goal in brief

GoalAn economy where products are reused, repaired and recycled, and nothing ends up as waste.

of solid waste thrown away in 20221
2.56 billion t
of materials used are recycled, not virgin2
6.9%
of e-waste in 2023; 15.5 million recycled3
65 million t

Why it matters

The world threw away 2.56 billion tonnes of solid waste in 2022, and on today’s path that rises to 3.86 billion tonnes by 2050.1 Only 6.9% of the materials entering the global economy are reused or recycled; the other 93.1% come from virgin sources.2

How we’ll know it’s done

Finish line
Total waste falling every year toward zero, starting with the SDG target to substantially cut waste generation by 2030.3
What counts
Materials kept in use through reuse, repair, composting and recycling. Waste that’s burned or buried doesn’t count.
How it’s checked
National waste and recycling statistics compiled by the World Bank and the UN, plus the share of the economy’s materials that come back around.
Our part
We’ll fund this once our vetting team vets an organization working on it.

What follows

  • Less plastic and trash washing into rivers and the sea.O-01Clean up all ocean pollution
  • Lower emissions from mining, factories and landfills.E-08Establish global climate equilibrium
  • Fewer dumps leaking toxins into soil and water.E-07Clean up toxic waste sites
  • Less food thrown away, and more of it reaching people who need it.H-01Eliminate global hunger and malnutrition

How it can be solved

The approaches to this goal, and how many of the organizations taking each one we’ve vetted.

  • Paid collection and credits

    Paying people to collect plastic and hard-to-recycle waste, often funded by plastic credits.

    7 organizations

  • Waste systems

    Helping cities and communities set up collection, sorting and recycling.

    5 organizations

  • Recycling technology

    Machines and chemistry that turn waste back into raw material.

    5 organizations

  • Building with waste

    Turning plastic waste into blocks, lumber and roads.

    4 organizations · 1 no longer operating

  • Plastic-free packaging

    Compostable, seaweed and fiber packaging and reusables to replace single-use plastic.

    13 organizations · 2 no longer operating

  • New materials

    Bioplastics and fibers made from plants, algae, microbes or greenhouse gas.

    9 organizations · 1 no longer operating

Who’s working on it

We only call a solution proven, measurable and scalable once our vetting team has vetted it. Everything else here, the team is tracking.

Vetted0 organizationsReviewed by our vetting team, and passed all three tests.

  • Proven

    It has worked, with results to show.

  • Measurable

    Its impact can be counted.

  • Scalable

    It can grow toward the size of the goal.

None on this goal yet. When our vetting team vets an organization working on it, it appears here with its vetting report.

Not vetted43 organizationsTracked by our vetting team. Not vetted yet, so we make no claims about them.

No longer operational Kept here so the record is complete. 4

  • E-04-S30

    K.K. Plastic Waste Management No longer operational

    Mixed shredded plastic waste into bitumen to build roads in Bengaluru, India.

    Building with waste

  • E-04-S18

    Cruz Foam No longer operational

    Developed bio-based foam packaging to replace plastic foams like polystyrene.

    Plastic-free packaging

  • E-04-S23

    Leaf Republic No longer operational

    Made disposable plates and bowls from pressed leaves.

    Plastic-free packaging

  • E-04-S44

    Bio-on No longer operational

    Developed PHA bioplastics made from agricultural byproducts.

    New materials

Listing an organization isn’t an endorsement. Not vetted means just that: our vetting team is tracking it, and we make no claims about it yet. Last reviewed October 2026.

Know a solution we’re missing?

Submit a solution that tackles a goal on Humanity’s Checklist.

  1. Tell us about it in a short form.
  2. Our Solutionary Team reviews every submission.
  3. If it looks like a fit, we’ll start vetting the project.
Submit a project (opens in a new tab)

Sources

  1. 1. World Bank, What a Waste 3.0 (2026) (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2. Circle Economy, Circularity Gap Report 2026, Introduction (2026) (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3. UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, “Goal 12,” SDG targets and progress, from The Sustainable Development Goals Report 2026 (opens in a new tab)