Description
The most effective way to reduce GHG emissions and waste-related costs is to prevent waste before it is created. King County will implement policies and programs that emphasize waste prevention, promote sustainable consumption practices, and reduce reliance on single-use items to combat escalating issues of waste generation. Efforts to reduce waste need to go beyond recycling and compost. Waste prevention focuses on upstream activities, including encouraging County residents to consume less by having durable products that are easier to repair, encouraging sustainable consumption behaviors, reducing the use of single-use items, sharing, donating, reusing, repairing, reselling, and repurposing. Waste prevention reduces the number of natural resources and energy needed to produce products. King County will continue and expand a broad range of waste prevention programs such as campaigns, grants, pilots, technical assistance, and services and will develop new waste prevention policies and program.