Circular Economy
Source Reduction
Definition
Source reduction is any practice that reduces the amount or toxicity of waste before it is generated: designing products with less material, eliminating packaging, extending product life, improving process efficiency, and substituting less hazardous inputs. It occupies the top tier of the waste hierarchy — preferred to reuse, recycling and all forms of treatment and disposal — because waste that never exists requires no collection, processing or landfilling and embodies no lost resources.
References
This reference provides supporting context for how “Source Reduction” is defined and used.
Source imported for editorial provenance.
Overview
How it is used
The concept structures waste prevention programmes, extended producer responsibility fee modulation, circular economy policy and cleaner production practice.
Why it matters
Every tonne not created is a tonne that never needed a bin, a truck, a plant or a grave; source reduction is waste policy's first principle.