Nonprofit advocacy · Manufacturing and disposal
Make less waste. Throw away less.
ShrinkAmerica pushes manufacturers, lawmakers and communities to cut waste where it starts, in how things are designed, made and packaged, instead of only managing it after it is thrown out.
The waste hierarchy
Most preferredLeast preferred
- Reduce at the sourceMake less, use less material, design out waste.
- Reuse and repairKeep products and packaging in use longer.
- Recycle and compostTurn used materials back into inputs.
- Recover energyBurn what is left to make power.
- Treat and landfillThe last resort.
Order follows the U.S. EPA's waste management hierarchy. Our work starts at the top.
Our mission
We are a nonprofit working to reduce waste in American manufacturing and disposal, by changing the rules, designs and habits that decide how much ends up in the trash.
The problem
Waste is decided long before the curb
In manufacturing
How much material goes in, how much is cut away, how a product is packaged and whether it can be repaired are all set at the drafting table and on the factory floor. Scrap, offcuts, rejected runs and single-use packaging all start here.
In disposal
What reaches the curb is the end of a long chain of choices. Products built to be replaced, mixed materials that cannot be recycled and packaging nobody takes back end up in landfills and incinerators.
What we push for
Four changes that shrink the pile
Design for repair
Products that can be opened, fixed and upgraded, with parts and manuals available to the people who own them.
Packaging that takes less
Less material per product, fewer mixed layers, and more refillable and returnable formats.
Producer take-back
Makers stay responsible for their products at end of life, which gives them a reason to design waste out.
Public waste reporting
Plain, comparable numbers on how much waste manufacturers and cities create, so progress can be checked.
Get involved
Help us ask for less
Volunteer
Help with research, outreach, events and local campaigns in your community.
Partner with us
Manufacturers, cities and other groups working to reduce waste can work with us on practical pilots.
Speak up
Tell your local officials and the companies you buy from that you want less waste built in.
Questions, ideas or want to help? Write to us.
info@shrinkamerica.org