Welcome to the Zero Waste Alliance Cyprus podcast! In this second episode, we’re excited to sit down with Esra Tat, Executive Director of Zero Waste Europe, to discuss one of the most urgent issues of our time: waste.

Together with Sara Mariza from Friends of the Earth Cyprus, we explore the real impact of waste on our planet, and why the waste issue is not only an environmental issue but also a social justice issue, looking at the cost of it in Europe as well as in the Global South. Tackling waste is about more than recycling, it all starts with prevention and redesigning of materials considering their end-of-life of products. In this podcast, Esra shares insights on how waste is a symptom of a broken system and discusses ways to bring back reuse practices that were once common in our societies. There is a need for urgent systemic changes to tackle waste, capacity building between grassroots movements, as well as community-driven solutions.

You can find the video format on Youtube (@FoE Cyprus).

*Esra Tat was in Cyprus for the Zero Waste Europe Alliances Meeting as part of the Blueprint for Movement Building Project supported by the UMI Fund. This project aims to capture and analyze patterns that lead to powerful and effective movement building across Europe. In Cyprus, the Zero Waste Cyprus Alliance consists of four organizations: Friends of the Earth Cyprus, Let's Make Cyprus Green, Zero Food Waste Cyprus and Ecological Movement Cyprus. Together, we are working in solidarity to ensure a Zero Waste future through advocacy, awareness raising and groundwork actions.