Waste Reduction Product or Strategy - Self Declared is one of the declarations under the Ekko Score Recycle Standard.
Waste Reduction Product or Strategy - Self Declared products or services either reduce waste or enable others to reduce waste, including reselling or giving away the 'waste' products themselves (eg: food rescue). Waste reduction strategies are generally services providing solutions to waste and water recycling. An example might be capturing waste & water for recycling or use directly on gardens, farms or as food for animals. Another example is the collection of discarded coffee grounds from cafes and homes for conversion into compost.
Waste Reduction Product or Strategy - Self Declared products reduce waste and most often use that waste to support or supply other product streams. This not only create new products out of old products, but also reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lessens the burden on recycle streams and landfill, while utilising perfectly good natural resources.
Waste Reduction Product or Strategy - Self Declared sits in the REUSED Family under the Environmental Standard: Recycle of Ekko Score. One set of weighted Ekko Score points are gathered from each Family.
These are the claimable declarations & certifications under the Environmental Standard: Recycle. Please note that different certifications and declarations may be relevant to each category.
Yes, where the impact of the claim is similar. This is how it works.
IMPORTANTLY, SELF DECLARATIONS ARE GOVERNED BY CONSUMER LAW. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW FOR BUSINESSES TO MAKE FALSE CLAIMS (INCLUDING IMPLIED CLAIMS IN A CONTEXT LIKE EKKO SCORE).
EVEN IF A PRODUCT HAS A FORMAL CERTIFICATION, THAT CERTIFICATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE ENTIRE INTEGRITY OF THE PRODUCT'S MAKE UP.
An example might be a Handmade, Australian, Certified Organic chocolate that contains Palm Oil. Under Ekko Score, this product would claim Certified Organic and would self declare: Zero Waste Production and Australian made, but could not claim the No Palm Oil declaration. This would mean a lower score under the No Exploitation Standard, making the inclusion of Palm Oil clear to potential consumers, without detracting from its other assets.
No product is perfect, but some products are definitely better than others. Ekko Score allows you to make the best decision you can, or to put it another way, the least worst decision. And to make that decision with the confidence of not being green washed. Find out more about how Ekko Score works.