Bogotá ranked top for its zero-waste efforts

Savoo was able to determine which cities rank worst for moving towards zero waste and reports that the city of Skopje in North Macedonia comes first, with no zero-waste stores available at the time of the analysis and just eight flea markets open. It has a recycling rate of less than one per cent (0.2 per cent).

Two central European cities have made the bottom 10; Bern, Switzerland, and Budapest, Hungary. Both cities charge their citizens for the use of plastic bags, however, the charge in Bern is completely voluntary.

Both cities have scored poorly, thanks in large part to the low number of zero waste shops available in each place – two in Bern and three in Budapest. Although Bern and Budapest have a high recycling rate (30 per cent and 26 per cent respectively), the high volume of household food waste in each town has lowered its overall score.

The top five countries for recycling the most household waste are:

1. Singapore (61 per cent recycling rate)
2. South Korea (58 per cent)
3. Iceland (56 per cent)
4. Slovenia (52 per cent)
5. Germany (48 per cent)

Plastic-free shopping

Savoo also analysed the average cost of groceries in the supermarket and zero-waste stores to find out how much more shoppers are saving or spending by going plastic-free. On average, groceries from a zero-waste store cost 212 per cent more than groceries from the supermarket.

“Our research shows that the world is making a conscious effort to reduce the amount of plastic that is produced and consumed,” said Ed Fleming, managing director, Savoo. “With the high number of flea markets and low volume of plastic waste, Bogotá is leading the way to become plastic-free, and it’s only a matter of time before other nations follow suit.

“Though choosing to live a zero-waste lifestyle can seem daunting and expensive at first, the conscious effort you make when shopping for items will not only reduce your own waste but eventually save you more in the future.”

For the full ranking, go to: Zero-waste Capitals: The World’s Best Zero Waste Cities