Zero Waste Miami (ZWM) is a cross-sector coalition led by non-profit Debris Free Oceans that brings together nonprofits, businesses, schools, universities, local governments, and community members working toward a shared vision of a more circular Miami.
Zero Waste Miami Coalition Members
ZWM is composed of 160+ individuals representing 100+ different entities. Meet our official members below.
Membership is free and provides access to monthly meetings, communication channels, and the Zero Waste Miami Resource Hub. Review our Handbook, then become a member using the buttons below.
Zero Waste Miami Strategy
The Zero Waste Miami Waste Strategy is a community-developed roadmap for accelerating the transition to a circular economy in Miami-Dade County. Developed through a year-long participatory planning process, the strategy identifies practical solutions that prevent waste, expand reuse, increase food recovery and composting, improve access to public refill infrastructure, and strengthen community engagement.
Through four collaborative workshops, coalition members assessed Miami’s existing waste prevention and diversion systems, identified gaps and opportunities, developed more than 40 project concepts, and prioritized initiatives using a structured impact-and-effort evaluation framework. The planning process ultimately produced five implementation-ready projects, each accompanied by a detailed implementation proposal, budget, timeline, staffing plan, and evaluation framework.
Activities
1. Monthly Meeting Series
The Zero Waste Miami monthly meeting series unites the community to share updates, spotlight circularity initiatives, and collaborate on actionable solutions. Check out our meeting YouTube playlist at this link!
2. Communication Channels
To maintain regular communication between coalition members, Debris Free Oceans manages a WhatsApp community and Google Group mailing list. Additionally, resources are compiled in an online resource hub including zero-waste service providers, upcoming events, and policy, funding, and job opportunities.
3. Social Events
Casual social gatherings to give existing and future coalition members a chance to connect, building the relationships that make our collaborative work possible.
Connections
Connecting members of the community with one another to advance circularity initiatives is one of the primary intentions of the Zero Waste Miami Coalition.
In a survey of coalition members, 14% of respondents indicated that they have made 10+ new connections through ZWM, 36% indicated 5-9 new connections, and 43% indicated 1-4 new connections, showcasing the collaborative spirit that drives us forward. Some examples of connections sparked by our coalition include the Key Biscayne Community Foundation teaming up with Gradible to implement their #PlasticFreeKB initiative, Renuable finding volunteers to implement composting at Tortuga Music Festival, and Ultra Music Festival partnering with ReCreate Miami, resulting in the successful diversion of approximately 9 tons of material from the landfill in 2024.
Funding
Zero Waste Miami has been made possible through the generous support of:
The Zero Waste Miami coalition is actively seeking funding and implementation partners to bring the projects outlined in the Zero Waste Miami Strategy to life. We invite foundations, government agencies, businesses, universities, schools, philanthropies, and community organizations to invest in one or more of these initiatives, support individual project partners, or collaborate on future implementation. For more information, please contact Debris Free Oceans at hello@debrisfreeoceans.org.
