International Day of Zero Waste 2026 Events
26 March | Consulate of Switzerland, Osaka, Japan | 18:00 - 20:00 JST
Youth workshop: Less Waste, More Life
Organizers: UNEP, Swissnex
This interactive workshop invites young people to explore food waste not as an individual failure, but as a shared challenge shaped by culture, daily practices, and system design. Through reflection and dialogue, participants will identify small, realistic changes in their everyday routines that can help reduce food waste while enhancing quality of life.
27 March | UN Headquarters, New York | 15:00 - 18:00 EST
The Zero Food Waste Challenge: Breakthroughs and Innovative Approaches
Organizers: UNEP, UN-Habitat, Republic of Türkiye, Zero Waste Foundation
UNEP and UN-Habitat, in partnership with the Republic of Türkiye and the Zero Waste Foundation, will convene a high-level event at United Nations Headquarters to discuss breakthroughs, innovative strategies and approaches to zero waste in food value chains. Stakeholders from across the value chain will share concrete approaches, strategies, technologies, trends, gaps and opportunities to significantly reduce food waste and loss.
30 March | Room V, Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland | 14:30 - 15:30 CET
Towards Zero Food Waste Through Multistakeholder Action
Organizers: UNEP, UN-Habitat, Geneva Environment Network, Türkiye
To mark the 2026 edition of the International Day of Zero Waste, leading voices from Geneva and beyond will join this panel to highlight progress in advancing the zero-waste agenda, with a focus on key initiatives to reduce food waste. As a major global hub for the governance of hazardous substances, Geneva is home to a wide range of international, intergovernmental, non-governmental, and private sector organizations working towards achieving zero waste, including in the food sector.
30 March | Online | 13:30 - 15:00 CET
Mobilizing Tourism to Halve Food Waste through Recipe of Change
Organizers: UNEP, UN Tourism
The High-level Global Roundtable, co-organized by UNEP and UN Tourism, will convene key tourism stakeholders to accelerate sector-wide action on food waste reduction and circularity. It will bring together policymakers and leading businesses to exchange practical solutions and align efforts towards their implementation through the Recipe of Change initiative. Recipe of Change offers a structured framework to support tourism stakeholders in translating global ambitions on food waste into measurable and reportable action. Through the initiative, partners assess and monitor food waste in their operations, implement operational and behaviour-focused solutions to prevent waste, and track progress over time to inform global monitoring and collective learning.
30 March | Online | 13:00 - 14:15 UTC
Zero Waste Starts on Your Plate: Beating Pollution of Food Waste led by Youth
Organizers: Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP, Youth Advisory Board (YAB) to UN-Habitat, Food and Agriculture Organization - Office of Sustainable Development Goals, UNEP One Planet Network
In the lead-up to the 2026 International Day of Zero Waste, the Children and Youth Major Group to UNEP will convene a virtual event to foster dialogue, bridge perspectives, and take stock of key actions needed to advance the zero-waste agenda. Bringing together youth, experts, and stakeholders, the event will focus on promoting solutions to food waste and sustainable consumption, while strengthening youth engagement in global environmental governance. Aligned with the priorities of the United Nations Environment Programme, it will also serve as a platform to consolidate youth-driven recommendations and accelerate collective action in support of the International Day of Zero Waste 2026.
30 March | Online | 12:00 - 13:00 CEST
Unlocking Climate and Investment Opportunities: Environmentally Sound Management of Food Waste
Organizers: Household Waste Partnership (HWP) of the Basel Convention, French Solid Waste Partnership (FSWP), International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), Secretariat of the Basel Rotterdam and Stockholm (BRS) Conventions
Food and organic waste represent one of the fastest and most cost-effective opportunities for climate action available today. When mismanaged, they are a major source of methane. When managed well, they present a powerful opportunity for climate mitigation, public health benefits and sustainable investment, thus the webinar will explore how the environmentally sound management (ESM) of household waste, in particular food and other organic waste, can contribute to global climate goals.
30 March | Zero Waste Foundation Headquarters, Istanbul, Türkiye | 11:00 - 13:00
Zero waste starts on your plate
Organizers: UNEP, UN-Habitat, UNDP, Zero Waste Foundation
Co-organized by UNEP, UNDP, UN-Habitat and the Zero Waste Foundation, the Istanbul Commemoration of the 2026 International Zero Waste Day, under the theme “Zero waste starts on your plate,” will bring together high-level representatives from governments, international organizations and key stakeholders to accelerate action on food waste prevention and advance sustainable consumption and production.
Policy message document:
Zero waste approaches in high-impact sectors (food systems, urban waste management)
31 March | Sanya, Hainan / Qingdao, Shandong / Nanchang Jiangxi, China, Offline | Online | 08:30 - 18:30 CST
Mobilizing Urban Action for Global Goals Towards Zero Food Waste
Organizers: UNEP, UN-Habitat, Basel Convention Regional Centre for Asia and the Pacific, Department of Ecology and Environment of Hainan Province
This event brings together international experts and city representatives to explore critical issues and innovative solutions in global solid waste management, with a special focus on advancing zero-waste city construction, food waste reduction, and international cooperation toward sustainable urban action.
31 March | UNEP Headquarters, Nairobi, Kenya | 12:00 - 14:00 EAT
Second Life Table: A Communal Experience on Waste and Possibility
Organizers: UNEP, UN-Habitat, Republic of Türkiye
This event is a dynamic, cocktail-style installation that blends visual art, live culinary demonstration, and social interaction. Guests are invited to move through the space, engaging with the installation and each other throughout the two-hour activation, which opens with a panel discussion. At its core, the experience features a live cooking challenge where chefs transform commonly discarded ingredients and imperfect produce—sourced from Farm to Feed—into creative dishes, highlighting both household food waste and often-overlooked losses at the producer level. Through layered encounters of conversation, visual storytelling, and shared food, the event fosters reflection and dialogue on more sustainable food systems.