In any modern society, waste is the ultimate symbol of inefficiency and represents a total misallocation of resources (Zaman and Lehmann 2013, 123). Waste generation is one of the greatest challenges facing society. By the year 2050, global waste will increase by 70% if action is not taken. According to Babayemi and Dauda (2009, 83), waste is defined as a product of human activities which is regarded as being useless. The South African Waste Information Centre (2016) elaborates that waste is any substance, object or material that is unwanted and discarded, regardless of whether it can be reused, recycled or recovered. In order to slow waste generation and prevent the depletion of global resources, a concept of sustainable consumption and living is required (Song, Li and Zeng 2015, 199). The conceptualisation of zero waste is the most visionary idea for addressing global waste issues. Zaman and Lehmann (2011, 177) state that zero waste involves designing and managing materials, products and processes in such a way as to avoid and eliminate all waste, thus conserving and recovering every resource from waste streams

Keywords: Sustainability; waste; waste management; zero waste shopping