In support of NYC’s goal of sending zero waste to landfills by 2030, the Zero Waste Design Guidelines surveyed architects, planners, developers, city officials, waste haulers, recycling experts and building managers to understand waste collection issues across building types. The Guidelines represent a resource to help designers, building operators, and planners, encouraging the collaboration needed to dramatically reduce waste and work toward greater adoption of circular material flows. Applying design to improve the city’s current system of material flows will improve sidewalks and buildings as it lessens the environmental and human impacts of the current system in the city and beyond.