Zero waste living with Bea Johnson
Bea Johnson is a guru of zero waste living. Her family of four produce barely enough rubbish to fit into a small glass jar - every year - and she now spends time teaching others how to reduce waste and live simpler, more sustainable lives. She also has a kick-ass accent.
I have to be honest, coming in to this conversation I was expecting to walk away feeling overwhelmed and a little inadequate. Not because of Bea herself - she’s positively delightful - but because the subject of zero waste living has always seemed so all-consuming to me. So all or nothing.
But it took me only a few minutes to realise I needn’t have worried. As Bea and I got chatting, I realised that creating a zero waste life is really similar to creating a slow, simple life - it’s something created over months and years. Change by change, day by day, one improvement at a time.
We chat about her husband’s hesitance to adopt the zero waste lifestyle and how she eventually convinced him that it was worthwhile pursuing, and we also get into the practicalities of making a change like this - something I’m asked about a lot.
Interestingly, and somewhat relief-inducing for me is the fact that Bea doesn’t advocate the ‘make everything from scratch’ approach. In fact, this has been one of my biggest obstacles in looking to live a zero waste life, and to hear someone as successful as Bea tell me that she doesn’t necessarily make everything herself, well, that made it feel a whole lot more achievable.
I think you’ll walk away from this episode feeling optimistic, and if you’re anything like me, far more excited about the prospect of embracing the zero waste lifestyle.
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Things to Check Out After Today’s Episode:
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- Zero Waste Home - Bea's incredible, practical, inspiring blog
- Zero Waste Home - Bea's best-selling book