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Zero waste home : the ultimate guide to…
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Zero waste home : the ultimate guide to simplifying your life by reducing your waste (original 2013; edition 2013)

by Bea Johnson

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299888,240 (3.52)6
In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better: they now have more time together, they've cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40 percent, and they are healthier than they've ever been. This book shares essential how-to advice, secrets, and insights based on Bea's experience. She demystifies the process of going Zero Waste with hundreds of easy tips for sustainable living that even the busiest people can integrate: from making your own mustard, to packing kids' lunches without plastic, to canceling your junk mail, to enjoying the holidays without the guilt associated with overconsumption. Zero Waste Home is a stylish and relatable step-by-step guide that will give you the practical tools to help you improve your health, save money and time, and achieve a brighter future for your family-and the planet.… (more)
Member:2wonderY
Title:Zero waste home : the ultimate guide to simplifying your life by reducing your waste
Authors:Bea Johnson
Info:New York : Scribner, 2013.
Collections:Read but unowned, Non-Fiction
Rating:*1/2
Tags:2017, sustainability

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Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste by Bea Johnson (2013)

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» See also 6 mentions

English (6)  Spanish (2)  All languages (8)
Showing 1-5 of 6 (next | show all)
I wasn't sure I would like this book, because I'd been mostly watching YouTube videos on zero waste, and felt that many "zero-wasters" came across as pompous know-it-alls who have "arrived" and who just want to be paraded around and have people admire them – rather than being humble mentors.

Bea Johnson's book proved that Bea, at least, isn't like that. She grew up in France, living a modest lifestyle, then moved to America as an adult and took on the "American dream" lifestyle. After living this way for awhile, she started to realize the troubles it brought and moved toward zero-waste. I love that she recognizes that zero-waste is a goal, but it will never happen for any of us (there will always be a certain amount of waste) and the things that each of us compromise on will be different.

She says toward the end of the book, "Some said that our household doesn't do enough because we are carnivores and travel to France, for example. Others said that we do too much, that our lifestyle is unrealistic or extreme. How is it unrealistic if I am living it?" -p. 253

The book itself is incredibly thorough. There are only illustrations on the chapter intro pages, and the rest is pure text (apart from a few illustrations to help explain various processes she describes, such as papermaking). There were so many questions that have popped into my head during my online exploration of zero waste, and she answers nearly all of them. The resources section is also full of truly practical resources.

My biggest beef with the book is her section on kids. She claims (as do many zero-wasters) that overpopulation is the cause of a failing environment (without citing any real facts), and suggests we all reconsider having large families, even suggesting that we adopt, instead. I'm a huge advocate for adoption, but it's certainly not rooted in environmentalism! (That's not a good enough reason to adopt – adoption should be about a child joining a family, rather than seen as a means to make one feel better about his ecological footprint.) She also talks about "protecting ourselves from surprise pregnancies" and includes Planned Parenthood as a resource. (I definitely can't get behind that organization!)

At the end of the day, I strongly believe that over-consumption and incorrect-consumption (that is, using plastic and synthetics instead of natural materials that can be returned to the earth) is the problem. If the entire global population began living, overnight, with a desire to redeem the earth and care for it, many of our "waste" issues would be a thing of the past.

Anyway, that chapter is what bumped my rating from 5 stars to 4. I would definitely still recommend it as a very comprehensive read for anyone interested in going plastic-free, or just in implementing a few resource-saving habits into their regular lifestyle. ( )
  RachelRachelRachel | Nov 21, 2023 |
Very inspiring. Bea shares some of her meal plans, recipes, formulas and other tips. She has a map on her website for bulk grocers; it's mostly whole foods, but not exclusively. ( )
  CassandraT | Sep 23, 2018 |
Disappointing. It focused mainly on products, not home systems.

Tried again to like it on audio. Oddly though, the author, in the first page or so, describes her childhood in Provence, the narrator chosen has a clipped British accent. I might have listened a tad more if the accent was French. Downgrading my rating for such stupidity. ( )
1 vote 2wonderY | May 15, 2017 |
I liked this book for what it was but I don't feel like it's necessary for someone who wants to reduce waste. In that case just go on her blog. This book consisted of lists and ideas that weren't really fully fleshed out. This book was more like a compilation of her most popular blog posts. Though she explained how she got to the process she uses for whatever routine in her house she doesn't totally cover the benefits. She lays them out like a check list of sorts: reduced cost, less time spent, less exposure to plastics. Yeah but at least explain these benefits. She did mention her husband crunching numbers and confirming they were spending less but nothing much about the other stuff.

I wouldn't suggest purchasing the book unless you want the check lists in one easy to find place. ( )
  Jessika.C | Jun 29, 2016 |
I read the author's blog and find that she constantly challenges my thinking regarding waste. Is she extreme? Yes. Oh yes. And she knows it and admits it, declaring that she sees herself as the experimenter in order to save everyone else the time of figuring it out. So I was pre-disposed to be interested in this book. And...no. Just no. She's a blogger, not a writer or researcher, and it shows. There was a lot more that could have been done here in terms of making the waste reduction argument and setting the call to action and she missed it all in favor of forced alphabetized lists of tips.

But I will say...after years of fruitlessly trying to get my husband interested in reducing our waste, I simply left the book lying around the living room for a few days and...presto! He's remembering to bring the reusable grocery bags and thinking about what we buy at the store. So it serves that purpose. Otherwise? Just read the blog. ( )
  CherieDooryard | Jan 20, 2015 |
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Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
Johnson, Beaprimary authorall editionsconfirmed
Meire, HenriettaNarratorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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In Zero Waste Home, Bea Johnson shares the story of how she simplified her life by reducing her waste. Today, Bea, her husband, Scott, and their two young sons produce just one quart of garbage a year, and their overall quality of life has changed for the better: they now have more time together, they've cut their annual spending by a remarkable 40 percent, and they are healthier than they've ever been. This book shares essential how-to advice, secrets, and insights based on Bea's experience. She demystifies the process of going Zero Waste with hundreds of easy tips for sustainable living that even the busiest people can integrate: from making your own mustard, to packing kids' lunches without plastic, to canceling your junk mail, to enjoying the holidays without the guilt associated with overconsumption. Zero Waste Home is a stylish and relatable step-by-step guide that will give you the practical tools to help you improve your health, save money and time, and achieve a brighter future for your family-and the planet.

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Zero Waste Home is a guide to simplified, sustainable living. The author transformed her family's health, finances, and relationships for the better by reducing their waste to an astonishing half litre per year. It's all down to the 5 Rs: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (and only in that order!). Zero Waste Home shows how these key principles can be applied to every area of your house from the kitchen to the kids' room, and it's packed with easy tips for all of us: from buying in bulk and clever meal planning to simply refusing unwanted freebies.
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