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Evening Echo, Wednesday, October 4,2017
INSIDE
IN THE JAR: Bea’s year worth of waste.
Breastfeeding tips P5
EDUCATING OTHERS: Bea Johnson, who is behind the blog ‘Zero Waste Home’ and who visited Cork in the past week.
INSPIRATION: Bea’s book.
Happiness is in one little jar...
Style in the pink P12
My cancer journey P16
Contact us
Email: features@eecho.ie Call: 021 4802235 Write to: WOW!, Cork Evening Echo, Linn Dubh, Assumption Road, Blackpool, Cork
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HEY say that less is more, and writer Bea Johnson has truly tested that adage to the maximum. The French-born mum of two, now based in sunny California, has inspired millions with her blog Z e r o Wa s t e Ho me , wh er e sh e shares tips and tricks learned over 10 years of downsizing and minimising. On a mission to reduce her environmental footprint since 2006, the so-called ‘priestess of zero waste’ has all but eliminated her family’s rubbish output. Anything she can’t r e u s e , re c y cl e , re p u r p o s e o r compost in a year fits into a small mason jar. By shopping smarter and using only what they need, the family of four have also managed to cut their financial outgoings by 40% and Bea believes everyone can m a ke sm al l ch an ge s th at wi ll affect their pocket and lifestyles for the better. In Cork in the past week, as part of her European tour, Bea shared her top tips for a life “based on being rather than having”. “We found that for zero waste to be sustainable in the long run for our household, all we had to do was to follow five rules in order,” she explains. “Refuse, reduce, reuse, recycle, rot, so that at the end of the year we were left with very little trash.” Refusing is step number one, because avoiding bringing unwanted items into the house in the first place reduces the amount of rubbish to be thrown out in the end. The family have also rad-
■ Imagine containing your household waste in one jar! AUDREY ELLARD WALSH spoke to a woman doing just that, on her visit to Cork
ically reduced their number of belongings by over 80%. These days their entire wardrobes fits into one carry on case each, and if they need to replace something, they buy it second hand or occasionally buy new from companies which offer unconditional lifetime warranty. “Of course we need a roof over our heads, a few pieces of clothing, a few pieces of furniture, but we actually need little in order to be comfortable,” she explains. “Anything beyond that comfort level is excess. In the past if I went on a vacation I would be buying souvenirs. If my mother in law visited we wo u l d go sh op pi ng . To d a y we’re happy with the number of things we have and we’re no longer adding to it. If we buy something it is only to buy what needs to be replaced and when we buy that replacement we buy it second hand which costs less.” While the Johnsons have become experts in living the simple life, there were some misadventures in the beginning. Looking for a greener alternative to her makeup bag staples, Bea tried using stinging nettle as a lip plumping treatment. Needless to say, that wasn’t something to be repeated. In an effort to reduce the waste
from shampoo products, Bea also opted for baking soda and vinegar to clean her hair. “I ended up with greasy roots and frizzy ends,” she says. “Not really the style I was looking for. I reached rock bottom one night when I went to lay down with my h u s b a n d an d he tu rn ed ov e r , looked at me, rolled his eyes and said; ‘I am so tired of you smelling like viniagrette, Bea. It’s really not sexy you know.’” N o wa d a y s , th ou gh , sh e ha s fo un d so lu ti on s fo r al l of he r toiletry needs. “On my skin at night I either use a lo ti on th at I bu y in bu lk or vegetable oil. On my cheeks to add colour, and on my eyebrows I use chocolate powder which I buy in bulk and it costs me 72c to fill a little jar that lasts me about two years. To wash our hair, our face, and our body and also to shave we use one bar of soap which we buy unpackaged, loose. “It’s one product that has eliminated four other packaged ones.” Around the house, Bea has cut down on the need to buy multiple single-purpose cleaning products by using white vinegar and water to clean surfaces, and natural castile soap to wash floors. It is with smarter food shopping, however,
that she says the biggest savings are to be made. “When you buy something that i s pa ck ag ed , 15 % of th e pr ic e covers the cost of the packaging so w h e n yo u bu y yo ur fo od an d things unpackaged you automatically make financial savings. “I go to the store which sells the most bulk in my town. It’s not a lot but I have learned to make do with what is available to me in that section and I do my shopping by filling cloth bags and jars. There is even an orang e squeezing machine and my kids have rediscovered the taste of real orange juice thanks to that.” Bea says she is not telling anyone how to live their lives, she just wants to share her experience. She says the best advantage of her lifestyle is the joy it brings, through experiences rather than things:. “Thanks to this lifestyle, we’ve been able to afford to do things and find time for activities we would have never thought possible before. We’ve snowboarded between t wo co nt in en ts , wa l ke d in th e swaps in Lithuania, we’ve gone ice climbing. This summer we went snorkeling with humpback whales. “The zero waste lifestyle has translated to absolute happiness.”