Zero Waste guru and movement poineer Bea Johnson to give talk in Dublin

Published by Caitriona Rogerson on February 21, 2017February 21, 2017

21st February 2017

Bea Johnson, Zero Waste pioneer and spokesperson, will be visiting Dublin to give a talk on the Zero Waste movement on the 13^thMarch in Trinity College Dublin.

Johnson, born in France but living in California since she was 18, has been living a waste-free lifestyle as a family of four since 2008. Her best-selling book Zero Waste Home has been translated into 14 languages, and her website attracts 250,000 visiters per month. Johnson speaks at universities, corporate events and conferences all over the world and to date has given three Ted Talks on the topic of zero waste.

Johnson will be speaking at the Robert Emmet Theatre in Trinity College, Dublin, on 13^th March from 7pm- 9pm. The event is hosted by TCD’s Environmental Society and is free for all to attend.

You can find out more about Johnson on her website Zero Waste Home, or watch one of her Ted Talks here. You can also find her on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

Bea Johnson’s Tips for Living a Zero Waste Lifestyle

Johnson lives by a relatively simple method of the 5 R’s: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Rot (strictly in that order.)

In other words, Refuse what you do not need, Reduce what you do need, Reuse what you consume, Recycle what you cannot Refuse, Reduce or Reuse, and Rot (Compost) the rest.

She also advises starting off by equipping yourself with the basics: a reusable water bottle, a few cloth bags and some reusable jars and containers.

Some other tips:

Use bulk liquid castile soap as a dish/hand cleaner and baking soda as a scrubber (in a stainless Parmesan dispenser).
Purchase dishwasher detergent in bulk and use white vinegar as a rinsing aid
When shopping, buy in bulk or at the counter, bring reusable bags (dry goods), jars (wet items such as meat, deli, fish, cheese, oil, peanut butter) and bottles (liquids: oil, soy sauce, shampoo, conditioner)
Use an alum stone or straight baking soda as antiperspirant
For body/face soap, find a package-free solid soap. To exfoliate, use bulk baking soda. For a mask, use bulk clays (French, Kaolin, Bentonite, etc…), mixed with water or apple cider vinegar.
Turn worn out clothing into rags for cleaning.
Consider homemade substitutes for cosmetics such as cocoa powder as bronzer and homemade balm that works on eyes, lips, hair and nails.

For a complete list of Bea Johnson’s tips and tricks for living a Zero Waste lifestyle, visit her website here.

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