How Bea Johnson transformed the Zero Waste movement

Almost a decade ago. Bea Johnson and her family in California set out to live a zero waste lifestyle. Bea and her husband realised after moving homes and placing most of their belongings into storage, that almost 80% of their possessions weren’t needed or missed at all by the family. From this point on, Bea and her family lived a life of simplicity. They bought only items that they needed and most of what they bought was second hand, living their lives using the 5 R’s of Zero Waste (Refuse, Reduce, Replace, Recycle and Rot). They found that this way of living didn’t hold the family back in any way and actually led them to live happier, more fulfilled lives with more time for family activities.

In 2010, Bea started her blog, Zero Waste Home. At the time when she began writing and sharing her family life with the world, there was no mainstream zero waste movement. Many of her neighbours looked at her family as modern day hippies who were taking recycling to the next level. However, what they didn’t know is that Bea was about to tab into a community of individuals who wanted to expand the work that our recycling was already doing. All over the world, people were getting more passionate and active about the environment.

Global warming and the increasing amount of unwanted waste in our cites meant that something needed to be done. Johnson led the way, businesses and organisations began to grow which promoted the zero waste lifestyle and showed that improving the environment and leaving a better world for future generations to live in was all within our capabilities.

Johnson is a pioneer and is an inspiration to people all over the world who aim the make the world a cleaner place. By giving us a glimpse into her private and family life, Bea showed us that is was possible to make a change in our own homes that would greatly benefit the environment. She showed how easy it was to make positive changes that would not only be healthy for the environment but for ourselves. In an increasingly commercialised world, Bea is a guiding light bringing us back to basics and helping make the world a better place for us all to live in.

Johnson now tours the world giving talks and lectures, inspiring future zero wasters to begin their journeys. Her blog is available at: Zero Waste Home