Composting, home-made toothpaste, buying in bulk: all about the zero-waste lifestyle

A zero-waste lifestyle might not be as far-fetched at it sounds

Today's expression: Brush off
Explore more: Lesson #157
May 23, 2019:

What does it take to follow a zero-waste lifestyle? Some enthusiasts have cut their family trash to just a single bag (or less) per year by following a few simple principles. And businesses large and small are catching onto the trend. Plus, learn the English phrasal verb "brush off."

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What do you think it would take to live a zero-waste lifestyle? It might not be as far-fetched at it sounds at first.

Hi everyone, this is Jeff. Welcome in to today’s edition of Plain English, a podcast for English learners. We go a little slower than normal speed here, so learners of all levels can follow along and understand every word. If you’d like to read along as you listen, you can find a word-for-word transcript of this program at PlainEnglish.com/157.

Coming up on today’s episode: Have you heard the term zero-waste? There’s a large community of people who are trying to cut down their personal waste as much as possible. And by that I mean, a trash bag or less per year. Do you think you could do it? That’s our main topic today. I have a phrasal verb for you later on. That one is “brush off.” And it’s Thursday, so we have JR’s song of the week—it’s actually part of the soundtrack to one of my favorite movies.

There’s no time to waste! Let’s get going.


Leading a zero-waste lifestyle

Today’s episode is inspired by a listener. Her name is Jana; she’s originally from Sri Lanka, but now lives in Germany. She suggested I do an episode about the zero-waste lifestyle because, well, she’s a zero-waste follower. We’ll be hearing a little more from Jana later on in the episode, but let’s go back to basics.

What does a zero-waste lifestyle look like? How about, reusable cutlery, mason jars, meal-prep instead of take-out food, composting food waste, shampoo bars instead of liquid soap, rags instead of paper towels, homemade toothpaste, reusable shopping bags, stainless steel coffee mugs, loose-leaf tea, buying in bulk, metal safety razors—just to name a few. If you’re tempted to say, “these people are crazy!”…just listen. You don’t have to go all the way. I probably won’t be going all the way. But we can all learn something.

The zero-waste lifestyle has grown from a few eccentric adherents to a full-blown movement. The idea is to create as little garbage as possible; some bloggers show their entire families’ trash for a year in one mason jar. Over the years, a large community of people have adopted tenets of the zero-waste lifestyle to reduce their garbage and lead richer lives. And that’s really the promise. One of the early leaders in the movement is a blogger named Bea Johnson, and she has a great TED Talkthat I’ll link to on the web site. She says that by transitioning to zero waste, you can improve your health by eliminating toxins from your diet and your household; you can save money; and you can focus more on experiences and being together as a family, instead of on acquiring stuff. She’s a social media star and has inspired a lot of zero-waste businesses to open around the world. And a lot of people are following her principles, which are—in order: to refuse things you don’t need; to reduce the use of things that you do need; to swap out anything disposable for something that’s reusable; to recycle only what’s left; and to rot—what can you compost? Things like paper wrappers, food waste, stuff like that.

It’s not just for internet activists and bloggers anymore, either. Big companies are starting to pay attention to the consumer’s demand for reusable packaging. Have you heard of Axe or Dove deodorant? Later this year, you’ll be able to buy a package of either that can be refilled for eight years. Do you like a glass of orange juice with your breakfast? Tropicana, America’s best-selling fresh orange juice, will soon come in a reusable glass bottle. If you like OJ in the morning, you might have a sweet tooth; if that’s the case, you can get your fix of Haagen-Dazs ice cream in a refillable jar. Tide detergent and Pantene shampoo will also be available in reusable containers. Increasingly large grocery stores are providing more and more products in bulk, where consumers can fill up their own containers instead of taking products home in packages.

I was a little skeptical about how this would work in practice, so I asked Jana a couple of questions. The first thing I asked was, what was the hardest thing about transitioning to a zero-waste lifestyle? The answer is about what I expected: there are often not many good options for certain daily necessities that don’t involve some type of consumer packaging waste. At the supermarket, sometimes even basic things come wrapped in plastic, so you have to find a place that uses less packaging. Then there are certain things that almost require it, like toothpaste. I’ve never seen any type of toothpaste other than what comes in a plastic tube. You have to do your research, but you can find toothpaste that comes in recyclable materials. Some come as powders that you mix at home. Jana said she makes her own, and uses a bamboo toothbrush instead of a plastic one.

Speaking of that, I wanted to know what new habits Jana has now that she has been going zero-waste. She said she buys loose-leaf tea instead of tea bags; brings her own mug to work, instead of buying a paper cup; makes her own juice and smoothies; and packs her lunches to work. This is where some of those side-benefits come in: you also get some higher-quality food, a lower bill every month, and a little bit more of a personal touch in your diet.

The next question I had for Jana was whether it’s really possible to do this while living a modern lifestyle. I mean, so many people have to balance work and family that the extra effort of going zero waste can seem like too much. Jana works, she said, up to seven days a week, so she knows that it’s hard to strike the balance. But she says it’s all about motivation. If you’re motivated to finding creative solutions, then it doesn’t feel like work to figure out how to go zero-waste. And she also said something that I read over and over online: it’s not a rule, obviously, that you have to do it all at once.

When I was reading up on the topic, I remember thinking that if I did this, if I truly went zero-waste, I would have to dramatically change my life. There would be so many things that would have to be different. It was intimidating, the amount of changes a person would have to make. And for that reason, I think a lot of people would brush it off; they’d just throw up their hands and say, well I’m not about to make my own toothpaste, so I can’t possibly go zero waste. I’ll have another coffee to go, please.

But as Jana reminded me, and as a lot of articles also say, it’s not an all-or-nothing thing. You can just start with some of the more obvious things. Carry your own coffee mug or water bottle. Shift toward buying things in bulk, rather than in individual containers. It’s not zero-waste, but if you buy one large container of something instead of four smaller ones, you’re still cutting down on plastic. Make some of your own food instead of getting a take-out lunch. That’s something I’ve done for a long time—it’s better for you, more affordable, and reduces plastic waste. You can also find a lot of supermarket products loose and in bulk: things like rice, beans—wait, do we have any listeners in Brazil or Mexico?—rice, beans, pasta, tea, coffee, flour, soap, chocolate, even pet food. You can go to a store and buy these things in reusable jars instead of buying plastic bags of them.

So who knows? After you take some of the first steps, you might find yourself going farther and farther toward a zero waste lifestyle if you start to realize some of the benefits. And if you live in Germany, you might run into Jana filling up on loose-leaf Ceylon tea at your neighborhood market.


This was a lot of fun. Listen, I’m not one to tell anyone what they should be doing and I don’t know whether zero-waste is something for me or not. But I’ll tell you, toothpaste. There are some things that just seem like a simple fact of life. Toothpaste comes in a plastic tube. That’s just a fact of life, right? Like an unchanging fact of the universe. You just unthinkingly buy stuff in plastic that you don’t really need to do, if you think about it. That’s the word that I keep fixating on—unthinkingly. So that’s what I’m going to take away—stop doing things unthinkingly. Who knows where it might lead?

Now, I told you that one of the benefits that zero-waste practitioners find is a higher quality of life. They’re not as focused on stuff as they are on being together and having good experiences. And I think that goes along with the idea of mindfulness and personal happiness. So I have an audiobook recommendation, and for that, we’re going to turn to this episode’s spiritual leader—they’re spiritual in Sri Lanka, right?—Jana. That’s right, she got started on audiobooks with Audible and chose one called “The Happiness Advantage” by Shawn Achor. I think I may have mentioned on the show a while back that I was reading this book too. Proof positive that it’s on Audible and one of your fellow listeners has gotten it as her free book. So thanks Jana for that recommendation. Zero Waste Home by Bea Johnson, the blogger I mentioned before, is also there if you’re interested in more about the zero waste lifestyle. If you haven’t gotten your free Audible audiobook, go to PlainEnglish.com/book and sign up for your free trial today.

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Expression: Brush off