00:00Translator: Bob Prottas
Reviewer: Leonardo Silva
00:08This is all of the trash
that I've produced in the past 3 years.
00:21When I say that, people think
that I'm crazy, or that I'm lying,
00:27or they'll ask me questions like:
00:29"Hey. So, how do you wipe your butt?"
00:36I live a zero waste lifestyle,
00:38and I have for the past 3 years.
00:42Now, zero waste,
that's a pretty big idea. Right?
00:45So let me define it for you.
00:48To me living zero waste means
that I don't make any trash.
00:52So no sending anything to landfill,
no sending anything in a garbage can,
00:57and no spitting gum on the ground,
and walking away.
01:02This is a big concept,
and this all started
01:05when I was an environmental
study student at NYU.
01:09My senior year, I was
taking a course called:
01:11"The Environmental Studies
Capstone course",
01:14which is the culminating course that all
environmental study students need to take
01:18in order to go out into the world,
and make it a more sustainable place.
01:22Well, there was a girl in this class,
01:24and every class she would have
this big plastic bag,
01:28with a plastic clamshell full of food,
01:30a plastic fork and knife,
a plastic water bottle,
01:33and a plastic bag a chips,
01:35and she would eat all of this,
01:36and then class after class,
would just throw it in the trash.
01:40This was really frustrating,
because here we were
01:42these environmental study students
trying to make the world a better place,
01:46and there she was, throwing
all this stuff into the garbage.
01:50One day after class,
01:52feeling still particularly upset about
watching her throw everything away,
01:56I went home to make dinner,
01:58and I opened my fridge,
02:00and noticed something
that I had never seen before.
02:03Every single thing in my fridge was
in one way or another packaged in plastic,
02:10and I couldn't believe it.
02:11You know I was getting so mad at this girl
for making so much plastic trash,
02:16and it turns out that I was just as bad.
02:18I was that girl, and so I made
a decision in that moment.
02:23I was going to stop using plastic.
02:27Well, quitting plastic --
02:31not so easy of a thing. Right?
02:34When you think about your everyday life,
02:36when you wake up in the morning, go into
the bathroom, and you brush your teeth.
02:40What is your toothbrush made out of?
02:42(Audience softly) Plastic.
LS: Plastic.
02:45What is your toothpaste
probably packaged in?
02:49LS: Your face wash, your moisturizer,
your contact solution.
02:53So many things that are in our
everyday lives come packaged in plastic,
02:57and so I realized that if I was
going to move away from plastic,
03:01the only way that I was going to do that
03:03was to learn how to make
my products myself.
03:07Well, I don't know about you,
03:09but I certainly didn't know
how to make deodorant.
03:13I didn't have the recipe just
hanging out in my back pocket,
03:16and so I realized that I had
to do some research,
03:19and while I was doing research online,
I came across a blog called
03:22the "Zero Waste Home" started
by a woman named Bea Johnson
03:26who is a wife, and mother of 2 kids,
out in Mill Valley, California,
03:30and the 4 of them live
a completely zero waste life.
03:34When I learned about Bea, and her family,
my mind was completely blown.
03:40I thought that I was doing the best
thing for the planet
03:43by not using any plastic.
03:45But the idea that I didn't
have to produce any trash,
03:48was so empowering, and so inspiring,
03:52and it made perfect sense. Right?
03:54Because I was this
Environmental Studies student,
03:56I cared about the environment,
studied sustainability,
03:59talked about sustainability,
protested for sustainability.
04:02But I realized, that I wasn't actually
implementing any of those values
04:06into my day-to-day life, and so
I made the decision to go zero waste.
04:11Let me break it down for you,
and tell you some of the things
04:14that I did in order to make
this transition a little easier.
04:18The first thing that I did
was I stopped buying packaged food.
04:21So instead of going to the store,
and buying things packaged
04:24in paper, and glass, and plastic,
I started bringing my own jars,
04:28and bags to the store to fill
with bulk, or package-free items.
04:32I also started buying my fruit,
and vegetables from the farmer's market.
04:38The second thing that I started doing
04:40was I started making
all of my own products.
04:44Before I started living this lifestyle,
my boyfriend at the time,
04:48used to brush his teeth using baking soda,
04:51and I thought he was probably the grossest
person in the entire world. Right?
04:56There's no way that you
can get your teeth clean
04:59using something like
baking soda, it's gross.
05:02Well fast-forward, and it turns out
that the first product that I made
05:06was toothpaste, made with baking soda.
05:12So overtime I started making
all of my own products.
05:15When I would run out of something,
instead of going to the store,
05:18and buying a new one,
I would learn how to make it myself.
05:21So when I would run out of lotion,
I learned how to make it myself.
05:24Run out of deodorant,
learn how to make it myself.
05:27Over time, all of the things
I had previously purchased,
05:30were now, ones that I made myself.
05:33The third thing that I started doing,
was shopping second-hand.
05:37So instead of buying new clothing,
05:39and putting new waste
into the waste cycle,
05:42I would buy things that were
totally recycled, second-hand.
05:45So not making any new trash.
05:48The fourth thing that I did
was I downsized.
05:51So I focused on having only
the things that were truly necessary,
05:54and that I really needed.
05:56Well this was really, really hard
05:58because I'm the kind of person
who's really sentimental,
06:01and I can tell you as to why
a toothpick needs to be in my life.
06:06But after I really got through
that process, and I completely downsized,
06:10I realized that I had so many
fewer things in my life,
06:13my home was less cluttered,
and everything with easier to clean.
06:16And when you have fewer things
06:19you realize that you take
better care of them. Right?
06:22When you take better care of your
things you don't have this mentality like:
06:26"If I don't want this anymore I'll just
throw it out and I get a new thing later."
06:31No, I only had a few things
and so I took care of them,
06:34and wasn't sending anything
to the landfill.
06:38All this must sound
pretty difficult. Right?
06:40I assure you, it's not that hard.
06:43I'm just an average, lazy person,
06:45and I wouldn't live this lifestyle
if it was difficult.
06:49In fact the benefits
of living this lifestyle
06:52far outweigh any of the negatives
that you can imagine.
06:56The first benefit is that I save money.
06:59So I save money when I buy my food,
07:01and the products, and when
I make my own products,
07:04because I'm not paying
for the embedded cost a packaging,
07:07so things are cheaper.
07:08I'm also saving money by shopping
completely second-hand,
07:12because second-hand clothing is usually
less expensive than new clothing.
07:16I'm also saving money
because I've downsized.
07:19I don't go shopping all the time now
07:21and you know just buy things on impulse.
07:23I only have what I really need.
07:26The second benefit is that I eat better.
07:29When I go shopping now I don't have
the option to buy processed food products,
07:34package-free, and so now my diet consists
of things like fresh fruit and vegetables,
07:39or bulk greens, and nuts
that I buy with my jars and my bags.
07:45And so when you eat better,
you feel better.
07:48Over these past few years, I've noticed
that my weight has stabilized,
07:53I have more energy, I need less sleep,
07:56and when you're eating better,
and you feel better,
07:58and you save money, you're happier.
08:01But besides those things I'm happier,
because for the first time in my life,
08:05I'm living in direct
alignment with my values.
08:09And why is this important? Right? Waste.
08:13Well, waste is a really big problem.
08:16In fact the average American person
08:18produces approximately 4.4 pounds
of trash per person per day.
08:24Over the course of a year, that's like
taking 8.5 of your best friends,
08:28and throwing them in the trash.
08:32Don't do that, it's not nice.
08:35So, if you care about your friends,
and you don't throw them away,
08:39and you think that it's possible for you
08:41to reduce how much trash you're producing,
08:44I have 3 simple steps for you.
08:47The first step is to actually look
at your trash, and understand what it is.
08:51Because you can't solve a problem
of having a lot of waste
08:53until you know what is it.
08:55So when I did this exercise,
08:57I realized that I had
3 main sources of trash.
09:00The first was food packaging,
09:02and so I learned how to shop
in bulk or package-free.
09:05The second was product packaging,
09:07and so I learned how to make
all of my own products.
09:10And the third was organic food waste,
and so I learned how to compost.
09:13And just by identifying those 3 sources
of waste and eliminating them,
09:17I have reduced my trash by about 90%.
09:22The second thing that I'd like to suggest
is picking at the low-hanging fruit.
09:26So doing little things,
one-time changes in your everyday life
09:29that have a large-scale,
and long-term positive impact.
09:33This includes things like using a reusable
bag instead of a plastic or paper bag.
09:38Or using a stainless steel,
or glass water bottle,
09:41instead of buying plastic water bottles.
09:45Over the course of however long,
you realize that these little changes
09:49actually add up,
and make a big difference.
09:53The third thing that I'd like
to suggest is the DIY
09:55or actually learning how
to make your products yourself.
09:59Now I absolutely love doing this
because when you go to a store,
10:03and you have to buy products
you kind of have to settle,
10:06and accept them as they are. Right?
10:08If you don't like the way
they smell, too bad.
10:11If you don't like
the way they feel, sorry.
10:14If you don't like what they're
packaged in, you don't have a choice.
10:17But for me, since I make
all my own products,
10:20If I don't like the way they smell,
I change the scent.
10:23If I don't like the ingredients
in them, I change it.
10:26If I don't like the packaging,
it's my choice.
10:29And so by making my own products
I have complete control
10:33over what I'm putting in my body.
10:37Now I started living this lifestyle
while I was still in college.
10:42And when I graduated, I had a real job,
a real-person job in sustainability,
10:47which is exactly what you'd think
I'd want to be doing. Right?
10:50Well, at the same time I was still running
my blog: "Trash is for tossers"
10:55and I noticed that I was
getting a recurring question,
10:58and it went something like this:
11:01"Dear Lauren, I absolutely love
the products that you're making,
11:05and I too want truly natural products.
11:08But because of life, family,
friends, blah, blah, blah, blah,
11:12I just don't have time
to make them myself.
11:14Do you have any product that I can
buy that are equivalent?
11:17Thanks for your help.
Lots of love. Person XYZ."
11:21So I went to stores,
and I started looking at products,
11:25and while I found that they
were beauty products
11:27that were reminiscent of the ones
that I was making myself,
11:30I didn't notice the same trend
for cleaning products.
11:33When I looked at the ingredients
of cleaning products,
11:36even the "natural" cleaning products
11:38contained ingredient
that were really harmful.
11:41Things that were carcinogenic,
and endocrine-disruptive.
11:45You know, when I looked into it further,
11:47I learned that cleaning
product manufacturers
11:50aren't even legally required
11:51to disclose the ingredients
of their products
11:53on the product packaging,
11:55and so when we go and buy a product,
11:58we're at the complete mercy
of the company,
12:00hoping that they have
our best interest in mind.
12:03I feel that we, as consumers, have a right
to products that are transparent
12:08and that aren't bad for us,
12:11and so I started thinking
about my own products,
12:13the ones that I've been making for years.
12:16That are safe, and effective, and have
ingredients that I use to do things
12:19like brush my teeth,
or make salad dressing.
12:23And I realized that I had an opportunity,
12:25and so I quit my job,
and started a company.
12:29Because I feel like we, as human beings,
have a right to products that are safe
12:33for our homes, and our bodies,
and the environment.
12:38I get comments all the time,
that I'm doing this for attention.
12:42But I live this lifestyle for myself.
12:45I would never tell anyone how to live
12:48or how much trash
that they should produce.
12:50I just want to provide tools,
12:52through my blog and my business,
12:54for people, who like me,
12:56want to reduce how much
trash they're producing.
12:59I live a zero waste lifestyle,
because to me,
13:02it's the best way I know,
how to live a life
13:04that aligns with everything
that I believe in.
13:07And what's the point. Right?
13:09I'm just one person.
What difference can I make?
13:13The point is simple:
13:15I want to be remembered for the things
that I did while I was on this planet,
13:19and not for the trash that I left behind.
