Success story: meet Bea Johnson, pioneer of the Zero Waste Home

"Born in France, I've lived in San Francisco for many years with my family. In 2006, we decided to opt for a simpler lifestyle, to slow down our consumption. Then we switched to 'zero waste', a term initially associated with rubbish disposal in big cities, but which we applied to the home. We established five rules : RefuseSay no to what you don't need; Reduceadopt a minimalist lifestyle; ReuseBuy second-hand and replace disposable items with reusable ones; Recycle everything that cannot be reused; Compost the rest. That means we buy all our food in bulk, and I make my own make-up. Today, for a family of four, we generate one litre of waste a year. With my blog www.zerowastehome.com and my book Zero WasteI've inspired thousands of people and created a real community. Something I could never have imagined in my wildest dreams. Now I'm invited to give talks all over the world. I also created theBulk application - I'm delighted to see this movement crossing the Atlantic. I'm delighted to see this movement crossing the Atlantic. In France, more and more shops of this type are opening, such as Day by Day. And what helped us make a name for ourselves were the press articles with photos, which showed that we weren't hairy post-hippies, but that we had a zen interior and wore fashionable clothes! My vocation is to encourage as many people as possible to simplify their lives without scaring them.