Zero Waste Lifestyle Live Well by Throwing Away Less

You don't have to be a tree hugger to benefit from zero-waste living. The average American tosses out nearly five pounds of trash every day, yet studies show the more we buy, the less happy we are. In The Zero-Waste Lifestyle, Amy Korst shows us how to have a happier, healthier, more sustainable life by sharing the lessons she learned while going waste-free for an entire year. Each chapter presents easy steps that anyone can take to create less trash: from composting and retaking reusable containers to the grocery store to burning clean organic materials; upcycling, downcycling, and recycling goods; and more.

A practical guide to generating less waste, featuring meaningful and achievable strategies from the blogger behind The Green Garbage Project, a yearlong experiment in living garbage-free.

Trash is a big, dirty problem. The average American tosses out nearly 2,000 pounds of garbage every year that piles up in landfills and threatens our air and water quality. You do your part to reduce, reuse, and recycle, but is it enough?

In The Zero-Waste Lifestyle, Amy Korst shows you how to lead a healthier, happier, and more sustainable life by generating less garbage. Drawing from lessons she learned during a yearlong experiment in zero-waste living, Amy outlines hundreds of easy ideas--from the simple to the radical--for consuming and throwing away less, with low-impact tips on the best ways to:
- Buy eggs from a local farm instead of the grocery store
- Start a worm bin for composting
- Grow your own loofah sponges and mix up eco-friendly cleaning solutions
- Purchase gently used items and donate them when you're finished
- Shop the bulk aisle and keep reusable bags in your purse or car
- Bring your own containers for take-out or restaurant leftovers

By eliminating unnecessary items in every aspect of your life, these meaningful and achievable strategies will help you save time and money, support local businesses, decrease litter, reduce your toxic exposure, eat well, become more self-sufficient, and preserve the planet for future generations.

Foreword by Bill McKibben    

Introduction: Trash, Trash, Everywhere

Part 1: Getting Started 

1. A Trashed Planet                                                                              

2. Planning to Go Waste Free                                                              

3. Reduce and Reuse                                                                            

4. Recycle                                                                                               

5. Organic Waste        

Part 2: Trash-Free Challenges   

6. The Zero-Waste Kitchen                                                                 

7. The Zero-Waste Bathroom                                                             

8. The Zero-Waste Bedroom                                                              

9. Zero-Waste Cleaning                                                                       

10. Zero-Waste Kids                                                                               

11. Zero-Waste Travel                                                                            

12. The Zero-Waste Workplace                                                            

13. Zero-Waste Holidays and Special Occasions     

Part 3: Next Steps          

14. The Global Zero-Waste Movement  

Epilogue   

An A-to-Z Guide to Recycling (Just About) Anything

Further Reading   

Bibliography       

About the Author     

Index