Introducing my book Waste Not!

Hello friends. I'm finding it a little weird to be here on the eve of Plastic Free July writing a blog post about my new book Waste Not (click the link to buy!). 

It feels like only yesterday I was logging on to write my thoughts following my first eco documentary The Clean Bin Project. For those who have followed my story will know it was after watching this documentary that I stumbled across the Plastic Free July challenge when I was encouraged by the documentary to reduce my plastic. I used this space which was started as a travel blog to document my month without plastic. I wrote about the challenge to hold myself accountable and of course, make it fun. Never once did I envision my blog would be swallowed up by the topics of plastic and waste or that I would be publishing a book about how to make a big difference by throwing away less.

In the middle of last year an email appeared into my inbox. It was from a publisher with another request to write a book. I usually file them away with a polite decline. But I didn’t with this one. Earlier that year the Australian version of War on Waste had aired on TV propelling the discussion of our wasteful practices into everyday conversations. Waste and single-use plastics quickly became a popular topic. Maybe we were finally ready to address the issues around waste? Perhaps it was time for a book. So I had a meeting with the publisher and before I knew it, I was on my way while my 6 month old played at my feet. A year later the book is here. And it’s a BIG book (300 pages!) full of tips, tricks, recipes and resources to go zero waste (or low waste or minimal waste - whatever name you use).

Here are a handful of the topics I talk about:

• Setting up a plastic free challenge for yourself
• the simple swaps and how to make new habits stick
• how to conduct a bin audit and plastic audit
• what you can do to reduce your kitchen waste
• Growing food and composting
• how to make safe and low waste cleaning products
• Decluttering kindly
• Caring, fixing and repairing
• Tips for second hand shopping and extending the life of your clothes
• How to make your own beauty products or find low waste options plus other personal care solutions
• hosting and navigating events of your own and with family/friends
• Preparing for children, nappies, kids parties, toys even pets
• Eating out, travelling and being low waste in the office
• The different ways to act your vision through activism

There are contributions from kind waste warriors who went above and beyond to provide helpful resources for you too. A big thank you to Sabrina Fraser Burke Co-ordinator of Minimal Waste Central Queensland, Kirsty Bishop Fox of Sustainable Pathways, Erin Lewis-Fitzgerald eco repair wiz, earth advocate Anamarie Shreeves from Fortnegrita.com, Social change strategist and communicator Dr Holly Kaye-Smith, Laura Issell stylist and event manager from Put YourHeart Into It, Kirsten Marren volunteer at Wyndham Little Buddies Toy Library, Amanda Chapman at wastefreeland.nz, Siska Nirmala Puspitasari adventure enthusiast and journalist at zerowasteadventures.com and zero-waste business associate Jonathan Levy at zerowasteguy.com

The book is not just for those who label themselves zero waste; it’s for anyone and everyone who’d like to make simple changes where they can to reduce their individual impact and carbon footprint.

I chose not to put the focus on zero rather it’s about reducing waste at your own pace. It’s practical and I hope gentle too. I know from my own experience and talking with hundreds at talks and workshops over the years that making changes can be hard with each of us encountering different obstacles.

'This is a much-needed guidebook from a true agent of change.’ Sarah Wilson

Where is the book available?

In Australia the book can be found your local bookshop, Dymocks, Collins, Robinsons, QBD, Big W, Kmart, Newslink, Booktopia, Amazon and of course the library. It is also available as an eBook through iTunes, Google Play and Kindle. 

UK, Europe and North America will have their own versions Spring 2019. The publication date in the UK is the 7 March 2019 and US 2 April 2019. 

Buy this book and you'll be supporting Waste Aid

I will be donating 5% of my profits to Waste Aid Australia. Waste Aid works with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island (ATSI) communities to create long-term sustainable solutions to address inadequate waste management in disadvantaged communities and in so doing reduce the adverse environmental health impacts. I'll be sharing more about the work they do later this year.

Is a book really that eco friendly?

Before I said yes to the book I did think about whether writing a book would be wasteful. Something like an eBook would be more sustainable right? But a chat at a local workshop reminded me that not everyone reads eBooks or gathers all their information from blogs like mine. Books still hold up as valuable and essential resources. Go into any bookstore or library and the section dedicated to reducing waste and plastic is small. Tiny. Less than five books. But the cooking section will have around twenty plus books dedicated to pasta alone! 

As much as it would have been great to print the book on recycled paper stock unfortunately this is an area without strict quality control and could have compromised the end product. Instead the book is printed on FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified stock. FSC is the highest standard forest certification scheme and the only one to be member of the ISEAL Alliance, the global association for sustainability standards. However the printers recycle everything they can from paper, plastic, wood and metal (printing plates). Paper is cut to size (prior to printing) for each book in order to help reduce excess wastage. The ink used is soy based meaning there are less VOCs. Full disclosure, the cover does have a plastic film. This was a decision my publishing company made to prevent books being returned to the warehouse for pulping if they were marked or damaged in the bookstore which apparently happens often. This will significantly prolong my books life for many many years when it is shared amongst friends, family and anyone you meet. 

Thank you

Thank you so much for all your support over the years. I am genuinely excited to see a growing group of people wanting to learn how to reduce waste. When you buy my book remember to have fun with the changes you make and feel free to adapt anything you read to your own needs. It's not a rule book, simply a guide. 

If you live in Melbourne I'd love for you to join me at the book launch hosted by Neighbourhood Books on Thursday 12 July from 6pm. Tickets can be bought here. I'm interested to see how the book store will do it low waste! See you there.