9 Zero Waste Books – Page Turning Eco-Solutions For Everyone
What’s the story with zero waste?
Well, for starters it’s a lifestyle choice. To continue to learn what changes we can make to reduce our impact on the world, like the amount of stuff we send to landfills.
And one of the best ways to improve our knowledge is to…read books about zero waste, of course!
These nine zero waste writers are dropping trash facts and zero waste tips like most people drop plastic in the garbage can.
And they’re people who started out just like you.
If you’re ready for low waste but worried about the high costs associated with assembling a zero waste kit the book How to Go (Almost) Zero Waste provides money and time saving tips.
For someone interested in the background of why zero waste books are even necessary, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things explores how production and consumption is wreaking havoc on our planet.
When it comes to books about a zero waste journey, you’d be hard-pressed to find a list that didn’t include Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.
Read on for several more planet-loving literary gems!
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QUICK LINKS FOR ZERO WASTE BOOKS
- Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste
- Waste Not: Make A Big Difference By Throwing Away Less
- How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time.
- Plastic Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too.
- Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
- Zero Waste: Simple Life Hacks to Drastically Reduce Your Trash
- 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste
- Zero Waste Chef: Plant Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet
- How to Go (Almost) Zero Waste: Over 150 Steps to More Sustainable Living at Home, School, Work, and Beyond
1. ZERO WASTE HOME
By: Bea Johnson
Bea Johnson is the original voice of the zero waste movement, at least as it is known today.
Aside from running one of our favorite zero waste blogs by the same name and pretty much sparking the modern war on waste, Bea writes one of the best books about zero waste.
Zero Waste Home: The Ultimate Guide to Simplifying Your Life by Reducing Your Waste is a comprehensive guide on how to go zero waste for the whole family.
More than just a collection of recipes, tips, and actionable zero waste steps, it’s an inspirational story about how she reduced her family of four’s waste to one liter per year—and how their lives are healthier and happier for it.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
2. WASTE NOT
By: Erin Rhoads
Erin Rhoads, a fellow Australian zero waste blogger, penned The Rogue Ginger.
For books about the zero waste journey, Waste Not: Make A Big Difference By Throwing Away Less is top notch. Erin’s progress-over-perfection to zero waste is comprehensive while accessible.
It includes recipes and repair guides, and encouragement and reassurance, especially if DIY is not usually your thing.
For a handy followup of on-the-go tips and fast reminders, see its quick-digesting companion, Waste Not Everyday.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
3. HOW TO GIVE UP PLASTIC
By: Will McCallum
So you’ve decided to give up plastic. Fantastic!
But why do we have to “give up” plastic anyway? How did our plastic addiction start?
Greenpeace UK’s oceans division Will McCallum answers these questions and more in How to Give Up Plastic: A Guide to Changing the World, One Plastic Bottle at a Time.
Rather than address the plastic and waste problem on an individual level, he offers a wider framework within which to see it, including correctional steps on a corporate and governmental level.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
4. PLASTIC-FREE
By: Beth Terry
Beth is another blogger-turned-author.
Plastic-Free: How I Kicked the Plastic Habit and How You Can Too is about Beth’s zero waste journey toward eco-empowerment and it’s packed with tools to get you there (whether you’re just beginning or have been at it a while).
In addition to helpful checklists, tables, and profiles of other zero wasters it also includes larger scope tips that aren’t always directly related to personal waste.
Like strategies for interacting with others who don’t share your vision, larger community involvement, and how to let go of eco-guilt and perfection.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
5. CRADLE TO CRADLE
By: Michael Braungart and William McDonough
Rather than instructing on how to go zero waste, Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things holistically addresses a bigger question: “What is zero waste?”
While the previous books deal with the practical side of the zero waste movement, Braungart and McDonough are concerned with its theoretical, systematic side.
Rather than thinking of consumption in a linear fashion (AKA cradle-to-grave), they break down the concept of a circular economy and how it can eliminate waste on a widespread scale.
Easily one of the best zero waste books for those looking to understand the big picture beyond the trash jar.
If you like that, check out their more practical follow-up to this theoretical masterpiece, The Upcycle: Beyond Sustainability.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
6. ZERO WASTE
By: Shia Su
Shia Su is the relatable voice behind the blog Wasteland Rebel and the title of her book says it all.
Zero Waste: Simple Life Hacks to Drastically Reduce Your Trash is all about how we can curb our global trash epidemic.
Based on her personal experience of reducing a year of nonrecyclable garbage to a mason jar, we’d consider this one of the best zero waste books for beginners.
From DIY zero waste cleaning and tasty food recipes to zero waste bathroom and zero waste kitchen tips, she demystifies what it is to be zero waste, making it easy and, dare we say, fun.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
7. 101 WAYS TO GO ZERO WASTE
By: Kathryn Kellogg
If you’ve done any digging into going zero waste, you’ve likely heard of Kathryn Kellogg and her appropriately named blog, Going Zero Waste.
A “recognized spokesperson for the zero waste movement” by the likes of CNN, Guardian, and National Geographic, Kathryn is one of the biggest names of the zero waste game.
A fan-favorite zero waste book, 101 Ways to Go Zero Waste covers tons of topics, including cleaning, traveling, entertaining, eating, recycling, and how to advocate for sustainability outside of the home.
101 realistic tips, 256 pages, and one planet you’ll be more equipped to protect!
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
8. ZERO-WASTE CHEF
By: Anne-Marie Bonneau
In the words, Anne-Marie Bonneau, the zero-waste chef namesake behind this next item on our list of books on zero waste:
“We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly. We need millions of people doing it imperfectly.”
The Zero-Waste Chef: Plant Forward Recipes and Tips for a Sustainable Kitchen and Planet provides facts and fixes for wasting less, saving money, and eating more sustainably. Most of her tips won’t cost you a sent and will even help you save money, time, and food waste.
It might make you hungry though, as it contains 75 delicious vegan and vegetarian recipes.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
9. HOW TO GO (ALMOST) ZERO WASTE
By: Rebecca Grace Andrews, MA, MS
How to Go (Almost) Zero Waste: Over 150 Steps to More Sustainable Living at Home, School, Work, and Beyond provides readers with exactly that: 150 easy ways to make all aspects of life more sustainable.
With big and small changes catering to different budgets and lifestyles, anyone and everyone can find value here—making it one of the best zero waste books if finances are tight.
Thanks to its organization, this digestible book is useful whether you just want to dip your toes in or deep dive into a section of interest.
Each suggestion even features a scale of how much time, effort, and expense to expect—as well as the difference it will end up having.
Available: Better World Books | Amazon
FINAL THOUGHTS ON ZERO WASTE BOOKS
If pursuing a zero waste lifestyle seems daunting to you, spend a weekend with any one of these zero waste books. We bet they will change your perception, ease your anxieties, and inspire you to get going.
Getting inspo from those who were once in your shoes is often the first step toward filling your closet with zero waste fashion, giving a zero waste gift, or braving the switch to zero waste toilet paper.
If you feel empowered after reading this article or one of these books, and you’re wondering what to do with old books pay it forward.
Our planet would certainly appreciate it if you spread the good word of zero waste (and we would, too).
