Sustainable(ish)

As this episode goes live, we're right in the middle of Plastic Free July, a global movement to encourage people to reduce their consumption of single use plastics. Since Blue Planet II it feels like the world is finally waking up to the impact of plastic pollution on our planet, which is fabulous, but it can also feel really overwhelming.In this episode I'm chatting to Martin Dorey, founder of the #2minutebeachclean campaign. Martin is a writer, surfer and activist, who wanted to take action to help to clean up the beaches near him in Cornwall. In 2013 he took a picture of the litter he had collected and shared it on social media with the #2minutebeachclean hashtag, thinking that if just one person joined in, that would double his beach cleaning efforts.Since then over 79,000 posts have been shared on IG using the hashtag, and the latest estimate is that at least 130 tonnes of plastic has been picked!Martin has now taken the next logical step, and created the #2minutesolution - small, easy things we can ALL do to reduce the amount of plastic ending up in the oceans. […]

Plastic is big news right now as we are waking up to the environmental impact of plastic pollution and our addiction to single use plastics. In this episode we're looking at ‘The Big 4’ plastic polluters: water bottles; coffee cups; plastic bags; and straws, and the impact YOU can make by choosing to refuse single use and going with the re-usable versions of each! Useful linksPlastic Free JulyRefill appKeep CupsStojo collapsible coffee cupsRcup - Re-usable leak-proof coffee cup made from recycled disposable cupsOnya - lightweight re-usable mesh bags for loose fruit and vegBlog post: 5 of the best re-usable water bottlesBlog post: Sustainable alternatives to disposable coffee cupsPodcast: Episode 7 - Getting starting with Plastic Free Living with Anne Marie Bonneau, the Zero Waste ChefPodcast: Episode 8 - Shopping plastic free without a local zero waste storeThe Sustainable Living Hub ACTION YOU CAN TAKE AFTER LISTENINGSOURCE RE-USABLE VERSIONS OF THE BIG 4: Water bottles for all the family check-square-o Coffee cups for those that use them check-square-o Shopping bags: For the weekly shop; for those odd times when you just pop into the shops; and lightweight bags for loose fruit and veg Re-usable straws if you feel the need/have small peopleREMEMBER TO TAKE THEM WITH YOU! Think about ways you can make it a new habit to take these things with you Keep you shopping bags in the car Attach a small bag to your keyring check-square-o Keep your coffee cup in your bag or your carGET THE FAMILY ON BOARD..! Have a chat with the rest of the family about the changes you are making, and why they are important.  check-square-o Get the kids to pick their own water bottle - there is such a great range now! check-square-o Ask other family members how you can all help each other to remember your re-usables - harness the 'pester power' in a constructive way! How are you doing with The Big 4?Do comment below and let me know! FEELING INSPIRED TOLIVE MORE SUSTAINABLY?Join my Sustainable Living Hub and discover practical ways to reduce your impact on the planet. JOIN NOW GET MY WEEKLY NEWSLETTER SIGN UP

Renewable energy seems to really have the bit between it's teeth now, which is fabulous news. It has gone from contributing 9% of our electricity mix in 2009, to 25% in 2018 and in 2017 more renewable energy was added to the 'global grid' than energy from fossil fuels.In this episode I'm chatting to Tom Steward who is one of the energy boffins (and very lovely with it!) at Good Energy. It's a fascinating conversation about the renewable energy sector in general, and about Good Energy and their 'good approach' to energy, business and everything that they do. […]

In this episode of the Sustainable Life podcast I’m chatting to Kim Tew, the founder of Plastic Free Pantry which is the UK’s first plastic free online food shop. […]

In this episode I'm SO excited to be chatting to Anne Marie Bonneau, aka the Zero Waste Chef.Anne Marie shares the story of how she got started on her Zero Waste journey, and her top tips for cutting out single use plastic. Useful linksAnne Marie's blog - Zero Waste ChefAnne Marie on InstagramAnne Marie on FacebookAnne Marie on TwitterBeth Terry's blog - My Plastic Free LifeThe PlastikiHow to make your own cloth produce bags - Anne Marie's guest post for me!Homemade deodorant (that works!)PopcornRoasted chickpeas (this sound gooooood!)Meetup.com- to organise your own Zero Waste Meet Ups..!Rainbow Grocery in San FranciscoPlastic Free Pantry Homemade vanilla extractEarth Food Love- the Zero Waste shop in TotnesMy Sustainable Life FB community(do come and join us!)Some of Anne-Marie's Top Tips Check out your local farmers market for packaging free produce Make/take your own produce bags when you go shopping Make your own deodorant check Cook from scratch more - cook in bulk, freeze, plan ahead check Pick ONE thing to change at a time ACTION YOU CAN TAKE AFTER LISTENINGBABY STEPS Find your nearest farmers market, when it's on and then make a date to try it out Take your re-usable bags with you when you go shopping - including for loose fruit and veg Experiment with making your own popcorn as a snackBIGGER STEPS Find your nearest farmers market, when it's on and then make a date to try it out Take your re-usable bags with you when you go shopping - including for loose fruit and veg Experiment with making your own popcorn as a snackGREAT STRIDES Organise your own Zero Waste Meet Up locally

In this episode we look at what Sustainable Living even means, and how to get started when it might be feeling really overwhelming. Useful linksEpisode 003 – Start with WhyEpisode 002 – with Chris Hellawell, founder of the Edinburgh Tool LibraryMy ‘Sustainable 2018’ webinar – I talk in here about goal setting and chunking things down to help you get startedMy 'Making Sustainable Changes' workbook to accompany the webinarMy ‘Sustainable Life wheel’ – this will help you to divide sustainable living into different areas and decide what to work on firstMy free Sustainable Life Facebook community where you’ll find a brilliant group of friendly, and welcoming lovelies ready to support and encourage you to make sustainable changesMy Sustainable Living Hub – for anyone looking for some more individualised support and structured resourcesTop Tips Get clear on your 'why' - why is it important to you to make sustainable changes? Think about what a 'sustainable life' looks like, feels like, to you and your family Chunk it down - what areas or topics make up this 'sustainable life'? Pick ONE area to work on first Pick ONE thing to change - what is the smallest, most manageable change you could make to have a positive impact in that one area this week? Set yourself a deadline!

Before we start – a little heads up about the background noise on this one – Sara works in an incredibly hip co-working space surrounded by trendy millenials and moustache wax, who can be heard getting themselves a skinnydoubleshotdecaffavocado latte in the background..!Sara Venn is one of the first people I thought of when I first had the idea for this podcast.She is an absolute inspiration who founded Incredible Edible Bristol and transformed not just unloved spaces around the city, but people’s lives too. […]

In this episode, I share why I think it’s so important for us all to get really clear on WHY it’s so important to us that we make sustainable changes in our lives.It may well be something you’ve never really thought about, but if you can spend a few minutes giving your ‘why’ some thought, it can be a really powerful motivator to keep you taking those all important steps forwards on your sustainable living journey. […]

Tool libraries are a brilliantly simple concept, and are a pretty popular thing over in North America, but up until a couple of years ago, we didn’t have even one here in the UK.All that changed in 2015 when Chris Hellawell started up The Edinburgh Tool Library. It’s an inspirational story of one man with a vision, who is creating huge positive change in his community and showing the Sharing Economy is about far more than simply ‘stuff’. […]

Yes, that’s right, a podcast!I’m SO excited to get this out there – it feels like this podcast been a long time coming, and I can’t wait to get on some of my sustainable living heroes as guests, and to chat with you each week about all things sustainable living and hopefully inspire and motivate you to think about the small changes YOU could make that would make a big difference.Hear more about my ‘sustainability journey’ – what got me started, and how I ended up here, in this inaugural episode of A Sustainable Life! […]