The Zero Waste Countdown Podcast

Lawrence Speelman explains how their UK company is transforming unused fresh bread leftover from bakeries into Laura's favorite beverage: beer! 

Callee Ackland started the first zero waste shop in South Dakota, called Bestowed Essentials, and hosts her own podcast called Hippie Haven. She's working on a book that will help others start their own zero waste companies. 

Laura speaks with Sarah King, Head of Greenpeace Canada's Oceans & Plastics campaign, to learn more about their efforts fighting plastic.

Greenpeace is proposing an Oceans Treaty to protect international waters - currently countries are only responsible for their economic zones surrounding their coastlines, so later this year (2019) Greenpeace will be sending a ship from the Arctic Ocean to the Antarctic Ocean through the Atlantic to raise awareness for our international waters which could definitely use more regulation.

Sarah is currently working on banning unnecessary single use plastics in Canada, and she's been an integral part of organizing brand audits during beach cleanups. Brand audits determined the top five polluters of trash in Canada and helped raise awareness of bad habits of both businesses and consumers. 

Meet Alex Currie, from Pyramid Ferments - him and his wife Jenna Empey have created a fermentation company in Prince Edward County on the north shore of Lake Ontario, where they produce sauerkraut, kimchi, beet kvass, gut shots, and different flavours of kombucha, almost entirely from local ingredients.  

Laura had the opportunity to ask Alex questions about home fermenting, about running a fermentation business on a large scale, and questions about why fermented foods are becoming so popular. 

Minimalism and zero waste go hand in hand - we're all trying to live with less, and to live happier, healthier lives. While millions around the world are trapped in the cycle of overconsumption, Lauren and Kelly and finding ways to disconnect from the overburden of having too much stuff, so they can focus on being healthy and happy, while using their time for what they enjoy most. 

 Their goal is to help listeners become inspired to live a simpler, more intentional every day.

The conversation continues with Meera Jain, better known on Instagram as the GreenMum, as she discusses zero waste living in Toronto. Laura and Meera talk about shopping habits, accessibility issues, and returnable container programs. 

Meera Jain, better known as thegreenmum on Instagram, lives in Toronto with her husband and two children. She focuses on reducing her carbon footprint, keeping herself and her family healthy, and living low waste.

In part one of our conversation, Meera and Laura speak about Toronto's new initiative to compost diapers (!) and we find out what Meera uses around her house to live without producing trash.

Open Those Bright Eyes Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

More than one billion toothpaste tubes end up in landfills every year, but Lindsay McCormick has come up with a better solution! Her company, Bite Toothpaste Bits, replaces the need for non-recyclable tubes. The ingredients are good for you, the tabs taste good, and they come in ethical packaging too. 

Alex Bruce is a champion cocktail maker from Toronto who's competed on the world stage. He wanted to serve healthier versions of the classics, with less sugar and less waste, so he opened The Lark restaurant with his wife Celine LePache, and serves healthy and organic options both on the menu and drink list. Their daily operations are sustainable too, and close to zero waste. 

Find out how Bruce and Celine run a sustainable restaurant on this episode of The Zero Waste Countdown. 

Ross Beaty is a geologist and entrepreneur in the international minerals field. He currently Chairs Pan American Silver Corp., Equinox Gold Corp., and has founded and divested many other resource companies. He is also an environmental philanthropist, primarily through The Sitka Foundation.

He Chairs the BC Parks Foundation, serves on the Advisory Board of the Nature Trust of BC, he's a Director of The Pacific Salmon Foundation and Panthera, and is a patron of the Beaty Biodiversity Center at the University of BC.

Mr. Beaty was appointed to The Order of Canada in 2017 and the Canadian Mining Hall of Fame in 2018.

Open Those Bright Eyes Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)

Arid Foothills Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)