About blue green blog

A hub for zero waste living in the East Bay, California

Picture of Bettina

Hi! I’m Bettina and my aim is to lead a zero waste life.

It all started in early 2018 when I still lived in the UK and a weekly shop left me with yet another trash can full of packaging. I moaned to a friend who sent me an article about Kate Arnell, one of the leading eco influencers in the UK. Reading through Kate’s blog, I stumbled across the Zero Waste Home book by Bea Johnson and got hooked.

It turns out, striving for a zero waste life not only helps save our planet, it also simplifies your life, saves money, creates richer relationships with people and, as a result, can ultimately lead to a happier life.

Originally from Germany, I now live in Fremont, California, US, with my husband Simon. We started our zero waste journey while we were still living in Warwickshire in England, United Kingdom. That’s why this blog is currently a little two-pronged; having learned my zero waste basics in the UK and having joined a community of like-minded people in Warwickshire, I’m now starting out again with the same vision in my new home in the US:

We don’t need a handful of people doing zero waste perfectly, we need millions of people doing it imperfectly

– Anne Marie Bonneau (ZERO WASTE CHEF)

“Zero” waste is hard to achieve in our society, so for me it’s more about the mindset and the journey: to reduce consumption overall and to look for less wasteful alternatives wherever possible.

With this blog I’d like to…

  • spread the word about zero waste living
  • support all the lovely markets, shops and zero waste sources I’ve stumbled across
  • share tips on zero waste shopping and meal planning, and
  • build a community for people in the area who are passionate about reducing waste in the East Bay area.

I hope you enjoy reading this blog and please do get in touch with thoughts, tips & questions in the comments section. Cheers, Bettina