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About

Welcome to the about page of the Zero Waste Man!

You rock if you could find the time in your busy life to read why I think I am qualified to help you. Suppose you want to learn how to live a zero-waste lifestyle. You are in for a treat.

I aim to inspire you and empower you with new tools and tips, raise your knowledge about plastic and the health effects it can have on your body.

You don’t need to be a hero to make a difference in this world; anyone can become a zero waste man/woman.

If this sounds anything like you, then you are at the right spot.

You already recycle, but you feel like you can do more?

Or you feel like you are wishcycling, and you know there is a lot more to the story than meets the eye.

It all starts with knowledge, and that is my mission. Only when you know that something is not improving your life can you correct it.

Become a Zero Waster

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Who am I, and why do I call myself the Zero Waste Man?

I am passionate about the environment and made it my mission to find ethical companies that make amazing products with a small to no impact on the planet. I am not entirely a ZeroWasteMan, but I am doing my part.

To be quite honest with you, being 100% zero waste is impossible.

Unless you want to move back into a cave and just eat shrubs.

But no, seriously. How do you think I typed these letters? Sure, the computer has “a fruit” on it, but that doesn’t make it organic or locally grown. Argh, I couldn’t help myself.

So as you can recognize, I want to make such a serious subject a little lighter. We know how bad the situation for our planet is.

We have lost 60% of our wildlife in 50 Years, and if we keep going the way we are, this planet is going to look very different in the next 20 years. But it is not too late. That’s why I am here to show you how.

Why do I think I can teach you?

I am a city kid, but I always felt drawn to mother nature. So much so that I ended up living in a community in the hills of Byron Bay (Australia) for 3 1/2 years. Growing our own food, planting native trees, and learning to live in harmony with nature. These are just a few things amongst many more skills that I have learned.

about zero waste man

I hope to inspire you to live your life a little greener and therefore put fewer toxins into your body and the earth.

Of course, I would love for you to share your new knowledge with your friends and family.

A little bit about me:

I grew up in Germany, Dortmund, a city with just over half a million citizens. Quite an industrial place. Luckily we had some forest just behind the door. I always had the urge to be in nature. It was the place where I could relax and burn some energy when I had too much.

Later in life, when I was 21, I moved over to Australia, and I have lived there ever since. I experienced living in communities and learned about how to grow my own food. How to kill my animals for meat, yes, I broke the kneck of a rabbit and killed a chicken with an ax. ( I am vegetarian a vegan in the making now), and for the first time, it felt like this was the way we were supposed to live. I am not proud of it, but I needed to do it to make better decisions. Thank you, chicken!

I traveled around Australia for many years until finally, I found my now wife. She is French Canadian, which brought some different challenges, but life couldn’t be better. Currently, we are traveling around Canada, and we are expecting a baby soon. In the next year or so, we are going to move back to Australia.

I love snow, but I love the ocean more and surfing. Anyway, you need to follow your calling, right?!?

Now to cut my story short and not send you to sleep. Spending the last 10 years in a region where people would go shopping on farmers’ markets and bring their own coffee cups to the cafe became the norm.

Only when I left, I realized how many people didn’t know about this kind of lifestyle. So many people are super busy with their 9 – 5s and don’t have the time or the desire to change the way they live.

It is only fair. You obviously want to keep the comfort that you have and evolve forward, not backward.

You don’t necessarily want to go the extra mile to the bulk food store and prepare your own meal. Life is busy, I understand, and that’s why I created this blog. I have found ways to make your experience better and live a desirable and wholesomer life.

You want to become a Zero Waste Man or Woman!

Offering solutions to keep your life as convenient as possible without a significant environmental impact on the planet. Yes, it is totally doable, and I will show you how. When I first started researching this, I felt overwhelmed by the size of this problem. Later I realized we could actually do something. New To Zero Waste? Start Here!

Millions of other people thought the same, hence why the zero waste movement is the fastest-growing ever. Friends of the Earth only started a plastic program in 2016; Greenpeace didn’t have a dedicated plastic team until 2015. Plastic pollution is all over social media. From stranded dead whales to birds with stomachs full of plastic. Even some of our waves are plastic waves.

the ocean cleanup

But there is hope, People like

only to name a few are doing their part.

More and more social entrepreneurs are coming up with brilliant new businesses to help solve the problem. It gives us hope, and this is why you are here. You have hope.

Because of that little feeling of hope, I started the zerowasteman. You will see the difference it makes for you and your family to live this lifestyle. Which is a nice segway into what going zero waste also is?

Here are a couple of things you can already start doing today.

Not to overwhelm, anyone here let’s see which small steps you can take to become a zero waste man now:

  • Buy less stuff
  • If you buy stuff, buy natural stuff.
  • Yep the obvious, say “no” to straws, or bring your own.
  • Don’t flick your cigarette butt on the ground ( they are made of plastic)
  • Have a coffee mug/cup
  • Bring your own water bottle.
  • Shop local, for food and stuff
  • Shop at the zero-waste store, also known as bulk food stores
  • Reuse stuff you have
  • Be creative and make more stuff from abandoned materials like Pallets ( yep, I made a minimalistic Christmas tree this year ).
  • Refuse things you don’t need like flyers or promotional items
  • Recycle, and I don’t mean chuck it in the recycling bin ( less than 10% is actually getting recycled)
  • Recycle your yogurt containers for plant pots (drill some holes in the bottom) or freeze some soup.

You see, the options are nearly endless, but I am going to stop here now. There will be more on the blog for you to get creative.

Becoming more aware of the way we consume is a big step in the right direction, and you can be proud of it. I am sure your children and your friend’s children will be too.

So let me take you on this journey to some really cool companies doing great jobs with low impact. Systems you can apply in your own life. Products that you can buy and use to improve your experience and health. 

We are in this together now, and I am excited to help you, hear your story, and work together with you. So dig around, subscribe to this blog, watch the YouTube videos, and have a lot of fun doing it.

Isn’t it too late?

trash on a river
A trash-filled river is seen in Barangay Bagumbayan North in Navotas City, Philippines.

For some parts, sure, like we can’t filter the entire ocean, but that doesn’t mean we can continue our throw-away society and live like we have a planet B. We don’t.

Sure Elon Musk is trying to turn us into an interplanetary species, which is pretty exciting, but I don’t think surfing on mars will happen soon.

I have created this site because I want to raise awareness and take such a serious subject and wrap it in some colorful, ah zero, waste ah wrapping paper = old newspaper, I guess…

You see, Zero Waste is to take on consumerism in some way or another. It’s a big task, and I am glad you are a part of it.

Don’t hesitate to shoot me a question or ask for advice here.

I usually publish two times a week and always seek to serve my readers. If you don’t want to miss a thing, sign up for free updates by entering your email below.

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10 thoughts on “About”

  1. Love your website and love your mission. I shared a tweet to my followers on tweeter too. What I wouldnt give to be able to live in the outback. I have had a love for nature since I could walk,the fact that we are losing so much of our wildlife is alarming to say the least. Earth has lost half of its wildlife in the past 40 years according to one article in the guardian

    Keep up being an advocate for change… I am with you 100 percent!!

    Reply
    • Thank you Cathy, it means a lot. Yeah, the outback is wonderful! This whole planet is wonderful that’s why we need to protect it. 🙂 

      Reply
  2. Awesome to meet a fellow zero-waste person! 

    I thought I’m the only one who gets obsessed with minimizing waste because all my friends tend to tease me. Even in culinary class, we have lots of food waste that people throw away. I didn’t like that so I always try to use almost every part of the ingredients in the kitchen so that nothing goes to waste. 

    For example, after filetting the fish, I use the bones and head to make fish stock and the same goes for seafood. Instead of throwing away crab shells or mussel shells I boil it a bit so I can extract some flavour which is great for seafood chowder, and only then do I throw it away. Let’s all minimize waste and save the environment! 

    By the way, I watched a show from Nas Daily when he found a guy who created his own chemical to minimize waste in his lake by slowly disintegrating it which is really cool. I forgot who but have do you happen to know him?

    Reply
    • Yeah Riaz, zero waste man all the way!!! Isn’t it weird how people tease you about wanting to live a life in harmony with the planet? Wow knocks my socks off. Food waste is another topic I will address here soon and it is a sad one. Glad to hear you are doing the right thing. There are some cool apps to help tackle food waste too. 

      Nas Daily, no I haven’t heard of that guy who cleans the lake.

      Reply
  3. This was an interesting story and I appreciate you sharing it with is all. I can see that you are passionate about having as little impact on the environment as possible as we go through life, and I so totally agree with you. I look forward to the many tips, hints, advice, and lessons that I am sure you will add to this website.

    I was raised in Northern Minnesota and in Ontario, Canada. There we lived a simple life compared to what many people today are living. We fished, hunted, camped, did trips in canoes, had lots of cold, snow, and few people. We had outdoor toilets.

    We also had Ojibwe in the family (Native American tribe) and they taught us many things about living in unison with nature, as opposed to trying to conquer it. The things that you and others are promoting and practicing have been done by the Ojibwe for thousands of years. and the environment is better for it.

    Finally, one last connection that I can see will bring me back to your website to learn more: You were raised in Dortmund, right down the road a piece from where I have spent a great portion of my life since leaving Northern Minnesota at age 17 to join the military. I married the better half in Germany, she is from a place called Bad Vilbel.

    I have been fortunate enough to have been to many places in the world, and the ones that appeal most to me go back to those roots I have from the early days. I like having some of the comforts we all enjoy these days but know that they come at a cost. Whatever I can do to minimize or eliminate waste, I am for it. We must save the earth for the coming generations…

    Good to ‘meet’ you here and I look forward to reading more of your posts! 

    Reply
    • Hey Dave, or should I say Guten Tag. 

      Nice to hear you found love in Germany, and your story sounds amazing. How fortunate to learn from the indigenous people. It is quite sad to see how disconnected we have become with nature, but I also feel like there is a movement towards getting back in touch with mother earth. Let’s hope. Thank you and talk soon

      Reply
  4. OMG, this is a Great initiative of yours!

    Thank you for this for “zero waste” initiative. It’s really impressive to read how you come to love getting rid of waste around you. Your initiative to teach us is really honorable in the 21st century where waste is seen as part of our lives! But I was daunted to learn through this page that we, human beings, caused 60% of wildlife species to extinguish ONLY in 50 years! It’s high time that I started to play my part as a zero waste man too. Your promise to help will make us aware of how to…yes… as your experience really reassures that you’re able to help raise this awareness in us. I will be passing regularly to learn from you!

    Thank you again

    Oscar

    Reply
    • Hey Oscar, thank you for your words. I am glad to hear that you could learn something new from here and I welcome you to the zero waste man crew. Yes take the plunge, it’s not going to be easy but it’s sooo worth it for your health and for the planet. 

      Reply
  5. WOW this is what am talking about.I have been talking to my friend that people need to wake up from their slumber, cause,with the way things are going, technology will soon take almost  everywhere. Creativity will be the only thing that will see us through 

    We have to learn how to do what we know how to do best now and enjoy it later on.What bled my heart right now is that most of our leader are making things worst for us. The school we go, thinks we are not good enough, our friends see us on social media and think is a pride, Oh our families, if you don’t show them the real deal. they feels we are wasting our time

    You must become a lawyer, a nurse, a doctor and other, not knowing if that is what you have to become. 80% of youth are doing what their parent want from them. “don’t get me wrong, obey your parent ”  BUT ITS TIME TO WAKE UP AND DO WHAT YOU KNOW HOW TO DO BEST 

    Oke

    Reply

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