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Going Zero: One Family's Journey to Zero Waste and a Greener Lifestyle
ONE FAMILY’S REVOLT AGAINST EVERYDAY POLLUTION
When a beanbag sent thousands of polystyrene balls flying through her garden, Kate Hughes decided to make a break with the throwaway society.
She and her husband transformed the lives of their ordinary family of four. They ditched plastic, shunned supermarkets, cooked all meals from scratch, bought only second-hand clothes, and made their own cleaning agents. Then they went deeper – greening every aspect of their home life, from their gas and electricity to their car, from their money to their IT.
The Hugheses have achieved the ‘zero waste’ goal of sending nothing to landfill. Now they are going even further…
Told with refreshing humility and humour, this eye-opening story shows that a well-lived life doesn’t have to come wrapped in plastic. Packed with handy tips, it reveals much about what makes a fulfilling modern family – and how readers can empower themselves to preserve the climate, forests and seas. And, heart-warmingly, how that can lead to a more relaxing life.
Table of Contents
1. The Eye Opener
2. Unravelling a Lifetime’s Training
3. Assume Nothing
4. Down the Drain
5. Wardrobe Malfunction
6. Loving the Preloved
7. Generation Fear
8. Throw Away Tradition
9. Seeing It All
10. Widening the Net
11. Green Energy
12. A Bit More Zero
13. Ghost in the Machine
14. Follow the Money
15. Meeting Ourselves Coming Back
16. House on Fire
Top 10 Ways to Lower Your Impact
Acknowledgements
Sources of Information
More Reading
References
When a beanbag sent thousands of polystyrene balls flying through her garden, Kate Hughes decided to make a break with the throwaway society.
She and her husband transformed the lives of their ordinary family of four. They ditched plastic, shunned supermarkets, cooked all meals from scratch, bought only second-hand clothes, and made their own cleaning agents. Then they went deeper – greening every aspect of their home life, from their gas and electricity to their car, from their money to their IT.
The Hugheses have achieved the ‘zero waste’ goal of sending nothing to landfill. Now they are going even further…
Told with refreshing humility and humour, this eye-opening story shows that a well-lived life doesn’t have to come wrapped in plastic. Packed with handy tips, it reveals much about what makes a fulfilling modern family – and how readers can empower themselves to preserve the climate, forests and seas. And, heart-warmingly, how that can lead to a more relaxing life.
Table of Contents
1. The Eye Opener
2. Unravelling a Lifetime’s Training
3. Assume Nothing
4. Down the Drain
5. Wardrobe Malfunction
6. Loving the Preloved
7. Generation Fear
8. Throw Away Tradition
9. Seeing It All
10. Widening the Net
11. Green Energy
12. A Bit More Zero
13. Ghost in the Machine
14. Follow the Money
15. Meeting Ourselves Coming Back
16. House on Fire
Top 10 Ways to Lower Your Impact
Acknowledgements
Sources of Information
More Reading
References
- GenresNonfictionEnvironment
223 pages, Paperback
Published March 31, 2022
5 people are currently reading
36 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 16, 2025
I think we all have an underlying instinct when we buy something or do something that’s going to have a negative impact, but we are good at silencing those instincts because of various reasons, this book has brought a lot of my own choices into question in a good way, the biggest thing I’m taking from this is to stop and think about how I want to live my life. If not from an environmental point of view, people should really question consumerism, foods full of things that make us ill, physically and mentally and who does it benefit, and go beyond that to how you spend your time, social media’s impact on people’s emotions and habits.
October 31, 2022
A bit heavy going but only due to the topic. I found this to be a detailed journey of the authors attempt to be 'zero free' and it validated a lot of questions I have sat and asked myself when thinking about how I could do the same. Small doses of humour thrown in makes this easier to digest in parts.
December 21, 2022
Many of these things remain impossible in US cities.
August 28, 2024
Everyone needs to read this. It has some really good positive things we can all achieve as well as some things pushing the boundaries for those wanting to go the extra mile.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews