WEBVTT - Habits of Waste Founder on Combating Climate Change

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<v Speaker 1>This is Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and Bloomberg

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<v Speaker 1>Quick Takes Tim Stinovic from Bloomberg Radio. Listen. We've talked

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about the climate and climate change over the

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<v Speaker 1>past year, some good blue skies that we started to

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<v Speaker 1>see animals coming out seeing mountain ranges for the first

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<v Speaker 1>time as the economy unfortunately shut down because of the pandemic,

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<v Speaker 1>and we've been talking a lot about the impact climate

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<v Speaker 1>change is having on our world and how we can

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<v Speaker 1>make some changes. So looking at how we can create

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<v Speaker 1>better habits that help the environment and our climate is

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<v Speaker 1>Shela Sheila Moravati. She is president founder of Habits of Waste.

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<v Speaker 1>It's a nonprofit focusing on reducing environmental impact. She joins

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<v Speaker 1>us on the phone from Los Angeles. Sheila, Welcome to Bloomberg.

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<v Speaker 1>Nice to have you here. Hi, Carol, thanks so much

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<v Speaker 1>for having me. Hey listen. Like a lot of our guests,

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<v Speaker 1>I've got to first ask you, what's your last twelve

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<v Speaker 1>months been? Like? I mean and quiet. I have to

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<v Speaker 1>say I've been um. I was living a very intense

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<v Speaker 1>life prior to the pandemic. I don't even know how

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<v Speaker 1>I at it. I mean, I was a classic person

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<v Speaker 1>that was burning the candle at two ends, and the

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<v Speaker 1>pandemic just forced us into a very different lifestyle that, um,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, really made me think a lot of about

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<v Speaker 1>a lot of things. So, um, the environment is definitely

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<v Speaker 1>at the top of the list. Well, and it's interesting

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<v Speaker 1>because of the pandemic, as I mentioned, uh, and the

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<v Speaker 1>inswer to this is that, like all of a sudden

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about with people not driving to work and

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<v Speaker 1>planes not flying, uh, the environment got a lot cleaner.

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<v Speaker 1>At the same time, we have been using a lot

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<v Speaker 1>of single use items, whether it's uh, plastic cutlery and

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<v Speaker 1>plastic bags or you know, masks one time. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>it's kind of this dichotomy of different things going on. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>tell us about what you are trying to do with

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<v Speaker 1>habits of waste, especially when I feel like we've all

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<v Speaker 1>had a past year to really think about our impact,

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<v Speaker 1>our footprint on society. Absolutely, UM, So I come into

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<v Speaker 1>environmentalism with a little bit of a different angle. I

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<v Speaker 1>studied sociology you c l A. And found it fascinating

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<v Speaker 1>to understand human behavior and how to shift the behavior

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<v Speaker 1>of the masses. So throughout the pandemic, UM, food delivery

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<v Speaker 1>applications went through the roof, so the increase in food

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<v Speaker 1>delivery orders was about So what I realized is if

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<v Speaker 1>we were able to convince people to only receive plastic

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<v Speaker 1>cutlery upon request, how could we decrease the forty billion

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<v Speaker 1>pieces of plastic cutlery that are entering our waste stream

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<v Speaker 1>every single year. So I was able to convince Uber eats, Postmates,

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<v Speaker 1>and grub Hub to swap that default setting, so it's

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<v Speaker 1>no plastic cutlery comes out anymore unless you ask for it.

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<v Speaker 1>We're still waiting on Doortosh to jump in, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>imperative that they join us because they had about of

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<v Speaker 1>all food delivery orders. In that being said, um we

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<v Speaker 1>used technology to get to this point. We had an

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<v Speaker 1>email campaign on our website at habits of waste dot

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<v Speaker 1>org where users could come in, send an email and

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<v Speaker 1>it would go directly to these food delivery applications. And

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<v Speaker 1>I felt that if the food delivery apps knew that

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<v Speaker 1>this is what we wanted. We have this junk drawer

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<v Speaker 1>everybody has in the kitchen that they feel horrible about

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<v Speaker 1>throwing away, yet it built to the rim with plastic cutlery.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, ask anybody they've got one. So luckily these

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<v Speaker 1>emails worked and we sent about ten thousand emails to date,

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<v Speaker 1>and now we're just holding out for door dash and

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<v Speaker 1>then we'll have it all done. It's amazing. How now,

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<v Speaker 1>like I've got to say, we've gotten used to it

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<v Speaker 1>and not getting cutlery and don't miss it. I'm actually

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<v Speaker 1>kind of grateful that we're not getting it, and silly

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<v Speaker 1>for us for not kind of saying earlier on like

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<v Speaker 1>don't you know, don't put it in. But it became

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<v Speaker 1>such a habit right of all the takeout places, right,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's really about choice architecture, Like how is it

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<v Speaker 1>that we're just being bombarded with these habitual behaviors of

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<v Speaker 1>waste without really getting a chance to even do better

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<v Speaker 1>or bypass it. You know. I spearheaded the first plastic

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<v Speaker 1>straw and cutlery band in history, which was in the

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<v Speaker 1>city of Malibu, and unfortunately, banning plastic straws was a

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<v Speaker 1>lot easier than banning plastic cutlery. So here we are

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<v Speaker 1>trying to at least have it only upon request, and

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<v Speaker 1>most people don't even want it, so it's a win win.

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<v Speaker 1>And by the way, restaurants are saving a ton of money.

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<v Speaker 1>I'll give you this one really interesting fact. Postmates announced

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<v Speaker 1>that within a year they saved a hundred and twenty

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<v Speaker 1>two million packs of cutlery from entering the environment, and

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<v Speaker 1>that was an equivalent of three point two million dollars

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<v Speaker 1>in savings for restaurants. So, you know, plastic is really important.

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<v Speaker 1>But the next most important thing that I've ever done,

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<v Speaker 1>probably in my whole entire life, has been, um, trying

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<v Speaker 1>to get more people to eat plans. Well, well that's

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<v Speaker 1>the thing almost important thing we need to do right now, Sheila,

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<v Speaker 1>let's talk about I'm up on your website and I

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<v Speaker 1>was looking at it earlier today as well. There's a

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<v Speaker 1>form you can fill out to join a challenge that

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<v Speaker 1>you have. It's called hashtag eight Meals. What's that about? Yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>so um, Actually it's a brand new app that we

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<v Speaker 1>have and it's available in the app Store under Habits

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<v Speaker 1>of Waste and eight Meals was basically born because you know,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm very much involved in environmental work. Yet one thing

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<v Speaker 1>I've yet to, you know, be able to commit to

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<v Speaker 1>fully is going fully vegan and eating every single meal

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<v Speaker 1>plant based. Is just something that I felt was impossible.

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<v Speaker 1>If I feel this way, I can guarantee that many

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<v Speaker 1>of your listeners probably feel the same way. And I

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<v Speaker 1>felt very dissuaded by the whole thing, and always like I, Okay,

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<v Speaker 1>I'm gonna try this week, But then I'd fall off

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<v Speaker 1>the bandwagon. I came across the study by this University

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<v Speaker 1>of Michigan and two lane talking about how Western cultures

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<v Speaker 1>must decrease their animal protein and take by fort at

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<v Speaker 1>the very minimum in order for us to even have

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<v Speaker 1>a chance at climate change. It is the number one

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<v Speaker 1>thing individuals must do to make an impact. So I

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<v Speaker 1>thought about that and I said, okay, well, how do

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<v Speaker 1>we translate that for the everyday person to be able

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<v Speaker 1>to adopt this idea into their daily lives. So three

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<v Speaker 1>meals a day time, seven days a week, twenty one meals?

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<v Speaker 1>What's that that gives us eight meals? So that's the goal,

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<v Speaker 1>is that we all want to try and increase our

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<v Speaker 1>plant based meals by eight meals a week. And we've

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<v Speaker 1>created this new application to help everyone do that by

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<v Speaker 1>providing recipes linking your meals you want to plug in

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<v Speaker 1>into your calendar. You can check out how much of

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<v Speaker 1>a carbon reduction you're making because by eating eight meals

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<v Speaker 1>a week, it's actually carbon that you're reducing, which is

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<v Speaker 1>the equivalent of driving a hybrid car a week, I'm sorry,

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<v Speaker 1>a hybrid car for a year. So eight meals a

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<v Speaker 1>week for a year is equivalent to driving a prius. Um,

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<v Speaker 1>don't you don't you almost feel like like I think

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<v Speaker 1>about this year where we as individuals, global citizens, learned

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<v Speaker 1>a lot about obviously a health pandemic, but also what

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<v Speaker 1>it takes to create a vaccine, Like we peeled back

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<v Speaker 1>the layers, and I almost feel like food production is

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<v Speaker 1>a thing where I don't think we all really understand

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<v Speaker 1>where a lot of stuff comes from or the impact

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<v Speaker 1>it has. We've we've done a lot of stories here

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<v Speaker 1>at Bloomberg about meat, meat production and what it does

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<v Speaker 1>for the climate and the environment. Um, you know, what,

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<v Speaker 1>what do you think about in terms of what we

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<v Speaker 1>need to do though to also educate people about food?

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, we understand organic versus not and things like that,

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<v Speaker 1>but the mass production of food, you know, not so much,

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<v Speaker 1>although we've got a glimpse of it. Right when all

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<v Speaker 1>of a sudden the supply chain started coming undone during

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<v Speaker 1>the pandemic, right you know, one fact that always sticks, um,

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<v Speaker 1>is when you keep it really simple. So for example,

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<v Speaker 1>creating one pound of beef is the equivalent of eight

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<v Speaker 1>thousand gallons of water. So just thinking about these small

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<v Speaker 1>things that you know, just like tidbits of information. And

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<v Speaker 1>by the way, eating a plant based meal eight times

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<v Speaker 1>a week is not so you know, impossible for many people,

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<v Speaker 1>and in fact, you feel better and it's less expensive.

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<v Speaker 1>So there's a lot of winds in there for your health,

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<v Speaker 1>for your wallet, for the environment. So if we can

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<v Speaker 1>just look at it like, Okay, I'm not going to commit, fine,

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<v Speaker 1>maybe you will. You never know. After eight meals, a

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<v Speaker 1>lot of people are like, I'm kind of grossed up

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<v Speaker 1>by me. I don't even need it. Great, but my

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<v Speaker 1>my whole mission is to edge kate with as much

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<v Speaker 1>small bits of information that would interest the everyday person

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<v Speaker 1>that's not in the environmental world, because people are living

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<v Speaker 1>their lives. They're busy, they just got to get dinner

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<v Speaker 1>on the table, and they've got work in school and

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<v Speaker 1>a million other things, especially this past year. So um, yeah,

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<v Speaker 1>this is my philosophy that you know, if you can

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<v Speaker 1>just give small bits of info, it's great. What do

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<v Speaker 1>you think it's holding people back the most from doing things.

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<v Speaker 1>Little things like you say, these habits, uh, you change them.

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<v Speaker 1>If everybody starts to change a little habit, that's a

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<v Speaker 1>significant one, you can you can kind of alter the

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<v Speaker 1>outcome of our climate. What's holding people back? I think

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<v Speaker 1>people just aren't aware that their impact matters. So it's

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<v Speaker 1>just that everyone says I'm just one person. I'm only

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<v Speaker 1>one person. But if we all said that, then nothing

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<v Speaker 1>would get done in the world. So this is an opportunity.

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<v Speaker 1>Our whole website, our whole mission on Habits of waste

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<v Speaker 1>dot org is really about inspiring people to know you

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<v Speaker 1>do matter and your actions do add up and so,

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<v Speaker 1>and then taking away obstacles. So, for ex ample, the

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<v Speaker 1>eight Meals app is an opportunity for us to make

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<v Speaker 1>it really easy and fun um and interactive to try,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, increasing your plant base meals or cut out cutlery.

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<v Speaker 1>It's taking away a default setting that we were unable

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<v Speaker 1>to communicate properly with the restaurants and the food delivery applications.

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<v Speaker 1>But we were being bombarded with plastic that we didn't want.

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<v Speaker 1>So we're we're here um as an organization to help

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<v Speaker 1>alleviate some of those obstacles in the way, but also

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<v Speaker 1>to inspire the individual to know that every single day

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<v Speaker 1>you wake up in the morning till the time you

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<v Speaker 1>go to bed, you have decisions to make, and those

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<v Speaker 1>decisions add up, you know, by the billions of people

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<v Speaker 1>that are on this planet. What do you think is

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<v Speaker 1>the necessary um collaborations we need? We need to be

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<v Speaker 1>seeing maybe more style between private and public sectors on

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<v Speaker 1>this matter. Well, I believe that if we are able

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<v Speaker 1>to basically give ourselves a little bit, just a little

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<v Speaker 1>bit of wiggle room, that it's not an all or nothing,

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<v Speaker 1>that there's no shame involved, that there's no it's really

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<v Speaker 1>just about do in your very best. I believe that

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<v Speaker 1>that is the most important way to move forward on

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<v Speaker 1>on progress, and that is you know, and listening, listening

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<v Speaker 1>to each side. It really does make a difference because ultimately,

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<v Speaker 1>companies want to do the right thing for their consumers

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<v Speaker 1>um and if the consumers speak up and are heard,

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<v Speaker 1>then it's a beautiful synergy. So with again back to

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<v Speaker 1>the you know, cutout cutlery campaign that we did. The applications,

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<v Speaker 1>you know, they're like these emails, can you stop sending them?

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<v Speaker 1>To us, so they're listening. It's not it's working. It's

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<v Speaker 1>just a matter of again not shaming, and it's just

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<v Speaker 1>positive and just the understanding that we all, we all

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<v Speaker 1>can make an impact. All right, well, good stuff and

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<v Speaker 1>please keep us posted on some of the work that

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<v Speaker 1>you're doing as you got as you continue to move forward. UM,

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<v Speaker 1>really inspirational. Sheila Moravati she Morovoti, excuse me? She is

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<v Speaker 1>president and founder of Habits of Waste on the phone

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<v Speaker 1>from l A. You can find out more by going

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<v Speaker 1>to Habits of weights dot org and you can also

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<v Speaker 1>find out more on Twitter at how Changers