Shia Su is the inspirational woman behind the multilingual Wasteland Rebel blog and podcast. She also works for the Cosmo radio network and has presented a series on sustainability for the German TV network WDR, entitled Shia Su for Future. Her 2018 book, Zero Waste: Simple Life Hacks to Drastically Reduce Your Trash, has been translated into multiple languages. She is from and based in Germany but has also lived and built a sizeable reputation in North America and beyond.

Su is one of the leading global figureheads of the increasingly popular Zero Waste movement. The movement’s aim is to get people to reduce the amount of rubbish they throw away by living a more conscious, sustainable lifestyle. As she explained in her Zero Waste book, Su did this by producing so little un-reusable waste in one year that she could fit it all into a single mason jar. She is also passionate about climate change and works on the diverse Cosmo radio network, talking about climate and sustainability issues, exposing greenwashing, and giving her listeners easy-to-follow eco life-hacks. The same themes are featured in her German-language TV show, in which she meets eco-pioneers and looks at issues around plastic use and food consumption, etc.

Su’s Wasteland Rebel blog, which is presented in both German and English began when Su found herself on what she terms the “consumption hamster wheel”, mindlessly consuming disposable products whilst also feeling she couldn’t afford to buy organic food. After chancing on a Zero Waste video, she decided to embrace the lifestyle herself and has never looked back, inspiring many others to take up the challenge themselves.