Elana Smith

Elana Smith

Meet Elana Smith!  She is the co-owner of One World Zero Waste.  It’s a zero-waste store offering earth-friendly gifts, essentials for zero-waste living and “Weigh & Pay” Organic Bulk Foods.  She and her husband, Steven, who is a Yoga instructor, opened the store a year ago.  They wanted to provide the best possible shopping experience for people, their homes, and the world.    They are both born Floridians.  She is a “mom” to 2 cat babies.

She is an advocate for the environment and is committed to helping others lead a zero-waste lifestyle.

Thank you, Elana, for sharing your story with us and your love for the Palm Beaches.

Questions:

Q: What inspired you or led you to your current career?

A:  “Personally, we were trying to reduce the amount of trash that we were creating.  We saw how much it was and it’s really hard to do this by yourself, especially when you shop at stores like Publix.  There are not many options, especially with the dry goods that are all in plastic.  That’s why we wanted to fill that void and make it easy for people.  We figured out that if it’s easier more people will do it.”

Q: What is your favorite restaurant in The Palm Beaches, and what do you love there?

A:  “Pho and Hot Pot, it is a Vietnamese Pho restaurant in Lake Park.  You get to choose a broth and then pick all of the things you want in your soup and then you cook it at your table.    Christopher’s Kitchen is our special occasion place.   We would go there every day if we could afford it.  Another favorite is Papa Kwan’s.”

Q: How long have you lived or worked in the Palm Beaches?

A:  “I lived here my entire life but for 2 years I lived in New York, in Hyde Park where I went to The Culinary Institute of America for baking and pastry. We have both been in the restaurant industry and are very aware of the amount of waste it produces.  The CIA is very into composting and taught us a lot about it.”

Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in the Palm Beaches?

A:  “I’ve met a lot of interesting people through the store.  I’ve always felt like the lone hippy but now I’ve got a community of like-minded people.  There’s a guy named Garrett Stuart who has the Eco Preservation Project.  He goes around to schools and educates kids on things that you can do for the environment.  He is also known as “Captain Planet” and is involved with so many environmental things.  He is awesome.”

Q: If you could travel anywhere in the world right now, where would it be? And why?

A:  “I really want to go back to India because of their culture, food and everyone is really nice.  It’s really great to travel there.  They really love Americans.”

Q: What is your favorite movie OR what is the first movie you remember seeing in a theater?

A:  “My favorite movies are Benny and Joon and the Waitress.  I used to want to open a pie shop because of that movie.”

Q: What advice would you give a crowd of people?

A:  “We need to have a sense of urgency to change our ways and start making changes in our waste right now.  They’re saying that in 30 years, by 2050, there’s going to be more plastic in ocean and fish and coral reefs are projected to be dead.  If we don’t have coral reefs, we won’t have a clean ocean and we won’t have clean air.  We all need to start doing ONE little thing a day to make a difference.”

Q: What is something on your bucket list?

A:   “To play guitar and I want to go to Ghosh Yoga training.”

Q: What is your favorite music/ 3 bands you would like to see (dead or alive)?

A:  “I really like folk, rock and indie music.  Iron and Wine is my favorite band ever.  Listening to them is like going to church.  I also love Cake and The Shins.  And the band I wish to see is System of A down before they broke up, that would be the best show.”

Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about Palm Beach?

A:  “Palm Beach Ice Cream.  I always remember going there after boating with my family.  My family had a boat and every time after boating we would go to Palm Beach Ice Cream and Dune Dogs.  So now, whenever I think about boating, I have to have Palm Beach Ice Cream.  It is such good ice cream.”

Q: Choosing anyone alive and a non-relative with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where would you have lunch?

A:  “I am about to have lunch with Bea Johnson, I will have a whole day with her.  I get to hear from a true zero waster.  She only produces a jar of trash per year.  We will have lunch somewhere as zero waste as possible, maybe at Christopher’s or Lazy Loggerhead Café.  Somewhere on the beach would be great.”

Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about Palm Beach?

A:  “Our beaches are unique and beautiful.  And I love how people really care about our beaches.  Parking is easy and it’s free. It keeps it charming.  I also love our parks inland like Riverbend and Lake Saxon.  I love to take walks there.”

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 or 10 years?

A:  “With More One World Zero Waste locations.  Then, a full food forest in my yard.  And also spending a little more time in New York.”

Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?

A:  “I’m a big knitter, I love knitting.  I’ve been doing it since I was 11.”

Q: What 3 words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?

A:  “Cats, Decompress and Comfortable.  I love my home and love to be there all the time.”

Q: If you had a full-time staff member that was fully paid for, who would you choose? Chef, Housekeeper, Driver, Coach, Physical Fitness Trainer, or Nanny?

A:  “A driver, we both hate driving.”

Q: If you were cast into a major motion picture and had your choice of anyone to be your co-star, who would you choose?

A:  “Natalie Portman and Ellen Page, those two are the best.”

Visit One World Zero Waste | 354 S. Cypress Drive Unit 1 | Tequesta,  FL 33469 | 561-285-8511

The Faces of The Palm Beaches is a project to showcase the amazing people that live or work in our community.  Who do you know that should be nominated?

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