Zero Waste Life
Meet people around Japan who strive for a life without waste under the traditional philosophy of "MOTTAINAI," which values cherishing the things we have.
Seasons
📺
E1
Rubbish Remodeled
Aired Jan 25, 2026
15 min
📺
E1
Waste Fabric, New Material
Aired Jan 31, 2025
15 min
📺
E2
The Recycle Bar
Aired Feb 21, 2025
15 min
📺
E3
The Time Maker
Aired Mar 14, 2025
15 min
📺
E4
Zero Waste Family
Aired Mar 21, 2025
15 min
📺
E5
Pottery Island
Aired Mar 28, 2025
15 min
📺
E6
Sea Ice Glass
Aired Apr 27, 2025
15 min
📺
E7
Milk Carton Magic
Aired May 18, 2025
15 min
📺
E8
No Stone Wasted
Aired May 25, 2025Inagaki Ryota, who runs a stone carving business, and his partner, stone artisan Inoue Koji, use stone castoffs to make beautiful tableware that also helps keep food at the optimal temperature.
15 min
📺
E9
Essence of the Forest
Aired Jun 22, 2025Branches from trees culled to thin the forest, once of no value, are the ideal material for Ishibashi Tetsushi. Extracting the essential oils, he transforms them into forest fragrances and hand soaps.
15 min
📺
E10
Sails Unfurled Again
Aired Jun 29, 2025If even slightly damaged, yacht sails can no longer be used. Inspired by her love of the sport, former pro yacht racer Tagami Amiko takes such sails and makes them into bags and other products.
15 min
📺
E11
Pineapple Power
Aired Aug 31, 2025Uda Etsuko turns fibre from hard-to-process waste pineapple leaves into yarn and fabric for textiles in Okinawa. Expanding her operation to Indonesia, she hopes to take this untapped resource global.
15 min
📺
E12
Bamboo Lights the Way
Aired Sep 28, 2025Forester Omura Daisuke transforms harmful overgrown bamboo in the mountains of Japan into distinctive lights. Instead of seeing it as a nuisance he seeks ways for bamboo and humans to coexist.
15 min
📺
E1
Folk House 3: Thoughts of Summer
Aired Jan 19, 2024
15 min
📺
E2
Folk House 4: Autumn Leaves
Aired Jan 26, 2024
15 min
📺
E3
Life of the Mountain
Aired Feb 2, 2024
15 min
📺
E4
Doll Revival
Aired Feb 9, 2024
15 min
📺
E5
Upcycling Old School
Aired Mar 15, 2024
15 min
📺
E6
Clothing Rescue Atelier
Aired Mar 22, 2024
15 min
📺
E7
Judo Gis Forever
Aired Apr 19, 2024
15 min
📺
E8
Waste Flowers by Candlelight
Aired May 17, 2024
15 min
📺
E9
Knitting the Future
Aired May 24, 2024
15 min
📺
E10
The Plant Rescuer
Aired Jun 20, 2024
15 min
📺
E11
Peanut Leather
Aired Jun 27, 2024
15 min
📺
E12
Sea Trash Jams
Aired Aug 9, 2024
15 min
📺
E13
Zero Waste Cafe
Aired Aug 30, 2024
15 min
📺
E14
Bridal Upcycle
Aired Sep 20, 2024
15 min
📺
E15
Fueled by Ramen
Aired Sep 27, 2024
15 min
📺
E16
Sea Nuisance, Sea Treasure
Aired Oct 18, 2024
15 min
📺
E17
Farmer's Veggie Soap
Aired Oct 25, 2024
15 min
📺
E18
Bread Crust Brewing
Aired Nov 22, 2024
15 min
📺
E19
Sakiori: Woven in Respect
Aired Dec 27, 2024
15 min
📺
E1
Stuffed Animal Hospital
Aired Jan 27, 2023
15 min
📺
E2
Denim Daruma
Aired Feb 17, 2023
15 min
📺
E3
Furniture in Blue
Aired Feb 24, 2023
15 min
📺
E4
Life Taken, Life Received
Aired Mar 17, 2023
15 min
📺
E5
Clothes to the Earth
Aired Mar 24, 2023
15 min
📺
E6
Full Trash Alchemist
Aired Apr 21, 2023
15 min
📺
E7
Sea Trash Nails
Aired May 26, 2023
15 min
📺
E8
Food Waste Washi
Aired Jun 30, 2023
15 min
📺
E9
Tick-Tock Transformation
Aired Jul 21, 2023
15 min
📺
E10
Sawdust Clay
Aired Jul 28, 2023
15 min
📺
E11
Old Glove, New Dreams
Aired Aug 25, 2023
15 min
📺
E12
Local Produce, Local Color
Aired Sep 22, 2023
15 min
📺
E13
Bicycle Upcycle Cycle
Aired Sep 29, 2023
15 min
📺
E14
Furniture: Shabby to Chic
Aired Oct 13, 2023
15 min
📺
E15
A Toast to Waste
Aired Oct 20, 2023
15 min
📺
E16
Preserving the Seasons
Aired Dec 22, 2023
15 min
📺
E17
Life Less Plastic
Aired Dec 29, 2023
15 min
📺
E1
Old Clothes, New Shine
Aired Jan 7, 2022
15 min
📺
E2
Portrait in Cork
Aired Jan 14, 2022
15 min
📺
E3
Piano Heartwood
Aired Feb 4, 2022
15 min
📺
E4
Scrap Car to Tough Bag
Aired Feb 11, 2022
15 min
📺
E5
More than Mom's Hand-me-down
Aired Mar 4, 2022
15 min
📺
E6
Back in Black
Aired Mar 11, 2022
15 min
📺
E7
Folk House: The Beauty of Age
Aired Mar 21, 2022
15 min
📺
E8
Eatery Happiness Exchange
Aired Apr 15, 2022
15 min
📺
E9
Handmade Green Living
Aired May 6, 2022
15 min
📺
E10
Jeans Genie
Aired May 27, 2022
15 min
📺
E11
Folk House 2: The Gift of Spring
Aired Jun 10, 2022
15 min
📺
E12
Retro Panes to the Future
Aired Jun 17, 2022
15 min
📺
E13
Tent, Trash, Fashion!
Aired Jul 8, 2022
15 min
📺
E14
Timeless Stained Glass
Aired Aug 5, 2022
15 min
📺
E15
Altar Accessories
Aired Sep 2, 2022
15 min
📺
E16
Good Shoes Never Die
Aired Oct 21, 2022
15 min
📺
E17
Loaves of Light
Aired Oct 28, 2022
15 min
📺
E18
Old Decks, New Tricks
Aired Nov 18, 2022
15 min
📺
E19
Subway Bag
Aired Nov 25, 2022
15 min
📺
E20
Clean Beaches, Cleaner Plates
Aired Dec 22, 2022
15 min
📺
E1
Kintsugi: Giving New Life to Broken Vessels
Aired Jun 4, 2021
15 min
📺
E2
Asakusa Washi: Omikuji Recycling
Aired Jun 11, 2021
15 min
📺
E3
The Toy Doctor
Aired Jul 2, 2021
15 min
📺
E4
Discarded Umbrellas Reborn
Aired Jul 9, 2021
15 min
📺
E5
Lumber Rescue
Aired Aug 6, 2021
15 min
📺
E6
From Rubbish to Rainbow
Aired Aug 13, 2021
15 min
📺
E7
Zako: Trash Fish Is Treasure
Aired Sep 3, 2021
15 min
📺
E8
Waste Wood Sonata
Aired Sep 10, 2021
15 min
📺
E9
Floral Incarnation
Aired Oct 1, 2021
15 min
📺
E10
Green Mountain Grandma
Aired Nov 5, 2021
15 min
📺
E11
A School Bag Forever
Aired Nov 12, 2021
15 min
📺
E12
Scrap Can Shine
Aired Dec 3, 2021
15 min
📺
E13
Glass for Life
Aired Dec 10, 2021
15 min
📺
E14
A Harvest of Colors
Aired Dec 17, 2021
15 min