Profile

Describing herself as a philanthropic housewife, Karen successfully balances motherhood with support for community projects and freelance writing, with an emphasis on mainstream, yet sustainable lifestyle issues. With a regular column in a successful community magazine, MHD, she writes a column called "Food for Thought", highlighting local produce in Suffolk, including the idea of growing your own.

Prior to family life, Karen’s career successes were in technical writing, information management and research, where she worked and consulted in sectors that stretched across academia, public authorities, FT100 companies and music publishing. Karen lives with her husband and two children in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.

The Rubbish Diet

Karen Cannard’s blog The Rubbish Diet was launched into the public eye in March 2008, with a daily column on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, broadcast during zero waste week, and featuring simple hints and tips to inspire people to reduce or eliminate their household waste. Although focusing on waste, The Rubbish Diet is not just about environmental awareness and recycling, but is a lifestyle programme that addresses habits of everyday modern living and how these can be changed, with personal results that go beyond slimmer bins. It's a subject that touches households regardless of age, income or ethnicity.

The Rubbish Diet recordings can be found on The Woman's Hour site. through the Listen Again service:

Mon 10th March: Intro & Tip 1, Get Some Comfy Shoes
Tuesday 11th March: Tip 2, Learn to Become a Rubbish Cook
Wednesday 12th March: Tip 3, Get Some New Pets
Thursday 13th March: Tip 4, Get Everyone Involved
Friday 14th March: Tip 5, Weigh In


In spring 2009, the blog came runner up in the Media Guardian Awards for Innovation and was one of 5 blogs to help front the 2009 national Recycle Week campaign. Karen has also been shortlisted as a finalist in the Recycling Champion category of the CIWM awards for Environmental Excellence, to be held on 11 November

Karen is currently working on her first book based on The Rubbish Diet blog To keep up to date with this and what's happening on the blog visit www.therubbishdiet.co.uk.

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Recent radio appearances associated with The Rubbish Diet: Pre-recorded column for BBC Radio 4 Woman’s Hour, broadcast 10^th-14^th March 2008; Interview on the Sean Moncrieff Show, Newstalk Radio (Ireland), 11^th March; Interview on the James Hazell Show, BBC Radio Suffolk,12^th March for feature on Zero Waste; and a Christmas feature about how to reduce waste during the festive period. Karen is now a regular on the James Hazell show. As well as promoting ways to reduce waste, she's also a member of the GirlsTalk panel, discussing entertaining stories featured in the national press from a female perspective.

A regular on the JVS consumer show on BBC Three Counties Radio, invited appearances include debates on issues such as recycling, food waste and carborexia as well as a festive discussion on how to reduce Christmas cards.

A 21st Century Mother

Karen's first blog, 21st Century Mummy, takes a humorous look at the minutiae of contemporary parenthood, addressing issues of parenting and sustainability, where often never the twain shall meet. For details, visit www.21stcenturymummy.blogspot.com.

Her latest blog Don't Tear Your Hair Out is a tale of a domestically challenged housewife trying to perfect her duties on the homefront amidst an onslaught of more interesting distractions. As she discovers the true nature of her talents, she hopes to unravel the role of the housewife in the 21st Century.