I Explore Package Free, A Zero-Waste Pop-Up With Lauren Singer And Lucie Fink

Sitting in Package Free, it really does seem like going zero-waste doesn’t have to be all that intimidating. Singer explains that the average American makes about 4.5 pounds of trash per day. Over the course of a year, that number reaches over 1600 pounds. And in 2013, the U.S. alone produced 254 tons of waste, according to the Los Angeles Times. 

If I trade in my plastic coffee cup for an organic bamboo fiber mug from Package Free, however, I can start to make a difference. Pick up natural jarred deodorant, beechwood dishwashing brushes, bamboo toilet paper and Juniperseed Mercantile’s Unpaper Towels, and I’m making an impact — no matter how small it feels. 

So, to evaluate how easy it could be to live a zero-waste lifestyle, I turned to another twenty-something in New York City who knows a thing or two about going trash-free. In her series, Try Living With Lucie, Refinery29’s Lucie Fink went garbage-free for five days, following Singer’s advice.