In the age of consumerism, we tend to throw away the old a little bit too quickly. According to some sources, the U.S. alone produces a world-leading 250 million tons a year— that’s roughly 4.4 pounds of trash per person per day. So it’s refreshing to see how some people take matters into their own hands, literally.
EnterLauren Singer. In 2012, Singer was an Environmental Studies major, when she noticed a fellow classmate would bring his lunch in a single-use plastic bag, a disposable water bottle, and a plastic takeout container. “I would sit there and think: we are supposed to be the future of this planet and here we are with our trash, messing it up,” writes Singer on her personal website.
That was when she started her zero waste journey. To Singer, zero waste means that she does not produce any garbage whatsoever. “No sending anything to landfill, no throwing anything in a trash can, nothing. However, I do recycle and I do compost,” she explains.
Now, she documents her green lifestyle in her cheeky blog, Trash is for Tossers, as well as her Instagram page and a YouTube channel, where she shares her tips and tricks. Scrolling through her social media platforms, her zero waste journey looks almost fun. And according to this NYC guru, her lifestyle is very simple and naturally, cost-effective.
