See How This Manhattan Woman Has Lived Completely Trash-Free For Two Years

Sustainability activist and blogger Stevie Van Horn strives to live a minimal life with the least amount of environmental impact possible. Two years ago, she decided to live a life with zero-waste. No trash, no plastic, just reused, recycled, and upcycled products only. In this video from sustainable clothing company United by Blue, see how she makes sustainable decisions every single day.

Aside from carefully planned grocery runs and a tendency to pick up litter off the street, Stevie Van Horn’s waste-free life is surprisingly ordinary. Her days typically start with a morning run and end after she’s churned out a few commissioned embroidery projects (Stevie spruces up secondhand tees with intricate embroidered designs, often featuring endangered species). Once a week, she heads to the farmer’s market to stock up on groceries, which allows her to buy locally, avoid plastic packaging, and cut back on food waste. She visits the 4th Street Food Co-op, a Manhattan purveyor of bulk food, spices, and cleaning goods, on a monthly basis to restock her pantry. She requests drinks without straws, uses a compostable bamboo toothbrush, and brings her own popcorn to Knicks games — but within a few hours, she’s convinced us that living waste-free is totally manageable.