“Lubell created Garbage Goddess, which provides eco-cleanup services for events in New York City, the Hamptons, the Hudson Valley and soon, Los Angeles. ‘We try to find alternative homes for everything,’ she said.”

“Extravagant tableaus of fruits and flowers have become popular centerpieces for runway shows and photo shoots — and call for a new kind of responsible clean up.”

“The scavengers, a team from an event cleanup service called Garbage Goddess, were the last to appear. They came after the show [Ulla Johnson, Spring-Summer 2023], wearing plant-dyed overalls, and transported the now wilting flowers to a compost facility on Long Island.”

“Once the models had rushed off to their next shows, the flowers and branches were collected for their next assignment by Garbage Goddess.”

“ ‘A typical large event like a wedding or gala can produce up to 100 bags of flowers,’ Ms. Lubell said. ‘It’s not just centerpieces on a table anymore. The whole ceiling could be filled with flowers.’ ”

“Liza Lubell…had become disillusioned with the amount of waste that she and her peers were creating. [Garbage Goddess] contracts with event organizers and corporations to repurpose, recycle, upcycle and compost flower arrangements and the props that come with them.”

“Liza understands that seeking and providing pleasure through flowers comes with serious responsibility. Her message: we must change our relationship to that which brings us joy, lest we extinguish the sources of our wonder forever.”

“ “There’s definitely been a maximalist approach to events recently,” Lubell said. “And it can seem really hypocritical.

We’re supposed to be these stewards who connect people with nature, and then after an event it gets tossed into a landfill.” To avoid this outcome, [Garbage Goddess] brings excess props, such as trellises or vases, to donation centers and schools. [Lubell] has also built a network of dye artists in the city who will take her flowers and extract their natural pigments before composting the remnants.”