Zero-Waste Delivery Service the Rounds Expands Outside Miami to Fort Lauderdale

Have you ever come home to a pile of Amazon boxes and felt guilty about all the packaging waste? Or maybe you've tried to shop locally but balk at traveling from market to market in rush hour traffic? Or perhaps you want your groceries delivered, but all the fees and tips add up to a figure that makes it unappealing?

For anyone struggling with how to shop and live sustainably, there's a local solution growing its South Florida footprint.

Earlier this month, the Rounds — the no-waste grocery and home-stocking delivery service that refills your staple home goods from pantry items and produce to paper and cleaning products — announced that it had tripled its delivery area, growing to encompass more than 50 zip codes across Miami-Dade and Broward counties.

When the Rounds launched in South Florida in 2022, the only downside was its limited scope from Brickell to Morningside, east of I-95.

"Now, we are proud to say we are able to reach almost one million households, and with nearly 50 local products," the Rounds cofounder and CEO Alexander Torrey tells New Times. "That's very exciting for us to be expanding this far, this quickly."

Founded in 2019, the Rounds initially launched in Philadelphia and has since expanded to Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Miami.

According to Torrey, the idea for the startup began after he discovered how difficult it was to shop sustainably from a high-rise apartment building.

"I was very much solving a problem for myself. From the single-use consumer packaging that created so much waste and the bulk of carrying so many packages and bags upstairs to not being able to find many essential items at the store I visited, it just seemed like there was a better way," shares Torrey.

He created the Rounds, a grocery and essential item delivery service with no price markups, delivery fees, or surcharge fees.
"It's called "the rounds" because we make the rounds on the same day for you and all your neighbors with deliveries to drop your fresh bundle and pick up your empties," explains Torrey, who estimates there are approximately 10,000 active Rounds members across all service areas.

Instead, a $10 monthly membership fee gets customers weekly deliveries in sustainable, eco-friendly packaging. The company pays special attention to local products whenever possible to support small businesses. In Miami, that includes partnerships with local brands La Provence Bakery, Panther Coffee, Green Tomato Produce, and Gables Delight.

To go one step further, the Rounds also takes your empty packaging — everything from cardboard and plastic to batteries and other hard-to-dispose items like SodaStream cartridges — ensuring they are properly recycled. Torrey estimates that customers reduce packaging waste by as much as 50 percent each year with the service.

In tandem with the delivery-zone expansion and its local product catalogue, the Rounds now offers members optional service add-ons like composting and donation pickup.

The company's neighborhood refill center in Miami employs delivery personnel who bring weekly drop-offs to customers via electric vans or bikes. Each week, members of the Rounds can leave their empty reusable containers out for pickup, which are professionally cleaned and repurposed.

"We all want an easy option to live more sustainably, but the reality is it has to be easy," admits Torrey.

Moving forward, Torrey says he hopes to expand the service to other major cities nationwide.

"The rounds can be successful anywhere because we all need essential products, and we all want affordable, sustainable alternatives that work," says Torrey. "Luckily, we have cities like Miami, which is so ready for a zero-waste service to learn and grow with."

If you want to try it, visit the Rounds' website. The first membership charge is waived, no promo code is needed.