Four years with CU Zero Waste
Everyone always told me that college will be some of the best years of my life and that it goes by quickly. Man were they right. I remember going through the motions of orientation in the summer of 2014 and it feels like an eternity ago. To this day I couldnt tell you what any of those presentations were about, except for one, and that was from the Environmental Center. I think it was one of the few presentations I actively listened to.泭I remember staying after and chatting with Sarah Dawn Haynes, the Environmental Center's泭Outreach and Engagement Coordinator, about the Center泭for some time.
That conversation really supported my interest in chasing my environmental passion. I thought that volunteering with the E-Center would be a great place for me to gain more experience in the environmental field.
My previous experience was solely from my role as the president of my high schools Environmental Club through which I led students to the shores of New Jersey for beach clean-ups, sand dune plantings, beach protection movements泭and similar activities. Volunteering with the泭Environmental Center was the perfect transition for me and泭I knew I wanted to get as involved as I could.
Fast forward about a month, where I was in Boulder and泭had泭a paying job at the E-Center -泭I was incredibly stoked!泭I was hired on with the Recycling Outreach Crew, where泭I still work as a member of the team, except now we are the Zero Waste Outreach Crew to emphasize composting, reuse泭and other sustainable habits in addition to recycling. The greatest part was that it never felt like work, and it still doesnt.泭I was getting paid to share my passion for sustainability with泭students, just like in high school. Except now it was to a much bigger audience. I found myself reaching out to people I had never seen before in my life and may never see again. The fact that those moments may be the only time I would ever see that individual was exciting to me and I hoped to be memorable in my sustainability messages. It was, and still is, a very rewarding role.
Four years later, Ive learned more than I ever imagined泭through a college job. I know the ins and outs of recycling and composting here in Boulder. I have brought this knowledge with me to summer jobs, to the rugby team I play with here at CU, to my home and family back in New Jersey泭and anywhere else that I can promote sustainable泭habits. It is a passion and knowledge that has been engrained in me. If it wasnt ingrained in me from my time spent sorting recycling at the Recycling Operations Center on campus, it has definitely been ingrained in me from the long, sometimes cold nights spent sorting compost and recycling after home football games.
Over these four years, I have participated in泭over 40 compost sorts. Whether they followed a football game and were in the rain, or followed a basketball game and were in the snow, my hands were deep in泭compost bags pulling out aluminum foil, candy wrappers泭or beer cans.泭Anything that didnt belong there泭stood no chance of泭getting past泭me. Digging through other peoples leftover food to ensure proper composting changed my habits泭and truly drove home the importance of sustainability. Those long nights spent elbow-deep in compost fuel my passion for sustainability and that泭passion fuels my conversations with people who dont yet泭recycle or compost.泭Generally by the end of those conversations I have泭helped泭that individual rethink their actions as a result of泭a newly found understanding.
My career with the E-Center and Zero Waste hasnt been limited to compost sorts. Ive personally gone door-to-door with the Zero Waste泭crews of every residence泭hall asking for freshmen to give me their recycling. Most are baffled but then get super stoked, especially if they have a ton of recycling. This gives us the chance to pick out contaminants with泭new students, to help them understand the ways of green living in Boulder, and to help them understand the difference between泭and importance泭of composting and recycling. This is when we attempt to motivate people to help in the diversion effort. We try to make these interactions memorable and influence those students to take this new knowledge to live sustainably through their time at CU and, hopefully, into the rest of their lives. Its really rewarding to have somebody say oh, wow, I always thought that since its plastic that it could go in the recycling. Ill keep that in mind going forward. Hearing comments like these gets me excited泭to keep going and talking to as many people as I can to spread awareness and hopefully help make a change in the wasteful world we live in.
Another great part about working at the E-Center is that, yes, we are all part of different teams, but we are united in a singular cause and work hard to get泭the job done. It is a great family and organization to be a part of. The connections Ive made with coworkers is awesome and I wouldnt trade the friendships Ive made and the experiences Ive had for anything. I am stoked to carry these experiences and knowledge with me into the world as I prepare to leave college泭and, sadly, Boulder.
As of now I plan to work up in Alaska for my second summer as a backcountry guide. Many great things come from leading backpacking trips into the backcountry of the Alaskan interior, but most specifically is the interactions I make with the men and women I lead out there. I always stress the importance of sustainable living and hiking in the backcountry, and I try to promote these habits to stick with these individuals into their lives back home. My goals out there are that if I can get them to adopt these habits for their 15-20 days they spend in Alaska with me, then they can take these habits home and promote them to their friends and family. All it takes is a little education to individuals here and there and next thing you know a community I have never been to is living more sustainably because of what I shared泭with a few individuals of that community - thoughts like that keep me going! Another great part about the job is I sometimes get individuals who have doubts about climate change. After 10-20 days of discussion about the issue, they generally have a new understanding of climate change and the importance泭individual actions play泭in it.泭
Regardless of my future occupation, the individuals and events I have worked with and experiences I have gained at the Environmental Center will never leave me and will forever fuel my passion to educate and promote a sustainable future.