Making Waste Old News
HOW TO ADVOCATE FOR ZERO-WASTE ON YOUR CAMPUS
College campuses create a lot of waste – and with the average college student creating 640 pounds of trash annually, this waste is not easy on our planet. Luckily, though, college administrators care about their students’ opinions. So, advocating for a zero waste project from a student’s perspective is a great way to help instigate campus waste reduction.
But how exactly can you, as a student, advocate for college administrators to consider a zero waste project? We’ve got some starting points for how you can do just that.
IDENTIFY THE DECISION-MAKER AT YOUR SCHOOL
A key first step is discovering the person to contact about your suggested project. Ultimately, someone will make the final decision to give the project a go-ahead or not – and it’s important to know who this person is to prepare to contact them.
For example, if you are interested in advocating for a returnable takeout solution like USEFULL, the relevant job position may include Director of Dining Services, Director of Auxiliary Services, or Vice President for Facilities Management.
DEVELOP YOUR PLAN AND CREATE MATERIALS WHICH WOULD PERSUADE THE DECISION-MAKER
The next step is to develop a proposal for your project. The decision-maker weighs a lot of different factors, such as cost, ease of operation, and your campus’s zero waste goals, so it is key to develop a detailed proposal and materials which can help persuade the decision-maker
USEFULL example: If you are advocating for USEFULL on your campus, you might conduct a survey of students’ opinions on single-use waste and collect information about USEFULL’s benefits.
SET UP A MEETING WITH THE DECISION-MAKER
In this meeting, you can present your materials, ask questions, and ask for the decision-maker’s opinions and reservations. Overall, in this meeting, have a conversation about the benefits and costs of making the change on campus.
USEFULL example: You can direct the decision-maker to the USEFULL website and provide them with USEFULL’s contact information (phil@usefull.us) if they are interested in learning more.
KEEP THE FIRE BURNING
After the meeting, make sure to follow up with the decision maker and continue research on their reservations. In order to create change, we must be persistent – continue to spread the word.
USEFULL example: USEFULL has a team of college interns who have led student-run projects – reach out to us for tips on how we’ve done it in the past, and we can help pass along some strategies.
Overall, creating change at institutions like colleges can be difficult. But it can be done – and since many colleges have zero waste goals and value their students’ opinions, students can be agents of sustainable change. You’ve got this, and we can’t wait to see you build a plastic-free future!
By Karlie Hayes, Marketing Strategy Intern, karlie@usefull.us