This summer, Abi worked to raise awareness of the University’s new Waste Strategy including the new 60% recycling target. This included upgrading recycling facilities across ten buildings on campus, communicating with staff and students and investigate waste and recycling issues across campus.
What did your role involved?
As a Junior Sustainability Officer, I created a communication plan to engage with staff and students about upgrading facilities across campus. From Health & Safety’s input into the floorplans, porters’ assistance in moving newly unpacked and labelled bins and talking to staff during our recycling roadshows- this internship has taught me the importance of communication across all services and departments.
In addition to co-ordinating distribution of stock, I also undertook investigative tasks across campus such as resolving recycling from sports pitches and a fall in Foxhill House’s recycling rate. Whilst putting our Sherlock caps on, we managed to form both temporary and permanent solution for this and other scenarios.
What have you gained from this experience?
A vast knowledge of bins! -this encompasses both internal and external. All the factors that go into the decisions of locations and type of bins have been difficult but interesting. Similar to last year, I also developed my communications skills whilst implementing this large scale project and engaging with building users. I also gained an unreasonable love for bins (and labels)!
Would you recommend this to others?
This opportunity has broadened my understanding of sustainability and its many branches. You not only work with Sustainability Services but also the friendly, helpful staff from other departments. I would definitely recommend this internship to others as it provides a platform to develop a range of skills such as your floor mapping skills to learning to preserve and remain professional in difficult environments.
We have developed a student sustainability awards programme, to engage student with sustainability and provide them with an opportunity to focus on what matters to them the most. This would give you an insight into some of what sustainability services do throughout the year.
Thank you!
