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2014 Spring | Policy & Regulation, Sustainability

Student(s):

Ana Pacheco

Program or Department(s):

  • Program on the Environment
  • University of Washington

Site supervisor(s):

Emily Newcomer

Partner(s):

  • UW Recycling

Faculty advisor(s):

Megan Horst, Professor of Urban Design and Planning, University of Washington

I decided to work with UW Recycling and investigate UW’s waste program because I am extremely interested in how our campus can reach a 70% diversion rate by 2020 and what the significant barriers of getting there were. I have a big passion for waste diversion and interested in figuring out ways we can divert more and use less. Waste impacts our environments in more ways than we realize and it is important to decrease the amount of waste we send to the landfill in order to recover valuable materials and reduce our reliance on virgin materials. UW is known as a sustain-able leader but there are so many steps we can and should be taking to reach the next level of sustainability and it is important that we prioritize waste management even more in the coming years. Being involved in this project allowed me to make a personal change to the university.