The Student-Led Zero Waste Movement

In this workshop, we have participants envision what a zero waste campus would look like. We break the room into groups and give them a limited amount of time to draw or map out how they would prevent specific forms of waste from entering campus, how they would control the collection, logistics, and flow of waste through campus, and how they would manage the process of removing waste (if any) from campus. If time allows, we also tack on an additional step of designing innovative ideas for how students can cut down on the amount of waste produced within a campus. For example, a tool share could allow students to rent tools rather than having to buy them, similar to a bike share. Students may also envision a campus thrift store, a community garden, or an upcycling workshop space, as examples. Throughout the presentation we sprinkle in many key leadership lessons; how to communicate effectively with campus professionals, when and how to follow up, working with a team, facilitating and delegating tasks, negotiation strategy, and more. Once their visions have been mapped out, we run an exercise on power-mapping and discuss how students can go about implementing change on their campuses. Who do they need to talk to, how should they go about conducting those types of meetings and conversations, and where do they turn when they face hurdles and challenges along the way