On October 9th and 10th, Carleton was represented by 3 Sustainability Assistants (Natalie Jacobson, Emma Vinella-Brusher and Emma Link), and 2 students who work on waste issues (Andrew Woosman and Audrey Lothspeich) at the Students for Zero Waste Conference held at the University of New Hampshire. The conference was hosted by PLAN (Post-Landfill Action Network), a cooperative of student leaders working together to prove that a zero waste world is possible.
At the conference, the Carleton students joined college students from around the world to learn about the global waste crisis, collaborate around zero waste solutions, and bring new ideas back to our campuses. In addition to working with college students, the Carleton students engaged with sustainability leaders from around the country who are seeking innovative solutions to this crisis.
The Carleton students returned from the conference with new ideas for zero waste to implement on campus. Some of these ideas include a campus wide zero-waste week, starting a plastic film recycling program, and using new strategies to ban plastics from our campus.
The Carleton students who attended have also networked and made connections with college students and sustainability leaders from around the world, which will help with future sustainability collaborations.
Overall, it was a fantastic opportunity to learn about new ideas regarding zero waste and creative approaches to ensure the implementation of those ideas around campus.