Closing the Loop: Six Students Explore the Circular Economy
This summer, the Sanitation Foundation, in partnership with South Asian Youth Action Inc. (SAYA) in Queens, hosted six high school interns to learn about the circular economy and complete the TRUE Advisor zero waste certification program. In addition to becoming TRUE Advisor certified, the interns each researched an individual waste stream. Throughout the internship, they combined classroom learning with hands-on experiences and conversations with industry experts. At the end of the internship, they presented their research on redesigning their waste stream to align with the circular economy model to the SAYA community and Sanitation Foundation staff.
To deepen their understanding of the many ways materials can stay in circulation, the interns heard from experts in e-waste, textile waste, construction and demolition waste, and reuse opportunities. One intern, Kritan, said his favorite guest speaker was Emily Quinn, a recent college graduate who specializes in redesign and textile reuse in furniture. Kritan said it was inspiring to hear Emily share her experiences across sectors of the circular economy and to learn about her creative efforts to keep materials in circulation and divert as much usable material as possible from landfill.
Building on these conversations, the interns also saw circular economy principles in action through a series of field trips. They took multiple field trips focused on the different disposal methods for the waste streams they were researching. Our interns toured Circular Services to see how materials are recycled, the Newtown Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant to learn about the anaerobic composting digester, Materials for the Arts, a creative reuse center, and BATWorks, a green workforce training facility and a waterfront climate innovation hub. Their exploration continued with a tour of Queens Botanical Gardens, where they learned about managing the community compost bins, Fabscrap, a fabric and textile recycling organization, and the Battery Park City Authority, a certified TRUE zero-waste facility that diverts over 90% of its waste from landfill.
For Josh, who is starting college this fall, seeing these systems firsthand was especially impactful. His favorite field trip was to Circular Services, one of the biggest material recovery facilities in the Western Hemisphere. He compared first seeing photos of the facility and all the waste it processes to being exposed to it in person: “Getting to experience it firsthand… hearing the machines dumping recyclables onto the floor and sorting through them. Seeing the pile in person and just how tall it is does not compare to seeing it on a screen,” Josh remarked. More broadly, his time at Circular Services and throughout the internship changed the way he thought about the value of materials and waste diversion. “This experience has shaped my perspective of saving money and diverting products from landfills into new products to be used again by people who want them.”
While the field trips helped the interns understand the physical systems behind waste management, the guest presenters also offered lessons that stretched beyond sanitation and sustainability. In particular, presenters showed the interns how a diversified job history can help, teaching them to draw lessons from past experiences to inform current decisions. Rising college freshman Joy stated how she appreciated hearing from experts that a career path is not always linear. Her favorite presenter was a DSNY official who didn’t have a traditional career path into sanitation, but conveyed the importance of building transferable skills. Kritan echoed that sentiment after hearing the advice: “I don’t have to stay on a straight path,” he said, “I can gain skills along the way and put them towards something else.”
Beyond career exploration, the internship also gave the students opportunities to develop skills they can carry into their education and future careers. Rising senior Jess felt the internship improved her public speaking because she could ask questions in front of field experts. She said the experiences helped her grow more confident and helped her realize what skills she wants to keep cultivating. “The field trips, the zero waste certification course, and the guest presenters helped me to figure out what skills I can improve on related to waste diversion,” she said.
The interns left the program with a deeper understanding of waste's global impacts. Max, who researched E-waste, learned about the negative effects of e-waste degradation on countries, particularly in the Global South. “Learning about how much of America’s E-waste goes to Southeast Asia and what it does to the environment there was shocking,” he said, “As well as how unfair it is for countries in Southeast Asia to receive these devices since they simply don’t have the resources or space to process them safely.” As a result, his research findings have led Max to advocate for the safe and equitable disposal of E-waste.
Although most of the interns do not plan to specialize in sustainability as a career path, the program showed how deeply intertwined sanitation is with other sectors. For Aaira, who plans to study public health in college and is focused on hospital textile waste for her research project, the internship helped her connect the environment and public health. “I plan to study public health policy, exploring how we can make healthcare systems more accessible and equitable for everyone,” she said. “This internship has allowed me to bridge these two passions and explore public health through the lens of sanitation and sustainability.”
Ultimately, the interns put their new knowledge into practice by turning their research into recommendations for their own community. Joy, Jess, Aaira, Max, Kritan, and Josh concluded their research presentations with recommendations for the SAYA community on improving their building’s waste diversion and waste-sorting systems. They would like to continue working with SAYA and using their newfound expertise as TRUE Advisors to help the community center work towards a TRUE Zero Waste Site Certification.
Thank you to the Pinkerton Foundation for making this internship program possible.
