UCSC-GEOPATHS SUMMER INTERNSHIP Waste Not, Want Not: The Procurement Project- Removing Plastics from the Local Restaurant Waste Stream

Abstract:

University of California Santa Cruz, Earth and Planetary Science

UCSC GEOPATHS is an NSF-supported initiative to improve student success in the geosciences, driven by a desire to broaden participation. One component of the program is undergraduate student internship that provide authentic, career-relevant experiences – across all employment sectors – to increase student engagement in the geoscience pipeline.

My GEOPATHS Internship at the Sustainable Systems Research Foundation (SSRF) via UCSC focused on researching and cataloging bioplastics, as well as database creation of, and outreach to, eateries in Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties, primarily. The practice of recycling is a convoluted mess, as made evermore apparent by China’s recent refusal to be the world’s trash colony. With over 20,000 different types of plastic, not only is it hard to sort them all properly, but they also all come with their own unique impacts on the environment, except for PHA-based plastics. The goal of our project is to simplify the waste stream from local eateries, so that only compostable materials are discarded. In order to do this, we are creating a catalog of verified non-toxic compostable to-go-wear to present to local procurement managers of restaurants, cafes, and markets, along with an individualized pitch as to why they should update their procurement practices to be independent from traditional plastics. Ideally, we will not only be locally successful in this endeavor, but also able to extend our outreach to neighboring communities and create a model for other communities to follow elsewhere, in the long-term. Successfully reducing the amount of plastic entering the waste-stream is of great significance due to their indefinite lifespan, biologically toxic nature, and already ubiquitous presence. The internship exposed me to the intricacies of plastics and their material inputs and how that relates to their recyclability, as well as their ecological impact once they become waste.