My Sustainable Summer as a WM Recycle Corps Intern

My introduction to sustainability? Recycling. Redmond residents can probably relate to learning how to sort waste in elementary school. I have always been interested in reducing waste and repurposing used resources.

Fast forward 10 years, my love of recycling brought me to the WM Recycle Corps internship, part of WM’s innovative, award-winning recycling outreach.

Working at Redmond Derby Days this summer, the WM booth had a colorful spinning wheel that challenged kids to figure out where items like trash bags, foam, cardboard and glass jars go -- and those Redmond kids were amazingly knowledgeable!

People asked: Why can’t plastic bags be recycled? Because they wrap around equipment at recycling facilities, creating tangles and causing facilities to temporarily shut down. Return plastic bags to stores that recycle them or put them in the garbage. Better yet, use a reusable bag!

Toward the end of Derby Days, a boy named Ben came to our booth. Ben’s father said Ben was so excited to come see us. He knew what could and couldn’t be recycled, what each company’s trucks looked like and he was so excited to talk about recycling. He spun the wheel repeatedly, always answering correctly. I’ve never seen someone more excited about recycling. His father told me if he ever got a job at a recycling company, Ben would be so proud. Inspired by his energy, we gave Ben a small recycling can. He ran over and excitedly hugged his dad, who said Ben would remember this for a long time.

Key takeaway: Redmond kids are on course to be sustainability leaders! City leaders, solid waste staff and parents can be proud of that. For me, I’ve loved seeing how the Redmond community comes together to advance sustainability.

Interested in this internship? Email recyclenw@wm.com to be notified when applications open.