Green Gown Awards 2019 - Megan Youngs, The University of Sussex - Finalist

I have been an Environmental Intern at the University of Sussex in my placement year from my BA Geography degree. I have focused a lot on the University’s circular economy and communicating to staff and students about recycling materials through Terra Cycle as well as encouraging people to reduce their waste consumption with a new student society called Leave No Trace. This society is launching in September, but it has already got a lot of interest with students on campus.  

I have also created easy to use sustainability documents, making sustainability on campus accessible to everyone. As a university, we dispose of a lot of bedding which usually goes into our General Waste stream, I have created a process to recycle the bedding into new products using TFR group and making ‘duvet and pillow recycling hubs’ during departure weekend.  

Schemes like this have helped increase our recycling percentage by 10% in 12 months.  

Top 3 learnings:

• I get results with persistence and consistency. 
• Finding gaps and thinking outside the box on how to fill them gets you thinking creatively and allows you to enjoy the project. 
• As an intern, no job is too big. Take on everything that is asked of you and push the boundaries of the classic ‘tea and coffee’ intern role.