Sustainability

I first took an interest in sustainability in high school when I noticed plastic pollution degrading my local SoCal beaches. Beach cleanups, discovering tech innovations of The Ocean Cleanup, and environmental research sparked my desire to use engineering for green technology after graduation. Sustainability is the cause that is the most important to me, and aside from climate tech, I'm most passionate about addressing environmental issues concerning animal agriculture, food, and waste reduction. I'm also curious about environmental policy and its intersection with green tech.

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Zero Waste Research

With the increase of single-use and disposable items like masks and gloves during COVID, the issue of waste reduction was on my radar, and I applied for a position as a student researcher on the UCLA Sustainability Action Research (SAR) Zero Waste Team.

"Zero waste" according to UCLA's 2022 Sustainability Plan means reducing waste production at the source and diverting waste from landfills to be recycled or composted instead. However, when a waste item is improperly sorted, contamination occurs, impeding proper diversion.

Our goals were threefold: Identify contamination trends within UCLA's centralized tri-stream system (landfill, recycling, compost); identify potential causes for these trends; identify solutions.

To identify contamination trends and causes, we conducted visual waste audits on 3 UCLA campus buildings, which entailed photographing bins, analyzing their contents, quantifying their fullness and contamination, and identifying contaminants. Average percent contamination was highest in the landfill category, indicating it may be a default for those who aren’t sure of which bin to place their item.

We also interviewed the managers of these buildings, asking about the total waste produced by the respective building and waste management initiatives taken.

Presentation

Report

We also distributed student surveys across campus. We asked questions about the respondents’ demographic background, sorting knowledge and behaviors, and their feedback on possible solutions. We found that half of the respondents were unsure how to sort their waste, and 75% were confused by mixed media (components that need to be broken apart into the 3 categories). 70% of students chose “improved signage near waste bins” as an implementation they would like to see at UCLA.

From these findings, we developed deliverables as solutions. I brainstormed and created a proposal, design, and UI for a QR code sticker to go on all tri-stream waste bins, pictured above. It directs confused students to a website with links to the UCLA waste hauler’s website and other zero-waste resources.

My next personal idea was a proposal to add “Sustainability” as a clickable section of the UCLA Mobile app to increase student awareness of waste sorting and sustainability at UCLA. I created an outline and proposal and coordinated meetings with the app development committee. We presented them with our pitch, and further student efforts were made the following academic year, which resulted in the Sustainability page shown to the right.

Our team also created our own resources explaining how to properly sort the most commonly identified contaminants: a how-to video for incoming UCLA students to view at orientation and also informational signs ("table tents") in our main campus library.

100% Clean Energy Campaign

During my first year of college, conducted online due to COVID-19, I interned with CALPIRG UCLA’s 100% Clean Energy campaign, which sought to urge California's Governor Newsom to implement complete statewide clean energy measures by 2030. This internship work also extended to other campaigns, as I first devoted my time to a 2020 voter registration campaign; smaller projects included advocating for the UC Regents to adopt affordable, open-source textbooks for students.

I specialized in Coalitions and Media, spending 15 hours a week on campaign activities like designing media graphics, conducting extensive phone and text banking, and making announcements to classes and organizations on campus. I'd personally contacted around 1,500 individuals by the end of the academic year. The role required consistent follow-ups with these professors, students, clubs, and student organizations at UCLA, so aside from testing my patience and persistence, it enhanced my skills in outreach, content creation, and interpersonal communication. Writing to elected officials, including Governor Newsom, as well as local news outlets, was another common tactic. Our campaign secured 18,000 clean energy petition signatures and registered 1,000 student voters.

Later, as I took on additional responsibilities, I honed my leadership abilities. I became a Coalitions Coordinator, where I managed two other interns and coordinated events such as outreach initiatives and graphic design training to expand our campaign coalition. I was also involved in lobbying representatives for clean energy and plastic pollution reduction bills. Notably, I presented SB 617, the Solar Access Act, to my own Orange County Assemblymember, Laurie Davies; this was to garner support for facilitating solar power generation for homeowners through an expedited permit system. Lobbying taught me to research and influence policy as well as represent the student voice. Overall, my campaign experience provided me with invaluable opportunities within policy and activism even while remotely sitting at my desk.