My research interests align with my passion, which is geared towards improving the environment in one way or another, whether that involves waste, energy, or water. I am particularly interested in improving the diversion rate of cities which means decreasing the amount of waste that goes to landfill, such as recyclable items and compostable items. Someone needs to do the dirty work and deal with the mass amounts of waste that humans produce and I would not mind being the person for the job. In order to improve diversion rates, I need to understand how people on the Arizona State University Tempe campus recycle on a personal level and what goes into the decision process about using raw materials or already used materials when it comes to corporations …show more content…
I am pretty open to what I want to do, however, I do know I will do something environmentally related particularly in the field of zero waste which refers to topics such as recycling, composting, and the reuse of items. I would like to work for a company that is involved in recycling or reducing waste such as the Zero Waste department at Arizona State University where I am currently a Student Worker, Reimage Phoenix, or Eco-Cycle in Boulder, Colorado. It really depends if I want to work in a city that is just laying the groundwork for zero waste initiatives such as in Arizona or if I want to be in a state that in many of its cities they are already immersed and practicing zero waste in a larger community and city-wide scale. This research project will help advance my post-graduation career and professional goals because it will give me a greater insight into why people may or may not be recycling and why recycling facilities may opt out of reusing and recycling materials. Once I understand why things are the way that they are then I will be able to do my part to change the way things are and make the use and reuse of non-virgin materials a more common practice. Lastly, companies I apply for can look at my academic work and see how much dedication and research I have put into the topic of zero waste and gain an understanding of what I can bring to their company and how I want to handle