Submitted by Kate ONeill on
The mission of the Zero Waste Lab is to create a space for all student-led zero waste research to coalesce on UC Berkeley’s campus. In this lab, we want to create a space and community that allows for communication and collaboration between zero waste researchers. As a researcher in the Zero Waste Lab, you will be able to choose from a variety of zero waste-related research projects. These projects were sourced from needs -- both on campus and off of campus -- and winnowed down based on the amount and type of research offered and their opportunity for applying learnings. In the past, we have partnered with campus departments such as Cal Zero Waste, Housing and Dining Sustainability Advocates (HADSA), GreenLabs, and the Office of Sustainability, and off-campus entities such as Numi Tea, Zaar secondhand marketplace, and BRINGiT. Spring 2022 projects will be announced after you become a member of the lab.
Researchers in this lab are required to spend 3-6 hours per week (for 1 unit of credit) by attending the required lab meetings and conducting their research independently. For each project, there will be a team of 2-6 researchers and one advisor. The advisor is outside of the lab, connected with the project either through the University department in which it resides or the outside organization. It is the team’s responsibility to coordinate when to work on the project outside of the designated lab meetings. All teams will also get to present their findings in the end-of-semester symposium.
We will have weekly meetings with the entire lab on Wednesdays from 3 pm to 4 pm, and attendance is mandatory.
One of the main functions of the Zero Waste Lab is to help students who are interested in waste and sustainability develop their research skills. Because of this, the only required qualification is that you are passionate about zero waste. Though it is preferred you have some experience in the field of sustainability, and this may be used in the selection process only if there are more applicants than the maximum amount we can accept. We will be adamant about not accepting students who can not commit the time to this Lab.