College Material

Colleges and universities produce a lot of waste, but they also generate many great ideas, so it was only a matter of time before someone came up with a way to address all that waste.

Last year, Brett Chamberlin and Alex Freid, two recent graduates, started the Post-Landfill Action Network (PLAN) to help institutions of higher education better manage their waste. What began as a concern about the trash generated when students move in and out for the school year has spread into a movement aimed at minimizing waste across higher ed. To hear Freid discuss the idea and how it's grown, watch the video below:



PLAN ingrains sustainability and waste reduction into the fabric of institutions. Through its consulting, the organization allows each participating college or university to respond to its respective waste problems. Also, the approach accounts for an institution's entire impact. Finally, PLAN employs communication for outreach and education programs to ensure the campus community takes full advantage of the sustainability initiatives.

Chamberlin and Freid see the big picture. They understand that individual impacts add up, and they realize what this means for the future of a planet already taxed by the human population. For more information about PLAN, click here.

College has expanded the perspective of many individuals, but Chamberlin and Freid demonstrate the potential for students to turn the tables (or couches or whatever).