Developing Best Practices for Recycling and Compost Education in Seneca County, NY

Up to 70% of solid waste is composed of organic residuals generated by farms, businesses, municipalities, and individuals across NYS. In Seneca County, the CCE team provides recycling and composting education to residents through a contract with the Seneca County Department of Recycling/Solid Waste. Landfilling organic residuals and the inappropriate disposal of recyclable materials comes at considerable cost to the County and alternative management solutions are needed. 

In collaboration with the Seneca County CCE Environment/Natural Resource Educator, the intern will: evaluate the current state of recycling and composting efforts within Seneca County; research other local, regional, or statewide programs to support the development of a compost and recycling best practice recommendation document for Seneca County with the goal of increasing public participation; and provide direct education on residential recycling and composting to the public at festivals and other outreach events. Additionally, the intern will help develop educational content for the senecarecycles.org website, which is owned and operated by CCE-Seneca County, and present their findings to a meeting of the Seneca County Board of Supervisors.

Roles and responsibilities 

In collaboration with the Seneca County CCE Environment/Natural Resource Educator

• Review the current state of residential recycling and composting efforts in Seneca County.
• Research current best practices in organics management that can be applied in Seneca County to expand recycling and composting efforts.
• Prepare a report and give a presentation on the recommended best practices to the Seneca County Board of Supervisors.
• Provide direct education and outreach on the benefits of recycling and composting to the public by staffing an informational table and collecting food scraps at various public events including, but not limited to, weekly farmers markets and local festivals such as the Ovid Strawberry Festival and Seneca Falls Convention Days. (Note: these events may take place after normal workday hours, and on weekends.)
• Help create content on recycling and composting for the Senecarecycles.org website

Qualifications and previous coursework

This opportunity is available to non-graduating students in Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

• Interest in environment/natural resources, agriculture, and organics management (composting, recycling, and reuse)
• Ability to work outside in a variety of conditions
• Good communication and public speaking skills
• Attention to detail
• Ability to work independently
• A valid driver's license is required 

Learning outcomes 

As a result of the internship, the student intern will:

• Experience developing and delivering educational materials
• Have an increased understanding of the opportunities and challenges associated with public education
• Gain research and reporting experience that may contribute to influencing County level policy
• Gain public speaking and communication experience
• Have an increased understanding of composting and recycling issues