Today we’d like to introduce you to Nikki Lee
Nikki, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
This is the San Diego (USA) Chapter of the international organization Zero Waste Youth. We are a group of students and young professionals aiming to develop and promote concepts for a zero waste future through waste reduction, reuse, and source separated recycling and composting to conserve our natural resources. This organization strives to empower youth through learning, envisioning, and action to bring the true zero waste concept to their schools and communities.
Zero Waste Youth was founded in Brazil 2011 and has evolved to become an international organization operating in
7 different countries: Brazil, Costa Rica, Italy, Moçambique, Nepal, Portugal, Philippines and USA.
The San Francisco Bay Area Chapter was formed as a result of the Annual Recycling Update event held by the Northern California Recycling Association (NCRA), and due to its popularity, a new chapter in San Diego was established in 2024.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Currently, we are still marketing the program to youth and young professionals in San Diego County in hopes of gathering enough people to form committees for convergence planning. As of now, we have facilitated three orientation meetings and one convergence planning meeting, but are still accepting applications on a rolling basis.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Myself (Nikki Lee) and Jake Donello are both third-year college students that interned for Zero Waste San Diego during the spring and summer of 2024. We both have interests in zero waste and sustainability, and are majoring in Environmental Studies at Northeastern University and Brandeis University respectively. After having a positive experience conducting various community-oriented projects throughout our internships — such as Fix-it Clinics or the Zero Waste Symposium — it felt fitting to help trail blaze Zero Waste Youth San Diego when the opportunity was presented by president Laura Anthony. It has been a great learning experience building this program from the ground up, and we are excited to continue making progress in 2025.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Referring to the official definition of “zero waste” by the Zero Waste International Alliance, we would define success as achieving results closest to “The conservation of all resources by means of responsible production, consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human health.”
Contact Info:
- Website: https://zerowastesandiego.org/zero-waste-youth-san-diego/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zerowasteyouthsandiego/
Image Credits
Nikki Lee
