IdeaTrash to Treasure

Trash to Treasure is a facility, where people donate their unwanted items and where other people would pick up these items for under $15 or repair/resell those items. One area would be all under $15. Think of it as a thrift store where everything is under $15. There would also be another marketplace that’s reselling the refurbished items from the workshops. It’ll be a space for individuals to sell their upcycled goods. Look at the image attached to see what the layout of Trash to Treasure would look like. People often think of unwanted items as all useless junk, but that is a misconception. Approximately 20% of what we throw away can be recycled or refurbished (Nizar et al., 2018). Creating a way for the city to close the loop with consumption would greatly help reduce waste (Nizar et al., 2018; Geissdoerfer et al., 2017), which Trash to Treasure would do.

With my experience of founding and running a non-profit (onegreenstep.org), I have developed more leadership and organizational skills. I can channel what I have learned and my acquired skills to support other organizations. I can use my organizational, web design, Google Workspace proficiency, and Canva proficiency skills to help other organizations. My greatest expertise is in environmentalism. From books (ex. Speed & Scale) to YouTube videos to late night Googling, I have delved into the issues of the environment. Last summer, I took a course with Cornell on "Green Cities," and I also did a summer program around the subject of "Climate Change" with COSMOS. This summer I have been interning with an environmental literacy non-profit, Ten Strands, to learn more about environmental education and how a non-profit is run. Thus, I have more background in this subject that I can use to advise other organizations or give some input/insight to.