THE CHALLENGE
At the University of Denver, student interns at the Center for Sustainability spend hours each week sorting waste, planting community gardens, renting out outdoor sports gear, managing a food pantry, operating a thrift store, and performing home energy audits for off-campus students. Their goal? A more eco-friendly college environment and tools for post-graduation sustainable living. And yet, like many other campus offices, their yearly back-to-school orientation tables each fall were plagued by disposable or unwanted school swag that was decidedly unsustainable. Even when they switched to fancy reusable water bottles, students complained they’d received five other water bottles that week.