I’ve been an active environmentalist for the past decade and decided that the only career for me is in sustainability. After beginning my work in Penn State’s Master of Professional Studies in Renewable Energy and Sustainability Systems program, I realized I was fascinated with waste management, reduction, and diversion. I first encountered Circle Compost when I read Green Philly Blog’s article about them in October.

Immediately after finishing the article, I emailed Dave to express my gratitude for bringing another composting option to Philly and my interest in joining the team. He responded that day and we set a date to meet at my favorite café in Fairmount. After getting to know him and discussing Michele’s and his mission, I could tell our goals and attitudes towards sustainability were precisely in sync. I was excited to finally have an employer who shares my views and quest for a healthy planet. It was also great to have a frank discussion on those topics where I could be myself in the interview and not try to tell the employer what I thought they wanted to hear. About a month later, Dave took me on my first organics pickup ride to show me the ropes, which fully prepared me to do the job on my own. I instituted tracking methods and metrics to gauge our progress. I implemented marketing campaigns and partnered with my bocce and cornhole league, All-American Liberty Leagues, to help spread the word (I love having the logo on our shirts). I have enjoyed every task this position requires of me, as well as talking to folks about our company and why it’s an important job. I’ve connected with sustainability professionals and advocates locally and nationally and gotten us some local press coverage.

Now let’s talk results. In my short time with the company in 2016, I biked over 110 miles, which saved about 1,500 pounds of Co2 emissions (if I had driven). I also burned about 8,000 calories, which I track, because as I stated in my first blog post, a healthy planet leads to healthy people. I’m lucky to have a job that stimulates fitness. It’s also been a pleasure to write these articles because I’ve never had a platform to share my knowledge and influence others into thinking about how their actions affect our planet. This has been the most fulfilling job I’ve ever had and we are all excited to see where we go in 2017!

– Sam