General Information |  Student Information |  Host Facility Information |  Projects and Results

Wisconsin Pollution Prevention Internship Program
General Information


The five 2009 SHWEC Summer Interns and SHWEC advisor Steve Brachman

The University of Wisconsin Extension's Solid and Hazardous Waste Education Center (SHWEC) supports University of Wisconsin students to work in Wisconsin facilities to research solutions for specific waste-related problems. For 2010, there will be up to six interns: four in healthcare facilities, one in the hospitality sector and one assigned to work with marinas.

Everyone benefits:

• Host facilities gain well-developed options for improved efficiency, cost savings, reduced waste and reduced regulatory burden.
• Students gain hands-on experience in a real-world setting and an understanding of pollution prevention strategies for solving problems.
• SHWEC gains success stories of businesses and institutions that have used pollution prevention strategies to solve waste problems.
• Similar facilities benefit by learning about pollution prevention strategies that work.

How the Program Works

• Host facilities identify their primary waste concerns and propose intern projects to address them.
• SHWEC works with the host facilities to develop projects with good cost-saving potential.
• SHWEC evaluates all of the project proposals using a weighted-scoring process that considers multiple aspects of a project, such as application to similar facilities and management support.
• SHWEC upper level college students with strong technical backgrounds. The interns work full-time at a host facility for about three months in the summer researching reduction options. SHWEC pays their salaries, and bills the host facility at the end of the summer.
• Working with SHWEC staff, each host facility supervises its intern and directs the project within the scope of the agreed upon project.
• When projects conclude, host facilities get suggestions that help save money by reducing or eliminating waste. SHWEC shares this information with similar facilities in Wisconsin. Students have an excellent job experience to put on their resumes.

Deliverables

At the conclusion of a project, the host facility receives a report of the intern's findings. This report outlines the student's suggestions and provides a cost analysis for them. The student presents findings in a detailed presentation to the host facility.

Intern Project Agreement

Each project requires a SHWEC Intern Project Agreement. The agreement outlines the project, sets the scope of work, and defines the research and deliverables. It highlights the roles and responsibilities of the people involved.

A project's summary and description vary with every project. The roles and responsibilities of the host facility, SHWEC and the student intern for completing the projects are standard. These are detailed in this sample project agreement (word and pdf). A project's outline in generally built from the following framework:

1. Determine how waste is currently produced in host facility processes. Gather data from reports and running tests.
2. Identify what similar facilities are doing. Contact vendors about best available technologies. Research and evaluate options for reducing waste.
3. Work with the host facility's management and employees to determine feasibility of different waste reduction options. Develop a cost comparison between the use of existing procedures and the new ones.
4. Implement approved changes.
5. Enter data related to the project (e.g., amounts of waste avoided, cost savings, pollutants reduced) in an electronic spreadsheet.
6. Summarize findings in a detailed report, including recommended procedures and system configuration along with an economic analysis and justification of any changes.
7. Present findings to the host facility and SHWEC staff.