Volunteer with UCRRA
Do you have what it takes to become a certified expert in waste, recycling, and composting? Our Volunteers become an extension of the Ulster County Resource Recovery Agency’s Recycling Outreach Team and support the Agency’s outreach initiatives in a number of ways. Through volunteering, they extend the reach of our programming, increasing our impact, and helping our community to reduce waste by promoting recycling, composting, and other conservation techniques.
Any Ulster County resident (18 years or older) can become a UCRRA Volunteer. Some of the basic qualifications for this role are:
- an interest in environmental science and sustainability;
- passion and enthusiasm for recycling, composting, sustainability;
- ability to maintain leadership of diversity, equity, and inclusion;
- ability to foster team work, be respectful and collaborate with others; and
- to be dependability when assigned a Volunteer task.
There are many perks to volunteering with UCRRA! Volunteers gain an official certificate of completion after the (free) 25-hour training program, which is great for any emerging professional to add to their resume. Our volunteers gain professional leadership skills through an immersive training that helps prepare for experiences in public speaking and educating in diverse community settings. Last but not least, our volunteers have fun at local festivals and events with the new friends they make by joining a community of neighbors united by their desire to build a more sustainable community!
Interested persons should review the Volunteer Description and the current MCR Class Schedule linked below. Then, complete a Volunteer Application and indicate if you’d like to be considered for the “fast track” or if you’d like to work towards the full Certification.
Submit application materials to:
Angelina Brandt
UCRRA Director of Sustainability
APEO@UCRRA.ORG
P.O. BOX 6219 Kingston NY 12402
We’re grateful for our volunteers!
Testimonials of enrolled volunteers appear here. Check back for more as we grow this program. We’re actively recruiting!
I had been composting for years, and I liked the idea of being able to expand my knowledge and offer advice and tips to others in my community. I learned so much useful info about how to up my composting game and all about our local recycling rules, many of which I share with anyone who will listen!
The course was powerful, the depth far exceeded my expectations, and every session was uniquely interactive and extremely well organized. I have been dedicated to Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle for decades and thought I was well-informed. From the first hour however, I was stunned to discover how much I was missing, how much I misunderstood, and how vital education is for Ulster County and beyond. Other than dragging barrels to the end of the driveway or whipping through the transfer station, most people never give their trash and recycling another thought. Countering distance and disassociation with education and engagement is imperative.
Recycling and composting are two things that support circularity in our consumer economy. Recycling allows some of our packaging to return to the manufacturing industry, so that once we’ve used them, they don’t go straight to a landfill. Compost helps return organic material to the earth increasing soil health, which is helpful for food crops, groundwater, and even better air quality. The great thing about UCRRA’s Master Composter course is that you can learn more about the best and worse things in recycling and composting and use the information to teach others in our community. One of the most difficult tasks is getting people to understand the difference between some common misconceptions and reality. Angelina Brandt and Tanesia White break the information into accessible, understandable segments that make it much easier to share widely without spreading misinformation, or seeming overly pushy when speaking to neighbors about how it all works!