Internships

Lucas Ho ’14

The goal of my internship at TerraCycle was to develop new uses for waste and thus divert it from landfills. I discovered the material composition of various types of trash, researched those materials’ properties, and hatched ideas for ­alternative uses for the waste based upon those properties. Some of the ideas I ­contributed were to use the byproducts of silk manufacturing to nourish skin and to extract ­fiberglass from discarded tennis rackets to be used in medical casts. Additionally, I ­contacted companies like Adidas to see if they wanted to incorporate waste that ­TerraCycle has collected into their products. Also, TerraCycle wanted an ­external ­party to use the ~9400 floppy disks in its warehouse. I accomplished this goal by ­finding a painter who uses floppy disks as canvas and who gladly accepted the disks. I learned how to read and write patents, since much of my research involved ­traversing through patent databases. My knowledge of materials’ properties and ­applications grew by leaps and bounds. Also, my commitment to pursuing a career in sustainability was cemented, and I learned how people function and execute ideas in the corporate world.