Tannielle Waggoner, Anchorage AYEA Grad and Recycling Guru

What have you been up to since graduating from AYEA?
I moved to Oregon for a while, but I am back in Anchorage working at Starbucks. I am still involved with AYEA and I want to get more teens involved in the program.

What are you doing at Starbucks?
While all Starbucks in the Lower 48 are really into recycling, it is still new here in Alaska. I want to make recycling a standard practice in all Alaskan Starbucks. I saw that nothing was being recycled at the Starbucks store where I work, so I began collecting recyclables, loading them in my car, and taking them to the recycling center in my free time.

What kind of things do you recycle at Starbucks stores?
We recycle all #1 and #2 plastics, like milk jugs, syrup bottles, and plastic venti cups. We also recycle a lot of cardboard and mixed paper. Finally, we offer used coffee grounds for gardening and general fill. During the summer there is a lot of competition for coffee grounds!

How much recycling do you do?
Every day we recycle about over sixty milk jugs, ten syrup bottles, and ten venti glasses-plus cardboard and paper.

What are some challenges you have encountered?
Storage. We have more recyclables that we have room to store them in. Also, we used to recycle on our own time, off the clock. Now, our manager allows us to recycle as part of our "optional" time. The key has been to educate other staff and to work as a team.

What's next?
My goal is to get all Starbucks stores recycling. Right now, I am working with our district managers to implement regular recycling at all Alaska Starbucks locations. The store where I work is having a multiplier effect-other stores are showing interest and taking initiative, following our model. I am working on submitting a grant to Starbucks to expand the program.