Student - Summer Plastic Reduction Alliance (PRA)
The Plastic Reduction Alliance (PRA) and the universities’ sustainability experts are offering student internships for the Summer and Fall 2026. The PRA is a nonprofit organization committed to sharing the latest research on plastics and to addressing plastic waste through partnerships, programs, policies and events to promote cleaner and healthier communities through the reduction of plastic and promotion of safe alternatives.
The student internship project will investigate the plastic use and plastic replacements at the higher education institutions in the state of Indiana. The position will require communication and organizational skills to acquire the information in a meaningful and quantifiable manner. The interns will work with the PRA and others with experience in surveying campus plastics and create questionnaires to effectively determine the types and amounts of single-use plastics that are part of campus functions. Information on plastic replacements will also be amassed. The interns will compile the data and compare the utilization of single use plastics versus the sustainable replacements for plastics on the campuses. Once compiled and organized, the information will be shared among the higher education institutions in Indiana to ultimately provide a path forward for critical plastic reduction.
Qualifications: Interest in the plastic pollution crisis, communication skills, an ability to organize data and work independently.
Responsibilities: 10 hours per week of work (mostly remote) at $14/hour; weekly meetings (~ 30 minutes) with project supervisor. The first few weeks of the project will require regularly scheduled meetings for the creation of the data (survey) plan. The work hours for subsequent weeks are flexible.