Tons of colleges across America produces plenty of waste. Whether it be books and supplies, or dorm room furniture, pots and pans, and even standing desks. Students don’t always have the means to take these items to their next destination, but KiKei Wong worked hard to give students a proper space to recycle their goods.

Kikei, a motivated ally for zero-waste programs at UCLA, worked tirelessly to help students limit their waste output and divert their unwanted items to locations to be reused. One of her more notable efforts was establishing the Surplus Stop Hub, a small surplus store that occupied an area in a parking structure, where students can drop off all kinds of items to be reused by new students and teachers who need materials.

Incoming students could visit the Surplus Stop Hub and find chairs, binders, and all other things an average college student would need. Kikei’s program helped maintain sustainability and kept the waste output on UCLA’s campus down.

Kikei was also responsible for putting together a sustainability art show on campus where artists can show off how other cultures tackle sustainability and create a learning experience for attendees. Teaching the 100 or so people that could pack into the gallery that sustainability isn’t just recycling, but that each of us have own way of achieving sustainability through different means and it takes a village to move towards a zero-waste future.

Kikei has now won several awards for her commitment to zero-waste and sustainability. She won the Outstanding Higher Education award in 2021 for her work at UCLA, but for Kikei, it’s not about the recognition, it’s about doing what’s right.