Reduce Waste Chicago Associate Board

🌟 Associate Board Member

Help Chicago reduce waste, inspire action and build a more sustainable city.

♻️ About Reduce Waste Chicago

Reduce Waste Chicago is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that empowers residents to address climate change through waste reduction at the personal, producer, and policy levels. We bridge the gap between Chicagoans and meaningful landfill diversion by collecting items for reuse, repurposing, or specialty recycling; sharing best practices with schools, organizations, businesses and individuals; and supporting policies that shift the burden of waste from residents to producers. Our goal is to make waste reduction easier and more accessible for everyone in Chicago.

Since 2022, we’ve diverted more than 85,000 pounds of material from the landfill, including over 14,000 pounds of string lights through our annual Holiday Lights Recycling campaign. We also partner with schools, civic groups, and community organizations to inspire thousands of residents to reduce waste and rethink consumption.

🌱 About the Associate Board

We’re building our first Associate Board to help us grow our impact in 2026 and beyond. Associate Board members are early- to mid-career professionals who are passionate about sustainability, circularity and community engagement. They support Reduce Waste Chicago’s mission through hands-on work, helping us to expand our reach and deepen our impact across Chicago.

What Associate Board Members Do

Based on our annual goals and priorities, we are looking for individuals interested in supporting Reduce Waste Chicago in the following areas:

• Lead or support social media and content creation to inspire, educate and amplify RWC’s work
• Plan and participate in community outreach, tabling events, and collection events as an ambassador for waste reduction, circularity and environmental stewardship
• Identify and cultivate partnerships with other organizations and communities to expand RWC's impact
• Coordinate and execute fundraising efforts, including fundraising events, corporate engagement and sponsorship development
• Contribute approximately 5–10 hours per month to board meetings, planning, outreach, and initiative support
• Attend or otherwise support at least two collection initiatives per year

Who We’re Looking For

We welcome applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives. Strong candidates will be:

• Self-motivated and able to switch between working collaboratively and independently
• Detail-oriented with excellent communication skills
• Creative, eager to learn and interested in growing within the environmental nonprofit space
• Passionate about sustainability, waste reduction, and community engagement
• Able to commit to a one-year renewable term

Benefits of Joining

• Hands‑on leadership experience and skill development in environmental nonprofit work
• Opportunities to shape community programs and citywide campaigns
• Networking with mission‑aligned peers and sustainability leaders
• A meaningful way to contribute to climate action and systems change in Chicago