MD´«Ã½Èë¿Ú

Help educate our community and lead The Beach toward a more sustainable future!

As a Zero Waste Ambassador, students will be aiding the Office of Sustainability in expanding compost efforts across our campus. The Spring 2026 semester will focus on the Walter Pyramid – volunteers will supervise compost bins during highly-attended sporting events and aid spectators in properly sorting waste. Volunteers will also analyze collected materials and gather data by completing a waste audit the following business day after the sporting event.

Yes! Once you have signed up through the , you will receive an email confirming your participation. You will then be instructed to complete the short asynchronous training video and take the comprehension quiz linked at the end of the training. Ambassadors will be required to complete the training before being allowed to volunteer.

A program lead will also be on site at every volunteer event to provide addition guidance and instructions. 

Our Zero Waste Ambassadors program schedule is highly flexible – you can choose to volunteer for one event or multiple events, with each shift being approximately 3 hours. 

Check out the calendar to see the dates of available volunteer sessions (attending games and waste data collection).  Once you have filled out the , you will receive an email to sign up for volunteer shifts that fit your schedule. 

Keep in mind that the more volunteer sessions you attend, the more entries you get for the opportunity drawing at the end of the semester – so it’s to your advantage to attend as many as you can!

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Opportunity Drawing Prizes

One winner will be chosen at random and will select one of the following prizes:

Spring 2026 Prizes

• A student parking pass for the fall 2026 semester
• A student bus pass for the fall 2026 semester
• 2 Knotts Berry Farm day passes

See next section for important information about taxes and processing of prizes.

Eligibility 

While MD´«Ã½Èë¿Ú employees and alumni are welcome to volunteer as Zero Waste Ambassadors, only current students may enter the opportunity drawing for the prizes. 

Entry Limitations

Student volunteers will receive one entry per volunteer shiftcompleted. Students must arrive on time and stay until they have been dismissed from their shift. 

Students participating in the program through a service-learning course will receive one entry upon completing their service-learning hours and may receive additional entries for each shift they complete beyond their service hour requirement.

Winner Selection

The Office of Sustainability will record the names of volunteers each shift and will randomly select one winner from the pool following the last available shift of the semester (May 27). The winner will be contacted via email and will have one week (7 days) to confirm receipt of notification and intention to claim their selected prize. If they fail to respond within one week, a new winner will be selected at random. 

Taxes and Processing

International students are subject to a 30% federal tax withholding to be paid by the Office of Sustainability at no cost to the student.

Upon selection, the winner will be contacted and asked to complete a W-8BEN or W-9 tax form to be reviewed by the Controller’s Office before the parking permit is awarded. In addition to the W-8BEN form, additional documentation will be requested from the MD´«Ã½Èë¿Ú Tax Department for the international student winner.

Transferability

Prizes are non-transferable. 

• MD´«Ã½Èë¿Ú’s Zero Waste Ambassadors program is proud to partner with service-learning courses. Our service-learning students are a valuable asset to the program’s operation and serve as leaders for volunteers.
• While service-learning students’ required hours do not count toward the opportunity drawing, they can continue attending events after completing required service hours. Any events attended beyond completion of required hours will be eligible for prizes