When Olivia Merritt FitzGerald was searching for sustainability-related project management work, her friend sent her a job listing for an internship with the U.S. Plastics Pact.
FitzGerald had not heard of the organization before, and she was hesitant to think about her work being focused on plastics. She thought about the material's ties to the fossil fuel industry and pollution in waterways. But she learned about the circular economy in college and "was hooked."
"I saw that the U.S. Pact was trying to create a circular economy for plastics packaging and thought, 'It's a material that we use, and it needs to be more sustainable.' If organizations from big corporations to recyclers to city governments are collaborating, that is a good thing.
"Now, I'm two and a half years into this work, and my perspective has changed. I realize that all materials have emissions, land and environmental justice implications, and that plastic is actually the best answer for a good percentage of packaging applications in terms of emissions.
"I also know that there is so much work being done that my nonprofit is spearheading to make plastic packaging more recyclable, reusable or compostable. I am proud to do work in the plastics industry because it is an industry that society needs and yet must be significantly improved," said FitzGerald, program coordinator for the U.S. Plastics Pact in Washington, D.C.
Her work is directly tied to creating a circular economy for plastic packaging, including "reducing the raw virgin material created; making sure that the packaging that is produced is either recycled, reused or composted; and incorporating recycled content into packaging."
"With my job, I have supported an awards program three years in the running that award innovators for packaging in recyclability, compostability, reuse and refill; a benchmark for reuse policy for plastic packaging; a comprehensive toolkit on [post-consumer resin]; and an ongoing report on what product categories are most amenable to shift to reuse in the consumer goods space," said FitzGerald, who graduated from North Carolina State University with a bachelor's degree in natural resources policy and administration and a minor in wildlife science.
FitzGerald added that she is fascinated by how the plastics industry works, learns "every single day" and is impressed with the industry's efficiency. She attends industry events and is involved with the Association of Plastic Recyclers, The Recycling Partnership and the American Beverage Association.
"My career goal is to have the biggest impact as possible in the sustainability realm. To that end, I look to educate myself outside of work on sustainability issues and am doing an online project management course so that I have more skills to effectively manage the array of projects that I'm working on," she said. "I am also planning to attend grad school next fall to learn more about the circular economy and materiality."