Environmental Program Connects Students With Autism to Climate-Friendly Jobs

Although plastic has become an indispensable component of modern healthcare, providing essential benefits like sterility, durability and safety, the material is linked to significant environmental consequences. To mitigate these risks, Cleveland Clinic expanded its commitment to long-term sustainability more than a decade ago by reducing the environmental impact of its operating rooms.

In recent years, these efforts have led to the creation of a Clinical Plastics Recycling Center designed to reduce waste and educate both caregivers and students about sustainable healthcare. Through a novel initiative, students from Cleveland Clinic Children's Lerner School for Autism and caregivers from Cleveland Clinic's Sustainability Department are invited to lend a hand at the center by sorting through discarded materials.

According to Emily Szramowski, Program Coordinator for Sustainability at Cleveland Clinic, the initiative has two principal benefits: It helps equip neurodivergent students with skills they need to succeed in the workforce, and it redirects waste from the landfills.

Creating a better tomorrow

“Data shows that nearly 50% of young adults with autism do not work for pay upon exiting school — and those who do work tend to hold part-time, low-wage jobs,” she says. “We’ve invested in this initiative because work experience is consistently ranked highest as a predictor of post-school employment success for students with disabilities.”

Program volunteers are charged with collecting recyclable items from laboratories and operating rooms at Cleveland Clinic's Main Campus, including empty plastic containers, plastic packaging and plastic trays.

Through collaborative, on-site training, participating students are given further opportunities to learn valuable social and administrative skills like initiating appropriate conversations and sorting and organizing, says Szramowski. Caregivers from the institution's operating rooms and labs are also encouraged to help sort materials.

“We’re equipping youth with invaluable skills that can help shape their futures,” says Courtney Gebura, Transition Coordinator for the Lerner School for Autism. “I’ve witnessed how this program instills confidence in our students, and it has been truly rewarding to see their growth.”

Szramowski adds, “It’s exciting to be a part of an initiative that supports students with disabilities while also reducing our institution’s environmental impact.”