Sustainability Team Member

CookUnity; Atlanta, Northern (GA, KY); Hybrid; USD 22,000 - 31,000; Full time

Job summary

CookUnity in Atlanta seeks a dedicated Waste Operations Coordinator to handle daily waste audits, recycling, composting, and donation management at the Austin facility. You will lead zero-waste initiatives, guide staff on correct sorting, and coordinate partner donations.

Responsibilities include walk-throughs, contamination checks, and coordinating the sale of surplus meals via Too Good To Go, with a focus on sustainability and operational efficiency.

Qualifications

• Operational Experience: Previous experience in warehouse, food production, cleaning, or other hands-on operational roles.
• Physical Requirements: Ability to safely lift and move 20 lbs or more throughout the shift.
• Basic Reporting Skills: Ability to complete daily trackers and simple audit forms.
• Communication Skills: Ability to give clear feedback to staff and communicate deviations or contamination findings in Spanish and English.
• Interest in Waste Reduction: Genuine interest in recycling, composting, waste diversion, or environmental practices (no prior experience required).
• Language: Basic English required; Spanish is a strong plus.

Responsibilities

• Daily Waste Audits: Perform daily bin audits across all kitchens and document findings.
• Correct Waste Disposal: Ensure proper waste disposal procedures are followed in all kitchens.
• Overproduction Processing: Classify, weigh, and process overproduced food—route to charity, compost, or reuse.
• Food Waste Handling: Classify, weigh, and dispose of food waste including donations and compost.
• Facility Walkthroughs: Daily walkthroughs of kitchens and market areas to identify contamination in recycling/compost streams.
• Contamination Control: Check streams to ensure they are free of incorrect materials.
• Material Sorting: Separate and move recyclable and compostable materials.
• Donation Management: Collect, weigh, record, and pack donations; hand off to partners.
• Donation Coordination: Coordinate donation pick-ups with non-profits.
• Walk-In Raw Ingredient Collection: Support weekly walk-in collection — pulling, logging, sorting recoverable ingredients.
• Too Good To Go Sales: Coordinate sale of surplus meals on Too Good To Go — setup and logging.
• Return Packaging Program: Coordinate logistics to send packaging off-site for cleaning.
• Daily Reporting: Complete daily trackers for recycling, compost, and donation volumes.
• Zero Waste Compliance: Follow safety, cleanliness and Zero Waste standards.
• Operational Feedback: Provide daily feedback to staff on waste-sorting.
• Green Leader Support: Support team as a Green Leader promoting Go Green practices.
• Waste Diversion Supplies: Ensure stations have supplies for proper waste diversion.
• Green Station Maintenance: Coordinate with cleaning to keep stations clean.

Skills

Operational Experience

Physical Ability

Reporting Skills

Communication Skills

Waste Reduction Interest

Bilingual Spanish-English

Tools

Google Docs/Sheets

Forklift operation

Pallet Jack

Job description

Food has lost its soul to modern convenience. And with it, it has lost the power to nourish, inspire, and connect us. So in 2018, CookUnity was founded as the first-of-its-kind platform that connects the world with the source of truly great food: chefs. Today, CookUnity delivers 50 million meals a year from the industry’s best chefs to homes all over the country. Fresh. Ready-to-eat. And crafted with the passion that nourishes body and soul.

Unwilling to stop there, CookUnity is expanding beyond delivery to become an ever-innovating marketplace focused on our singular mission: empower Chefs to nourish the world.

If that mission has you hungry in more ways than one, you’ve found the right job posting.

Summary

Execute daily operational tasks related to recycling, compost, waste audits, and donation management within the Austin facility, ensuring compliance with processes and sustainability standards.

Responsibilities:

• Daily Waste Audits:Perform daily bin audits across all kitchens and document findings on the Daily Audit Bin Form.
• Correct Waste Disposal: Ensure proper waste disposal procedures are followed in all kitchens.
• Overproduction Processing:Classify, weigh, and process overproduced food — routing it to charity donation's, compost, or internal reuse (family meal).
• Food Waste Handling: Classify, weigh, and dispose of food waste, including donations, compost, garbage, and family meals.
• Facility Walkthroughs:Conduct daily walkthroughs of kitchens, green stations, fulfillment, and market areas to identify contamination in recycling and compost streams.
• Contamination Control— Check recycling and compost streams to ensure they are free of incorrect materials.
• Material Sorting— Separate and move recyclable and compostable materials according to facility standards.
• Donation Management:Collect, weigh, record, and pack donations; receive donation partners and hand off prepared products.
• Donation Coordination:Coordinate donation pick‑ups with partnered non‑profit organizations.
• Walk-In Raw Ingredient Collection:Support the weekly walk-in collection process — pulling, logging, sorting, and routing recoverable raw ingredients across all 20 refrigerators.
• Too Good To Go Sales:Coordinate the sale of surplus meals through the Too Good To Go platform — including setup, customer handoff, and close-out logging.
• Return Packaging Program:Coordinate logistics and shipping with local carriers to send returned packaging materials off-site for cleaning and sanitization.
• Daily Reporting:Complete daily trackers for recycling, compost, and donation volumes.
• Zero Waste Compliance:Follow all safety, cleanliness, and Zero Waste process standards.
• Operational Feedback:Provide daily feedback to staff to reinforce correct waste‑sorting behaviors.
• Green Leader Support:Support team members as a Green Leader, promoting “Go Green” practices.
• Waste Diversion Supplies:Ensure stations have the correct supplies (stickers, posters, bins) for proper waste diversion.
• Green Station Maintenance:Coordinate with the cleaning team to keep the Green Stations clean and in order.

General Schedule and Workdays

Full Time (5 days a week – 36 to 40 hrs weekly).

Qualifications

• Operational Experience:Previous experience in warehouse, food production, cleaning, or other hands‑on operational roles. Comfortable working in kitchens, warehouse areas, and food production spaces.
• Physical Requirements:Ability to safely lift and move 20 lbs or more throughout the shift..
• Basic Reporting Skills: Ability to complete daily trackers and simple audit forms.
• Communication Skills:Ability to give clear feedback to staff and communicate deviations or contamination findings. Spanish and English
• Interest in Waste Reduction:Genuine interest in recycling, composting, waste diversion, or environmental practices (no prior experience required).
• Language:Basic English required; Spanish is a strong plus.

JOB REQUIREMENT

• Bilingual – Spanish and English (mainly spoken).
• Basic knowledge of Google Docs/sheets.
• Experience operating both: Forklift; Pallet Jack Forklift experience a plus (certification support available on the job).

Compensation

All final pay rates will be determined by candidates experience, knowledge, skills, and abilities of the applicant, internal equity, and alignment with market data.

Pay Range for this position

$19 — $19 USD

CookUnity is an Equal Opportunity Employer. We are dedicated to creating a community of inclusion and an environment free from discrimination or harassment. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, citizenship status, protected veteran status, genetic information, or physical or mental disability.