RECYCLING AT A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION: CASE STUDY OF A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-KANSAS CITY

The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) has been offering educational programs in waste management and environmental science for about 25 years and has recently (2012) added a sustainability minor to its bachelor’s degree in environmental science and environmental studies. With collective input from faculty, administrators, and staff, the university has established a highly successful sustainability program geared toward attaining zero-waste. Students enrolled in author’s “Introduction to waste management” class are required to work on a term project that involves performing waste audit. For the past several years students have been conducting waste audits at various buildings on the campus. The term project not only allows students to gain familiarity with the principles of waste audit but also provides valuable hands-on experience with the procedure for conducting waste audit, data collection, analyses, interpretation, and preparing a written report followed by oral PowerPoint presentation. These reports have played a key role in designing a most successful recycling program at UMKC that led to its earning the first place among 523 colleges and universities in the annual RecycleMania competition in 2013, as well as its inclusion in the Sierra magazine’s listing of top 100 “Green Schools” in the country. The presentation includes a profile of the University, a review of its environmental education programs, a detailed discussion on its recycling program and sustainability efforts, along with recommendations on how to implement successful recycling programs elsewhere.