Overview
Blue
& Gold = Green symbolizes UMKC's waste management and recycling
program. This program, created by the UMKC Recycling Team &
Campus Facilities Management Building Services, works to unify
and engage the campus community in activities and incentives
to recycle.
While Blue & Gold = Green currently focuses on recycling;
the program envisions more sustainable practices of waste management
on campus.
Program
History
The Blue & Gold = Green program began from an initial assessment
of the UMKC campus waste stream, preformed by Bridging The Gap
and funded through a grant form the Missouri Department of Nature
Resources (MDNR). Based on this assessment, Bridging The Gap
and the UMKC Recycling team developed recommendations for minimizing
the amount of recyclable materials transported to landfills
on the Volker campus. Findings from the assessment illuminated
that although various buildings and departments were recycling
on campus, they were not reaching their full recycling potential:
- Lack
of necessary equipment to recycle OCC (Old Corrugated Containers)
- Lack
of consistency in materials recycled, locations of bins, &
information
- Lack
of a cohesive communication/marketing plan that provides incentives
and education to participants
The assessment
determined that by addressing these factors with a campus-wide
recycling program, UMKC has the opportunity to divert over 400
tons of waste annually from landfills and decrease waste transportation
expenses by thousands of dollars. At the same time, UMKC can demonstrate
its commitment to the Kansas City community by providing a cleaner
and safer campus environment.
The assessment identified 10 target buildings, which generated
the most waste on the Volker campus. The UMKC Recycling Team used
several different approaches to assessing the waste stream, including:
the creation of a Waste Management and Recycling team, facility
walk-through's of the Volker campus with key departments, faculty/staff
survey, research of various other University recycling programs,
data collection, analysis and observations of operations. The
assessment provided information on the amount and types of waste
generated on campus. It also identified specific areas of use
that would be most appropriately targeted for recycling to ensure
the success of the program.
In order to implement the recommendations from the assessment,
the Waste Management and Recycling team sought out and received
two grants, one from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources
and the other from the Midwest Area Regional Council – Solid
Waste Management District -- totaling over $59,000. The money
awarded from these grants will provide the resources needed to
implement this program. The money saved by diverting waste from
landfills and the help from student, faculty and staff volunteers
will sustain the program for future years.
Specifically these grants allowed UMKC to purchase a compactor,
which allowed all recyclables to enter a single stream and compacted
for pick-up by our recycling hauler. In addition, these grants
have gone towards the purchase of collection bins, sign holders
and the costs associated with developing a marketing and education
campaign. The UMKC Recycling Team has offered more than 1200 hours
of service to implement the program.
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