The Region Seven Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency holds up University of Missouri-Kansas City’s food recovery and dining recycling programs as examples to emulate.
Karl Brooks toured the student union on “America Recycles Day.”
Brooks calls the university a pioneer in what has become sustainable materials management.
Over six years, one management class has waste-management audited more than 30 campus buildings.
This kind of approach, to Brooks, “ allows us to reduce environmental impact across each stage of the life cycle, we minimize the materials we use and we use less toxic and more renewable materials.”
Brooks, a former university environmental law professor, said eight higher education institutions are taking part in the four state region, including Johnson County Community College and Kansas State University.
UMKC Chancellor Leo Morton estimated waste recycling on his campus at 66 percent of accumulation.
Food and dining management are a centerpiece of the program in a public-private partnership.
Among the recycleables are biodegradable drinking straws, cardboard and food.