UMKC Recycles
Program Overview About the team Why UMKC chose to recycle Material recyclable on campus Where you can find recycling bins Common questions and their answers Got a ?, or want to make a suggestion

Overview of the UMKC Sustainability Team
Blue & Gold = Green symbolizes UMKC's Sustainability initiatives and programs. 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 be more sustainable in its practices. 

In October 2007 the Recycling Team transformed itself into the UMKC Sustainability Team under leadership of Kaye Johnston, team chair.  In December 2007 the UMKC Sustainability Team met and determined the UMKC Sustainability Goals for 2008. 

The Sustainability Goals for 2008 included expanding recycling on campus, begin composting food waste and purchasing of cage free eggs in dining services, to begin an alternative transportation program Clean Commute, for the team to be represented on the planning committee for the New LEED Certified Student Union, to complete a carbon print of the campus, plant additional rain gardens, and begin to implement some green purchasing strategies. By, November 2008 all the goals set were completed by the team.  The UMKC Sustainability Team met again in December 2008 to plan the 2009 goals and are actively working to achieve those goals to date.

While Blue & Gold = Green currently focuses sustainable practices including waste management, green cleaning, green purchasing, sustainable lawn and landscaping, resource conservation, LEED Buildings, alternative transportation and alternative fuel vehicles on campus. The carbon print of campus has been completed and review by GeoSciences Faculty and the team is in the midst of completing the UMKC Sustainability Plan for fall 2009.

Recycling 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.