Since its conception in 1994, the Waste Management Institute at N.C. A&T has helped raise awareness about environmental issues and sustainability. This year, the WMI celebrates 25 years of work within the industry.

“The institute was founded on the belief that an investment in the nation’s climate, energy, water, waste management, transportation, education and infrastructure challenges out-weighs the cost of doing nothing,” said Godfrey Uzochukwu, Ph.D., the institute’s founding director and professor in the department of Natural Resources and Environmental Design.

Begun in 1994 with a $1.4 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy and a mandate from the UNC system general administration, the institute’s mission is to enhance awareness and understanding of waste management issues and develop programs that protect the environment and improve the quality of life.

Interdisciplinary in approach, the institute works with more than 18 academic departments at N.C. A&T to tailor its core waste management curriculum, and offers more than 360 waste management-related courses in other departments to fit waste management certificate curriculum on such topics as recycling, environmental ethics and philosophy, environmental justice and hazmat training.

The institute also conducts community outreach in environmental and waste management, including a pre-college workshop and a summer science intensive for selected K-12 students from North Carolina public schools, and provides consulting services and partnership opportunities to improve technology transfer, information management, and health and safety training within industry, small businesses and government agencies.

WMI has awarded 2,246 certificates since its founding, and has become a campus-wide resource for faculty and students.

“A goal of the institute is to Increase the number of minority professionals who will work in environment and waste management fields,” Uzochukwu said.

At the time of its founding, issues of environmental justice were easy to find. In Greensboro, the controversial White Street landfill made headlines, while across the state, a chemical leak at Camp Lejeune and a PCB leak in Warren County were in the news. WMI began to raise awareness about environmental concerns for N.C. A&T students, faculty, staff and the larger community, and in so doing, joined the national conversation about environmental protection through a series of national symposia and conferences.

“Environmental crises such as climate-driven sea level rise, ocean acidification, heat waves, wildfires, disease spread, and massive damage to biodiversity affect food, water, air, land, energy securities and inflicting serious economic losses globally,” Uzochukwu said. “WMI is helping to bring about quicker environmental sustainability actions to contribute knowledge and passion for effective solutions.”