The focus of this paper is on embedding waste management sustainability in the curriculum for all academic majors. Does environment and waste management have influence on students and does students have influence on environment and waste management? Investment in students to learn about climate, water, waste management practices, and infrastructure challenges out-weighs the cost of doing nothing. The Interdisciplinary Waste Management Institute (WMI) began to raise awareness about environmental and waste management concerns for North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (NC A&T) students. In so doing, WMI worked with academic departments to tailor WMI capstone courses and other courses to follow an interdisciplinary waste management certificate curriculum as a way of embedding environmental and waste management in departmental academic curricular. These courses cover topics that include but not limited to liquid wastes, solid wastes, radioactive wastes, natural resource conservation, energy conservation, recycling, environmental ethics, environmental justice, and hazmat training.
Results/Conclusions
One thousand seven hundred and ninety-eight (1,798) students majoring in physical sciences, life sciences, social sciences engineering and technology have enrolled and successfully completed the following courses from 2006-2019: WMI 236- recycling, WMI 333- capstone, WMI 417-environmental ethics, WMI 419 online-Environmental Justice, WMI 429- 40 Hour HazMat, WMI 490 independent Study in waste Management, WMI 617- advanced environmental ethics WMI 619 online- advanced Environmental Justice, WMI 629 – 40 Hour-Hazmat Training and WMI 747- advanced Capstone. Nine hundred and fifty-two (952) students have been awarded the waste management certificate with their graduate and undergraduate degrees. The WMI certificate adds value to graduate and undergraduate degree programs at NC A&T.
WMI graduates pursue careers in environmental and waste management areas of their specialization. Waste management sustainability has been integrated into the curriculum for animal sciences, agricultural education, agricultural economics, architectural engineering, biology, chemical engineering, chemistry, civil engineering, electrical engineering, industrial engineering, liberal studies, mechanical engineering, psychology and sociology.