The Penn State Office of Physical Plant recently named Ayodeji “Ayo” Oluwalana as the first University-wide waste reduction and recycling program manager — an important role in increasing Penn State’s recycling efforts and reducing its overall waste output. Oluwalana joined Penn State after serving as the recycling program manager at Iowa State University. Prior to that, he worked in campus sustainability positions at Western Colorado University, and other higher education roles at Covenant University in Ota, Nigeria. “I am thrilled for the opportunity to join Penn State and look forward to collaborating with various units and colleges across the campus to find innovative solutions to our waste reduction and recycling program challenges,” said Oluwalana.
The development of this new position stems from recommendations made by the Penn State Waste Stream Task Force, which formed in spring 2018 and charged to “create fiscally, environmentally, and socially responsible goals and principles to guide the University’s procurement, operational, and solid waste management decisions” as well as academic engagement opportunities. According to Phillip Melnick, senior director of buildings and grounds in OPP and co-chair of the Waste Steam Task Force, the team made great progress in 2019 and began presenting its recommendations to University leadership in 2020, until the COVID-19 pandemic slowed these efforts.
Since returning to full on-site capacity in the fall of 2021, OPP has been championing efforts to implement task force recommendations to reduce overall campus waste and increase recycling initiatives, including conducting a national search for the waste reduction and recycling program manager position. “One key thing that excites me about this position is the amazing groundwork the Waste Stream Task Force has accomplished,” said Oluwalana. “They ‘tilled the soil’ and provided me the platform upon which seeds can be planted. The task force recommendations are a vast springboard for me to begin and I look forward to systematically implementing them as I start.”
To read the full story, visit https://www.psu.edu/news/office-physical-plant/story/university-names-first-waste-reduction-and-recycling-program-manager/.
Author: Phoebe Cykosky, Penn State
Image: Penn State