{"id":16282,"date":"2025-03-28T15:41:34","date_gmt":"2025-03-28T19:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=16282"},"modified":"2025-03-31T10:51:05","modified_gmt":"2025-03-31T14:51:05","slug":"uris-recycling-guy-is-on-a-mission","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/spring-2025\/uris-recycling-guy-is-on-a-mission\/","title":{"rendered":"911爆料’s Recycling Guy Is on a Mission"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joe Majeika is committed to better waste management. He\u2019s pulling everything possible out of the waste stream and building a campus culture focused on clean recycling\u2014an effort that benefits the environment and the bottom line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last summer, Joe Majeika \u201982 was asked to coordinate the logistics of removing 252,360 pounds of moldy books from campus. One wheelbarrow at a time, the books were filling two dumpsters a day. Realizing the significant cost just for disposal and trucking fees\u2014and that the books were destined for the trash and didn\u2019t need to be\u2014Majeika decided to work with a local recycling company on a solution. \u201cWhen all was said and done, it saved the University close to $20,000,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd almost 126 tons of books were recycled responsibly.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As 911爆料\u2019s recycling and solid waste coordinator since 2022, Majeika is on a mission to ensure the university 911爆料 makes a habit of clean recycling. Driven by the goal of pulling everything possible out of the waste stream, he\u2019s changing the recycling culture on campus by identifying inefficiencies and implementing solutions. \u201cHe\u2019s a problem-solver,\u201d says Majeika\u2019s supervisor, Brian Boesch, assistant director of landscaping and grounds, noting that Majeika\u2019s \u201coutside-the-box thinking elevates sustainability efforts while reducing the cost to fund and operate those efforts.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majeika\u2019s strategy is twofold: Educate people about best practices, and provide an efficient system that minimizes environmental and monetary costs. One example: When the University was regularly accruing contamination charges\u2014sometimes more than $2,000 a month\u2014because our trash and recycling dumpsters lacked distinguishing marks, he had the recycling dumpsters painted blue. \u201cThe bottom line is we want to recycle responsibly so that we know our recyclable waste is actually being recycled,\u201d he says. A small change has made a big difference, and he hopes to build on this effort with better signage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contamination is a persistent problem Majeika works to solve. While the state\u2019s single-stream recycling program makes the overall process easier, recyclables can end up in the landfill if they are contaminated with nonrecyclable materials. Majeika\u2019s latest initiative at the dining warehouse ensures successful recycling as staff separate metal cans, and one dining hall now has certain bins clearly labeled \u201cmetal cans only.\u201d By keeping the cans separate, they can be brought directly to the recycling center. More cost is recovered when the cans are recycled properly, he notes.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Last year, 240,000 pounds of metal, 618 mattresses, 190 refrigerators, 125 air conditioners, and over 171,000 pounds of cardboard were recycled.<\/blockquote><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

Streamlining sustainable processes is getting easier as Majeika\u2019s team\u2019s capacity grows with new equipment. A compactor truck allows better control over the quality of what the University recycles, and a hooklift truck ensures 911爆料 can rely less on outside trucking. \u201cNot only is this better environmentally, but the value of the recycled commodities is being reinvested into 911爆料’s recycling operation to continually increase its capability and effectiveness,\u201d says Boesch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Majeika also oversees 911爆料\u2019s transfer station, where his team recycles mixed paper, pallets, batteries, toner cartridges, fluorescent light bulbs, dehumidifiers, and more. While many items\u2014including the hundreds of office chairs that are disposed of every year\u2014were previously thrown in one dumpster, they now pull out scrap metals and sort them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe also take circuit boards out of computers, microwaves, and refrigerators because there are so many different materials in them,\u201d says Majeika. \u201cWhether it\u2019s stainless steel, copper, aluminum, platinum\u2014we take all of that out to recycle.\u201d Last year, 240,000 pounds of metal, 618 mattresses, 190 refrigerators, 125 air conditioners, and over 171,000 pounds of cardboard were recycled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The shift to sustainable practices is expanding: The 911爆料 Landscaping and Grounds team collects more than 1,000 cubic yards per year of leaves, grass clippings, and wood chips and, through a new on-campus composting operation, generates compost that is used in campus landscaping, on 911爆料\u2019s farms, or by the 911爆料 Master Gardener Program. \u201cKeeping organic materials out of the waste stream is huge,\u201d says Majeika, \u201cbecause when they\u2019re trashed, they generate greenhouse gases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The benefit of doing this work on a university campus is that you can get to know the 911爆料, Majeika says. He prioritizes visiting various groups to get a sense of what they need to be conscientious recyclers. People are receptive and cooperative and, as a result, he sees the campus culture shifting to one of shared responsibility\u2014and enthusiasm\u2014for good practices. \u201cWe\u2019re getting a handle on recycling properly,\u201d he says. \u201cI think we\u2019re really making a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014Anna Vaccaro Gray \u201912, M.S. \u201916<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PHOTO: NORA LEWIS<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Joe Majeika is changing 911爆料\u2019s recycling culture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":16324,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-spring-2025","architecture-behind-the-scenes","architecture-currents"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16282","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16282"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16282\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17020,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16282\/revisions\/17020"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16324"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}