RECYCLING and WASTE MANAGEMENT
SPRING 2015
UI 360
I.
Catalog Description and Credit Hours of Course: Exploration of personal, institutional, and
societal strategies for dealing with solid and toxic wastes. University Studies Interdisciplinary
course. Two class meetings (75 minutes) per week. Three credit hours.
II.
Interdisciplinary Nature of Course: The topic of the course requires integration of knowledge
from a variety of disciplines. For example, the current volumes of solid wastes are related to
trends in marketing, economics, political science, and sociology. The composition of the current
waste stream is related to developments in chemistry and industrial technology. Causes for
concerns for the generation and disposal of wastes are related to biological, chemical, geological,
and economic reasons. Location of a new landfill site requires consideration of geological,
biological, chemical, sociological, political, and legal factors.
III.
Prerequisites: Junior standing and completion of the Living Systems and Physical Systems
University Studies courses.
IV.
Purposes or Objectives of Course: After complete the course the student should have:
(1)
an appreciation of the solid and toxic waste problems facing our society
(2)
an appreciation of their own contributions to these problems
(3)
familiarity with the stages of the establishing home and institutional recycling programs
(4)
familiarity with waste reduction practices and policies
(5)
familiarity with the processes of recycling and remanufacturing of glass, metals, plastics, paper,
and recovered resources
(6)
familiarity with the composting process and hands-on experience with composting organic wastes
(7)
familiarity with the hazards of toxic chemicals and the problem of household hazardous wastes
(8)
familiarity with methods for industrial management of hazardous chemical wastes
(9)
an appreciation of the role of appropriate landfill and incineration technologies in waste
management
(10)
familiarity with management of medical wastes, electronic wastes, and construction and
demolition wastes
V.
Student Learning Outcomes:
A.
Students will record and classify their personal wastes for seven days.
B.
Students will survey an established residence for household hazardous waste products.
C.
Students will identify and assess internet websites related to select waste management topics.
VI.
Expectations of Students: Students are expected to attend class, including field trips and
outdoor classes, to participate in class discussions and activities, to satisfactorily complete out-ofclass assignments by established deadlines, and to show satisfactory performance on exams and
a research paper. Note: Late work will be penalized 25% per day.
(Note: The field trip to the Cape Girardeau wastewater treatment facility will require an
out-of-class time commitment to be arranged. Tentatively, field trips to waste management sites
in Dexter and St. Louis will also require out-of-class time commitments. Dates for out-of-class
commitments will be announced well ahead of time and written excuses for other classes or
employers will be provided as needed.)
VII.
Course Content or Outline: Topics considered will include, but may not be limited to:
Garbology -- the archeology of garbage
History of American waste management
Development of a throwaway society
International comparison of wastes and waste management practices
Waste management legislation
Biogeochemical cycles
Recycling as a waste management strategy
The recycling process for different materials
Establishing recycling programs -- personal, institutional, community
Precycling, source reduction, purchasing policies
Composting of organic wastes
Incineration as a waste management strategy
Landfills as a waste management strategy -- siting, design, operation
Management of industrial hazardous wastes
Household hazardous wastes
Medical waste management
Electronic Wastes
Construction and demolition wastes
VIII.
Textbooks:
Coffel, S. (1996) Encyclopedia of Garbage. Facts On File, Inc., New York, NY, 311 pp.
(available at text book services)
IX.
Basis of Student Evaluation: (*see explanations below)
Personal waste stream audit
Personal household hazardous materials audit
Internet Encyclopedia of Garbage web sites
-- one "practice" assignment @ 4%
-- two "full" assignment @ 8%
Outline for research paper
Research paper on waste management topic
Mid-term essay examination
Final essay examination
5%
5%
20%
Total
5%
15%
25%
25%
= 100%
Optional Extra Credit
10%
(may include: additional internet web sites, compost work day or others to be announced)
X.
Grade Determination:
A = 100-90%, B = 89-80%, C = 79-70%, D = 69-60%, F = 59-0%
XI.
Instructor, Office & Office Hours:
Dr. Stephen R. Overmann
107 Rhodes Hall 651-2386 srovermann@semo.edu
Office Hours: Mon 12 -1, Tue 9 - 10, Thur 9 - 10 and Thur 12:30 - 1:30, or by appointment
XII.
Course Web Page:
http://cstl-cst.semo.edu/srovermann/ui360/
XIII.
Academic Policy Statement: Students will be expected to abide by the University Policy for
Academic Honesty regarding plagiarism and academic honesty. Refer to:
http://www6.semo.edu/judaffairs/code.html
XIV.
Student with Disabilities Statement: If a student has a special need addressed by the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires materials in an alternative format; please notify the instructor at
the beginning of the course. Reasonable efforts will be made to accommodate special needs.
XV.
Concerns Regarding the Course: Questions, comments or requests regarding this course should
be taken to your instructor. Unanswered questions or unresolved issues involving this class may be
taken to Dr. Jim Champine, Chair of Biology.
XVI.
Class Policy on Portable Electronic Devices: All cell phones should be turned off and put away before
the start of class. Portable electronic devices (cell phones, MP3 players, I pod, radios, etc.) are not to be
used during class the class period. Students using such devices will be asked to leave the classroom.
XVII.
Student Email Messages to Faculty: An email message to a faculty member should be regarded as a
professional communication. The quality of your email message, whether good or bad, reflects upon you
as a student and leaves an impression of you, whether positive or negative, with the faculty member.
Here are some guidelines regarding email messages to faculty:
1.
Always put a short informative phrase in the subject line of the email message.
2.
Always start the message with a salutation or greeting.
3.
Always include information about the course or class you are enrolled in, including the section
number.
4.
Always write in whole sentences.
5.
Always observe the rules of grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.
6.
Always end with your full name.
A well written email message is appreciated by faculty. A poorly written email message which does not
observe the guidelines given above is a source of irritation to faculty.
XVIII. Explanation of Out-of-Classroom Assignments
Personal waste stream audit: Students are required to keep a detailed log for one week of all items they
discard as trash, recycle, compost, or reuse. The log will then be summarized by category of material
(paper, glass, metal, food wastes, etc.) and disposal fate (trash, recycle, compost). Based upon these
records and calculations for one week, a projected yearly estimate of your personal waste stream will be
calculated. This estimate will be compared with quantities of materials that theoretically could be
recycled, composted, or reused. Worksheets and guidelines will be provided as handouts.
Personal household hazardous material audit: Students will examine their home residence for household
hazardous materials. A handout will indicate what materials to look for in the home. Students will indicate
the quantity of materials, their hazards, and their proper methods of disposal.
Internet Encyclopedia of Garbage web sites: Students will identify web sites related to specific terms in
the course textbook, Encyclopedia of Garbage by Steve Coffel. High quality web sites identified will be
added to the course web page (http://cstl-cst.semo.edu/srovermann/ui360/encyclopedia.htm).
Research paper on waste management topic:
Students will identify a focus topic in waste
management for library and internet research. The instructor must approve the topic. The paper will be a
minimum of eight pages in length and will utilize a minimum of eight references.
Optional Extra Credit, (10% maximum): Activities may include additional contributions to the Internet
Encyclopedia of Garbage, work at the home compost demonstration site and additional activities to be
determined during the semester.
XIX.
Tentative Days and Dates for Important Class Deadlines
Personal waste stream audit
Personal household hazardous materials audit
Thur, Feb 5
Thur, Mar 26
Internet Encyclopedia of Garbage web sites
-- one "practice" assignment
-- first "full" assignment
-- second “full” assignment
Thur, Jan 29
Thur, Feb 19
Thur, Apr 2
Last Day to Drop a Full Semester Class
Thur, Apr 23
Submit topic for approval
Deadline for topic approval
Outline for research paper
Research paper on waste management topic
Thur, Feb 19
Thur, Mar 12
Tues, Mar 24
Thur, Apr 9
Mid-term examination
Final examination
Thur, Mar 5
Thur, May 14 at 10:00 a.m.