Penn State’s first waste reduction and recycling program manager has big goals for new role
One man’s trash is Ayodeji Oluwalana’s treasure — and as Penn State’s first waste reduction and recycling program manager, Oluwalana is on a mission to lead the university toward a zero-waste future.
Oluwalana has been chosen to fill the newly established position in the Office of Physical Plant to further the university’s recycling efforts, prioritize waste reduction on campus and guide operational and academic units on how best to implement sustainable initiatives.
“Our hard-working custodial teams collect on-campus waste and recyclables every day, so we see what is and is not being recycled,” Erik Cagle, manager of custodial operations, said via email. “With Ayo spearheading new educational opportunities, we hope to see recycling increase and overall waste decrease around campus.”
Oluwalana said his priority will be engaging all key stakeholders on Penn State’s goal of reducing waste. He also hopes to increase participation in sustainability initiatives. He currently leads Penn State’s Waste Reduction and Recycling Program.
“Penn State establishing this position shows the university’s efforts to continue to promote best practices when it comes to sustainability and waste reduction in Pennsylvania,” Oluwalana said.
As a longtime advocate for sustainability, Oluwalana came to Penn State equipped with similar experiences championing zero-waste efforts on college campuses. He previously served as the recycling program manager at Iowa State University and a sustainability coordinator at Western Colorado University.
He is also a trained Climate Reality Leader through the Climate Reality Project, a program created by Al Gore to educate people on the urgency of climate change, as well as a board member of the College and University Recycling Coalition and the Association for Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education.
While Oluwalana will be working to advance the university’s recycling program, he said his dream is for people within the campus community to become more conscious of the waste they generate. He hopes they will make more sustainable purchasing decisions and lower their carbon footprints.
“I’m hoping that my role will be able to influence behavior changes from people generating trash or waste easily to a place where people can consciously make informed decisions about how not to create waste in the first place,” Oluwalana said.
Part of his role will be collaborating with procurement services to promote more sustainable strategies and policies.
The position was created due to recommendations made by the Waste Stream Task Force, which was formed in 2018 to lead the university in sustainable decision-making. Meghan Hoskins, director of operations and partnerships for the Penn State Sustainability Institute, said the Waste Stream Task Force put forward the idea for the position after bringing together a collaborative team to look across the university for areas of sustainability to improve.
Hoskins said Oluwalana was the perfect fit for the job due to his high energy, depth of knowledge and passion for inspiring positive environmental change.
“It’s important to have someone to focus on trying to bring everyone together, educate people around campus and bring consistency to some of the waste infrastructure as well as education materials to make progress on waste minimization on campus,” Hoskins said.
Oluwalana said he is looking forward to building on the work that the Waste Stream Task Force has led, such as reducing contamination in the waste stream and leading academic engagement opportunities in sustainability.
To learn more about the university’s sustainability efforts, visit Penn State’s Office of Physical Plant website.
