ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University's Department of Recycling and Refuse has received national recognition for its Construction and Debris (C&D) program from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence.

Ohio University's C&D program is one of the 14 Best Management Practices case studies featured on the EPA New England Web site located at www.epa.gov/ne/assistance/univ/bmpcatalog.html.

As part of its C&D program, Recycling and Refuse removes all nonhazardous and landscaping materials from construction sites before forwarding them to reuse organizations, departments or offices on campus, scrap dealers or landfills. Dumpsters are placed at construction sites to collect concrete, masonry, scrap metal and other debris.

Ohio University Director of Recycling and Refuse Ed Newman created the C&D program in 1990 in an attempt to manage the large amounts of recyclable waste collected at on-campus construction sites. Some of the benefits of the C&D program include the reduction in the amount of waste sent to landfills, savings in disposal costs and decreased use of raw materials because of increased use of recycled products.

"It is an honor to have our Construction and Debris program serve as a model for other schools around the country," Newman said. "I hope this story inspires other schools to develop an effective program for handling construction site waste."

The Campus Consortium for Environmental Excellence was hired by the EPA to develop a catalog of effective and successful environmental management practices being performed at colleges and universities. The catalog was developed to assist colleges and universities in the areas of compliance, pollution prevention, resource conservation and environmental stewardship.

For more information, contact Newman at (740) 593-0231 or newmane@ohio.edu.