College of the Atlantic
IN-26: Innovation C

In winter term, 2017, College of the Atlantic created the staff position of Discarded Resources (DR) Manager. The creation of this position enshrined as part of the COA administration a role that had previously been created and filled by graduate student Lisa Bjerke ’16. Establishing the permanent administrative position of DR Manager helps ensure that COA is meeting its zero-waste policy goals, provides consistency for the student DR workstudy crew from term to term and year to year, and centralizes all DR efforts through one staff member.

According to COA’s Discarded Resource and Material Management Policy, approved in 2017, the school aims to divert 90% of its discarded materials from the landfill by 2025. This ambitious goal depends on cross-campus buy in, along with plenty of hands-on work by the DR workstudy crew, staffed by 6-8 students, and the DR manager. Their responsibilities include maintaining a recycling program that reaches every floor of every building on campus, composting food waste from COA dining services (10 tons annually, with pre- and post-consumer waste combined), and handling stations for compostable dining ware at events.

Under Holway’s leadership, the DR crew embraces the philosophy of the 12 Rs, as outlined in COA’s DR policy: reduce, reuse, repair, redesign, repurpose, replenish, research, reach-out, refuse, reconsider, remember, and recycle. Holway manages the crew in such a way that the students take on as much responsibility and leadership as possible, stressing the educational aspects of the work. Students handle educational outreach on campus, holding regular workshops in campus residences and presenting before the school’s All College Meeting weekly governance session. Students undertake essential research for the DR effort--figuring out what can be done with different plastics and materials, looking into ways to reduce non-recyclable materials, and how to best handle compostable materials.

As Head Custodian at COA, Holway is responsible for making sure that janitorial product purchasing is in line with COA environmental standards. As DR Manager, and by utilizing the research performed by students under his supervision, Holway makes sure that the right products are coming in, taking a 12 Rs approach throughout the lifecycle of the products.