Sustainability Spotlight: Nich Weber
Each month, we will highlight a UNC Charlotte community member who is an advocate for sustainability on campus. This August, we are highlighting a member of the UNC Charlotte Recycling team who plays a vital part in keeping UNC Charlotte green, including ensuring materials like cardboard and styrofoam from campus move-in are recycled properly.
Visit the Recycling website here to learn more about recycling right at UNC Charlotte.
What is your name?
Nich Weber
What is your job title?
Recycling Program Associate
How long have you been at UNC Charlotte?
I have been at UNC Charlotte for a little over three years now.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability to me means doing what you can with what you have that will impact the world in such a way that won’t take from the society and environment you live in or from those who will come after you.
How do you implement sustainability into your day-to-day role at UNC Charlotte?
I implement sustainability in my day-to-day role at UNC Charlotte by commuting on the light rail every day, supporting the Office of Sustainability as a Sustainability Ambassador, and making sure that the different waste streams that we collect get taken to the correct places off of campus, including:
- Cardboard/paper to Greif
- Bottles and cans to the materials recovery facility in Mecklenburg County
- Compost to Earth Farms
- Scrap metal to Morris Scrap Metal
- Electronics waste to Power House
- Scrap wood to Eggers
- “Weird” plastics to Sky Recycling
- Densified styrofoam to Tiny House Community Development
- Yard waste to Compost Central
- Textiles to Green Zone
- Plastic film to NexTrex
- Batteries to Battery Tree and EEI
I also practice sustainability by providing recycling services via work requests, expanding the Compost Caddy program, eating a more plant-based meal at lunch, printing as little as possible, using my office’s window as my light source instead of the ceiling light, and purchasing locally and more responsibly when possible.
As the new academic year begins, what is one thing you’d like UNC Charlotte students to know about sustainability at UNC Charlotte?
One thing that I’d like UNC Charlotte students to know about sustainability at UNC Charlotte is that recycling right is the gateway to sustainability. I say “recycling right: because what is recyclable is determined by where you are. What you can recycle on campus is different from what you can recycle at your off-campus apartment across the street or your parents’ house up the road. We can recycle a lot more here on campus because we have outlets for many different waste streams (as listed above).
It also helps that we have a wonderful Recycling team who picks materials up from bins on campus, sorts out any materials that cannot be recycled, and places the materials into the correct waste receptacle that our off-campus partners haul away and recycle for us.
What is your favorite way to practice health and wellness?
My favorite way to practice health and wellness is hiking, especially if there is water along the trail.
Is there a specific person, quote, etc. that inspires you?
A quote by the founders of @BambuuBrush, “One Simple Change, multiplied by millions, will change the world.”, inspires me.