MU appoints sustainability coordinator

Steve Burdic will continue to do his waste and recycling duties.

By Amanda Wysocki

Published April 20, 2009

Solid Waste and Recycling Coordinator Steve Burdic will become MU's first sustainability coordinator.

The position was created as a part of the new sustainability fee established by a student referendum in February.

"Steve is an excellent person for the job because he knows what is going on throughout campus and he is already plugged into everything," former Sustain Mizzou President Patrick Margherio said. "He is extremely passionate about environmental sustainability."

Sustain Mizzou Student Adviser Ben Datema was also happy with the announcement that Burdic would be the new coordinator.

"I think Steve is great," Datema said. "He's a strong advocate for sustainability. I look forward to working with him in the future."

In addition to Burdic's existing duties as recycling coordinator, his new jobs will incorporate building design and construction, transportation and some additional solid waste and recycling activities, Burdic said.

"I'm going to be looking at a lot of different activities on campus and figure out how to make them as green as possible," Burdic said.

Margherio said merging the two positions will place a lot of work on Burdic's shoulders.

"The recycling coordinator position is already a full-time job, and adding more responsibility to that position will only strain the position," Margherio said. "Currently, having the two positions filled by one person is the only viable option, but when the budget allows, we should move back to a two-person system."

Datema said he hopes to see the solid waste and recycling coordinator position come back at some point in the future.

"Hopefully, we will grow the effort from there and have an even larger effort for sustainability resulting in larger benefits," Datema said.

The coordinator will also work with the new sustainability committee on energy management and how to figure out how to make the campus greener, Burdic said.

"We're going to work to coordinate campus programs and encourage more sustainability," he said. "We will identify things that need to be done and work toward implementing them.

Sustain Mizzou has been fighting to get a sustainability coordinator on campus for a while. Datema said he did not think he would see the coordinator position created before his graduation.

"We have picked up a lot of momentum with the issue," Datema said. "I've been impressed with how receptive and supportive the administration has been on these issues, and I look forward to working with them in the future."

Margherio said the position is much needed for sustainability efforts.

"It hasn't been very coordinated," Margherio said. "We had only implemented changes within a few select departments. We want to move as a whole toward more environmentally sustainable practices."

Datema said he expects there will be hiccups throughout the creation of the position.

"We're in new territory," Datema said. "We're going to hit road blocks and have problems, and we know this, but we're going to make a lot of progress anyway."

Because Burdic was reassigned, not hired, MU didn't have to make an exemption to a campus-wide hiring freeze.

"It's not a new position," Missouri Students Association President Jordan Paul said. "It's a reclassification. It should not be affected because it's not a net gain."

Burdic said most of the money to fund the position would come from the existing solid waste and recycling funds, but the sustainability fee would supplement it.