Cornell-Community Waste Management Advisory Committee records

CCWMAC (pronounced "Cowmac") was assembled in 1996 following protests from some area residents opposed to a proposed incinerator upgrade and expansion. The committee was composed of about two dozen representatives of environmental groups, government agencies, community organizations, elected officials and such campus entities as the Cornell Greens, the Cornell United Progressives, the Student, Graduate & Professional Student and University Assemblies and the Faculty Senate. Work of the committee was coordinated by the Community Dispute Resolution Center, an independent Ithaca-based non-profit organization A consensus agreement in 1998 set the direction for an innovative approach to replacing Cornell's existing incinerator with a tandem of alternative technologies. A CCWMAC subcommittee spent three months writing a final report that the committee adopted Oct. 8, when it also approved a set of recommendations for further waste minimization at Cornell. In 2010 Cornell's incinerator at the College of Veterinary Medicine was officially shut down and replaced with a new digester for disposing of animal remains.The new system is part of a Waste Management Facility project that also includes removing the incinerator and installing a steam sterilization and shredding system for disposing of the university's medical waste, which will be completed in 2010. In 2011 A new Rotoclave (rotating autoclave) at Cornell's Waste Management Facility was dedicated, promising to dispose of the university's medical wastes in a safe, environmentally friendly manner, while saving energy