Environmental Services Week is a time to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate our essential staff within Custodial Services, Pest Control, Grounds Crew and Moving, Recycling, and Events Services.
It is Environmental Services (EVS) Week, a special time of year to honor and acknowledge the amazing EVS staff at UMB. In our complex learning, administrative, research, and clinical environments, we heavily depend on them, though they are often unrecognized.
EVS performs a lot of often thankless tasks: cleaning and disinfecting of restrooms, continually cleaning all campus floors, moving, recycling, events services, managing pests, and grounds cleanup. All those things we take for granted — but definitely notice when they’re not done.
They also take out the trash — all of it. Did you know that in the last year just over 3 million pounds of trash (equivalent to the weight of 10 blue whales, largest animal on Earth) has left this campus? Recycling waste totaled approximately 355 tons or 710,000 pounds (two blue whales) in the last year. EVS continues to partner with the Office of Sustainability to find ways to dispose of waste responsibly and divert waste from the landfill.
Environmental Services Week is a time to show appreciation for the dedicated EVS personnel that ensure our facilities and grounds across the campus are clean, safe places for students, faculty, visitors, and other staff members. With all the challenges and changes the last few years have brought, these staff members have remained resilient in their efforts to provide services that protect us all.
At any opportunity, whether this week or next month, please take time to acknowledge and thank an EVS employee for their extraordinary contribution to our many successes at UMB.