Former Winter Bros. advisor to oversee Long Island waste study

Stony Brook University has named Michael E. White the interim director of the Waste Reduction and Management Institute (WRMI), which resides in the university’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) and is overseen by Dean Paul Shepson.

White is presently a SoMAS adjunct faculty lecturer and works as a consultant on special projects with Winters Bros. Waste Systems of Long Island LLC, which WM of New York recently acquired. Before coming to Winters Bros., White was director of government affairs for Tunnel Hill Partners LLC. He is an attorney and has concentrated his law practice on environmental law, solid waste, municipal law, land use, natural resources and freight rail transportation. Michael is the president and owner of LI Strategies Inc., an environmental planning consulting firm.

As interim director, White will oversee the WRMI and its faculty and staff in addressing the increasingly complex waste issues on Long Island. The region faces challenges such as some of the highest per capita waste generation in the United States, insufficient on-island waste disposal capacity and the need to improve recycling rates.

WRMl’s goal is to reduce the impact of waste generation and management practices on society through research, assessment, education and policy analysis and recommendations. Efforts look to reduce the amount of waste generated through the promotion of waste prevention strategies, educational programs, increased recycling, the development of creative beneficial uses for waste materials and the environmentally sound transportation and disposal of waste.

“Stony Brook greatly values its role in the Long Island communities it serves, and WRMI is a critical resource to help address the serious challenges posed by waste generation across our region,” says Richard L. McCormick, interim president of Stony Brook University. “We are thrilled to welcome Michael White in his new role and look forward to his expert leadership to advance WRMI’s goals through innovative research, actionable recommendations and effective advocacy.”

The Waste Reduction and Management Institute (WRMI) was created by the New York State Legislature in 1985, made up of several engaged faculty and staff across the Stony Brook campus, and hopes to grow to enable greater impact.