Composites Recycling Technician Education Program

Technician training and industry practices have not yet kept pace with sustainability initiatives recommending reduced landfill use. This project will advance knowledge across multiple fields and industries, and provide technicians with the foundational knowledge, skills and abilities needed to handle composite waste stream materials, treating them as a new resource. The project will create a platform to develop protocols and best management processes with industry while simultaneously creating curriculum scalable to certificate and associate degree pathways for student learners and incumbent technicians. Community college students, graduate students, university and community college faculty, and industry partners will work alongside one another in an educational environment to define the functions necessary for technicians to properly work with composite waste stream material. The focus is on technician education in an emerging demand field, and will enhance educational infrastructure.

Skagit Valley College (SVC) and The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) will collaborate to create curriculum for composite technicians working with composite waste stream material. With industry subject matter experts, the project team will develop protocols and processes for the identification and proper handling of recaptured fiberglass and carbon fiber composite material; develop curriculum modules to educate technicians; and develop a template for a database learning tool to identify and track waste stream material. Project results will be disseminated nationally and internationally through ATE Central, the community and technical college system, the four-year university system, open source formats and professional and standards-based organizations. Internationally, companies are seeking the methods and means to reduce waste and waste management costs, as highlighted by the European Union initiative Zero Waste Communities. This project will show linkage between composites recycling and both environmental and economic benefits.