The Waste Management option deals with safe disposal of and potential alternative uses for wastes. Graduates will be knowledgeable in new technologies as well as the current constraints on waste management. They will find opportunities in regulatory agencies as well as in the private sector. The environmental reclamation industry is a major employer as are manufacturers and municipalities who must be in compliance with waste-management rules and laws. Some B.S. students choose to enter graduate programs, but a majority will move directly into careers in the environmental sciences.
Opportunities exist within the public and private sectors.
Federal, state, and local agencies that deal with environmental issues hire environmental scientists. The Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Corps of Engineers, Natural Resources Conservation Service, State Water Control Board, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and city or county planning commissions are employers in the public sector. Private consulting firms also offer employment opportunity for graduates. The environmental sciences offer a range of opportunities for employment. The profession is currently experiencing a shortage of trained personnel, and projections of several governmental and private agencies suggest this shortfall will continue well into the twenty-first century.