Travis P. Wagner

Professor Emeritus
Travis Wagner

Education

  • PhD, Public Policy/Environmental Policy, George Washington University
  • MPP, Environmental Policy, University of Maryland
  • BS, Environmental Science, Unity College

Research Interests

My research interests focus on sustainable material management especially the application of zero waste principles to eliminate, reduce, and recover single-use consumer plastics with innovative environmental policy instruments.

Department of Environmental Science and Policy
College of Science, Technology, and Health

Travis received his B.S. in environmental science at Unity College in Maine. His focus was wildlife management; however, his experiences with counting rabbit scat in the unorganized territories of Maine erased his grand ideas of a wildlife management career. Immediately following graduation, Travis accepted an internship with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Toxic Substances in Washington, DC. He quickly found his niche – environmental policy. Travis worked for a series of environmental firms focusing on a variety of environmental projects including solid and hazardous waste policy development; contaminated site remediation; pollution prevention; and regulatory compliance. Since leaving Unity, he has lived in Washington, DC; Raleigh, NC; Würzburg, Germany; Kaiserslautern, Germany; and New Bern, NC. Having become satiated with environmental consulting, and having relished his prior teaching experience, Travis decided to return to graduate school fulltime to fulfill his dream of teaching college.

Selected Publications

Wagner, T.P. (2020). Policy instruments to reduce consumption of expanded polystyrene food service ware in the USA, Detritus.

Wagner, T. P., & Toews, P. (2018). Assessing the use of default choice modification to reduce consumption of plastic straws. Detritus, (4), 113.

Wagner, T.P., & Morris, L.A. (2018). Improving student comprehension of policy design using social construction of target populations theory. Journal of Public Affairs Education, March, 1-21.

Wagner, T.P. (2017). Reducing single-use plastic shopping bags in the USA. Waste Management, 70: 3-12.

Wagner, T.P., McCormick, K., & Martinez, D.M. (2017). Fostering STEM literacy through a table-top wind turbine laboratory activity. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences. 7: 230-238.

Wagner, T.P. (2016). Municipal approaches in Maine to reduce single-use consumer products. Maine Policy Review, 25(2): 31-43.

Wagner, T.P. & Broaddus, N. (2016). The generation and cost of litter resulting from the curbside collection of recycling. Waste Management, 50:3-9.

Wagner, T.P. & Raymond, T. (2015). Landfill mining: Case study of a successful metals recovery project. Waste Management, 45:448-457.

Wagner, T.P., Toews, P., & Bouvier, R. (2013). Increasing diversion of household hazardous wastes and materials through mandatory retail take-back Journal of Environmental Management, 123: 88-97.

Lane, G.W.S., & Wagner, T.P. (2013). Examining recycling container attributes and household recycling practices. Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 75: 32-40.

Wagner, T.P. (2013). Examining the concept of convenient collection: An application to extended producer responsibility and product stewardship frameworks. Waste Management, 33: 499-507.

Wagner, T.P. (2011). Compact fluorescent lights and the impact of convenience and knowledge on household recycling rates, Waste Management, 31: 1300-1306.

Bouvier, R. & Wagner, T.P. (2011). The influence of collection facility attributes on household collection rates of electronic waste: The case of televisions and computer monitors, Resources, Conservation and Recycling, 55(11): 1051-1059.

Wagner, T. (2009). Shared responsibility for managing electronic waste: A case study of Maine, USA. Waste Management, 29(12): 3014-3021.

Wagner, T. (2008). Reframing ecotage as ecoterrorism: News and the discourse of fear. Environmental Communication: A Journal of Nature and Culture, 2(1): 25-39.

Travis Wagner

Education

  • PhD, Public Policy/Environmental Policy, George Washington University
  • MPP, Environmental Policy, University of Maryland
  • BS, Environmental Science, Unity College

Research Interests

My research interests focus on sustainable material management especially the application of zero waste principles to eliminate, reduce, and recover single-use consumer plastics with innovative environmental policy instruments.