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Ikenberry Commons / SDRP

301 East Gregory Drive
61820 Champaign , IL
United States
Illinois

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Projects at this location

Project Description
Diversity and Inclusion Center

Under the umbrella of OIIR and along with several partners throughout our community, we seek to explore the feasibility of a multifunctional space which will allow for in-depth examinations of the complex layers of diversity, equity,and inclusion. Said space will accommodate our interest in building upon existing campus conversations and knowledge generation with regard to sustainability and environmental justice.

Utility Boxes: Art and Sustainability

The project plan is meant to incorporate art with sustainability, specifically to be representative of renewable energy. The objective of painting a mural on the utility boxes would be to remind students of the urgency of the situation regarding making the switch between energy usage; as we all know it is easy to maintain "out of sight, out of mind" mentality that facilities disregarding the bigger problem. Therefore the project goal brings to the forefront the concept of renewable energy to encompass the "in sight, in mind" concept. 

Grind2Energy

To combat the issue of food waste on campus, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign implemented Grind2Energy systems at the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year.

These systems operate similarly to kitchen garbage disposals. However, they are significantly more powerful than household disposals and run at 10.0 horsepower. Meanwhile, household disposals only operate around 0.5-3.0 horsepower.

In order to convert the food waste into energy:

Reusable Containers

The Zero Waste iCAP Team is actively pursuing the use of reusable service options for campus facilities which serve food at any capacity. In a study conducted by the Good2Go team, most UIUC students are generally uninterested in the sustainability benefits of reusable containers but are rather enticed by the convenience factor.

Foundational Program

The AFRI Foundational Program supports grants in the six AFRI priority areas to continue building a foundation of knowledge critical for solving current and future societal challenges. The six priority areas are:

  • Plant Health and Production and Plant Products
  • Animal Health and Production and Animal Products
  • Food Safety, Nutrition, and Health
  • Bioenergy, Natural Resources, and Environment
  • Agriculture Systems and Technology
  • Agriculture Economics and Rural Communities
Water Research Grants

EPA funds water research grants to develop and support the science and tools necessary to develop sustainable solutions to 21st century water resource problems, ensuring water quality and availability in order to protect human and ecosystem health. 

Ecosystem Research Grants

EPA funds ecosystems research grants to protect ecosystems and the air and water resources that provide numerous benefits for humans and other living things.

U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC)

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center helps solve the nation’s most challenging problems in civil and military engineering, geospatial sciences, water resources, and environmental sciences for the Army, Department of Defense, civilian agencies, and the Nation’s public good.

SERDP

SERDP is DoD's environmental science and technology program. Solicitations seeks proposals for basic and applied research, and advanced technology development, or to investigate innovative approaches that entail high technical risk or require supporting data to provide proof of concept. Submissions must be in response to the Statement of Need which covers the following topics in FY 2018: Environmental restoration, Resource conservation and resiliency

Urban Water Small Grants

EPA’s Urban Waters Program helps local residents and their organizations restore their urban waters in ways that also benefit community and economic revitalization.

Training and Technical Assistance for Small Water Systems

The funding will help provide water and wastewater system staff and private well owners with training and tools to enhance system operations and management practices, and support EPA’s continuing efforts to protect public health and promote sustainability in small communities.

Pollution Prevention (P2)

This program funds grants/cooperative agreements that implement pollution prevention technical assistance services and/or training for businesses and support projects that utilize pollution prevention techniques to reduce and/or eliminate pollution from air, water and/or land.

Extreme Events: Preparedness, Planning, and Adaptation Within the Water Sector

Focused on developing strategies for increasing community resilience in U.S. towns, municipalities or small cities planning for the impacts of extreme precipitation events (too much or too little water) on their civilian population.

National Competitive Grants Program

This competitive grant program focus on: “water problems and issues of a regional or interstate nature beyond those of concern only to a single State and which relate to specific program priorities identified jointly by the Secretary (of the Interior) and the (water resources research) institutes.”

Illinois Water Resources Center - Annual Small Grants

Annual Small Grants are competitively awarded to Illinois graduate students and their project advisors. Approximately $40,000 is available each year for research focused on agricultural land use, wetland restoration, water quality, stormwater management, emerging contaminants, and other key water resource issues.

WaterSMART Grants

WaterSMART Water and Energy Efficiency Grants provide cost-shared funding for projects that save water; increase energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy in water management; support environmental benefits (i.e., make conserved water available instream or otherwise address endangered species issues); mitigate conflict risk in areas at a high risk of future water conflict; and accomplish other benefits that contribute to water supply sustainability in the western United States.

Office of Land and Emergency Management (OLEM)

The Office of Land and Emergency Management provides policy, guidance and direction for the Agency's emergency response and waste programs

 

Environmental Engineering

The goal of the Environmental Engineering program is to support transformative research which applies scientific and engineering principles to avoid or minimize solid, liquid, and gaseous discharges, resulting from human activities on land, inland and coastal waters, and air, while promoting resource and energy conservation and recovery.

Building Technologies Office

The Building Technologies office leads a network of research and industry partners to continually develop innovative, cost-effective energy saving solutions in building design. Some of the relevant programs under the Building Technologies office include 

  1. Emerging Technologies
  2. Residential Building
Food Waste Reduction

This guide from the USDA Rural Development agency highlights the various ways the agency provides funding and support for food loss and waste reduction, reuse and composting.

Structural and Architectural Engineering and Materials (SAEM)

SAEM aims to enable sustainable buildings and other structures that can be continuously occupied and/or operated during the structure’s useful life. The SAEM program supports fundamental research for advancing knowledge and innovation in structural and architectural engineering and materials that promotes a holistic approach to analysis and design, construction, operation, maintenance, retrofit, and repair of structures.

Civil Infrastructure Systems (CIS)

CIS supports fundamental and innovative research necessary for designing, constructing, managing, maintaining, operating and protecting efficient, resilient and sustainable civil infrastructure systems. Research that recognizes the role that these systems play in societal functioning and accounts for how human behavior and social organizations contribute to and affect the performance of these systems is encouraged. 

Prediction and Resilience Against Extreme Events (PREEVENTS)

This program seeks projects that will:

  1. Enhance understanding of the fundamental processes underlying natural hazards and extreme events on various spatial and temporal scales, as well as the variability inherent in them
  2. Improve our capability to model and forecast such hazards and events
Recycling Bins Pilot at Ikenberry

A project is planned for March to evaluate a new outdoor recycling station in comparison to existing bins with revised signage.  Housing has the station located inside the entrance of Ikenberry Commons.  For the project, that station will be placed outside along the North entrance, directly across from the existing bins.  After one week, waste audits will be conducted on both stations, the stations will then reversed, and the experiment will run for another week.

Glove Recycling

The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign participates in Kimberly-Clark’s RightCycle Program.

SDRP Lighting

The Student Dining and Residential Programs Building (SDRP), constructed in 2010, was built to LEED silver certification, but continued improvements to the facility could enhance its green capabilities even further. The lighting system at SDRP has been identified as an area in which minor upgrades could be very beneficial to supporting the energy reduction goals of the iCAP.

Enviropures

EnviroPure is a food waste elimination system that is a self-contained unit that can be continually fed food waste and dispose the waste. The system is designed to solve the environmental, operations, and economic issues associated with the disposal of food waste. The unit keeps optimal temperatures and oxygen levels for aerobic decomposition to take place more quickly. This results in a complete elimination of food waste without odors, sludge build-up, and system clean out requirements.

Nugent Hall: LEED Silver

Nugent Hall (the Champaign Housing Residence Halls Phase A) was awarded the LEED Silver Certification on January 20, 2011. Nugent received 34 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. The construction was especially strong in the Indoor Environmental Quality, receiving 13 of the 15 possible points in that area. Nagle Hartray was selected as the Architect of Record in order to ease the transition in the unusual project delivery approach.

Ikenberry Dining Hall: LEED Silver

The Ikenberry Commons Dining Hall was awarded the LEED Silver Certification on August 17, 2011. The dining hall received 34 of the 69 possible points on the LEED Scorecard. Energy saving features of the facility include recycled content in 20 percent of the materials used to construct the building; water-efficient plumbing fixtures; energy-efficient lighting, heating, and cooling; low-VOC paints, coatings, and sealants; and a white reflective roof that reduces the need for cooling.

Sustainable Agricultural Practices

A goal for the University of Illinois’ campus, as set forth by the 2010 Illinois Climate Action Plan, is to reduce directly related agricultural emissions by 50 percent by 2020. In order to complete this goal, the campus must shift to more sustainable agricultural and animal production practices. Areas that need improvement include reductions in food waste and the energy required for food processing, preparation, and transportation.

Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)

For many departments on campus, energy and utility costs do not impact research, teaching, or departmental budgets.  The  academic departments are supplied with utilities through the campus administrative budget.  For these departments, an incentive program has been implemented to encourage these units to conserve energy. 

Project Updates

  • 5/19/2024

    Hi Daphne,

     

    Have you had any discussion with Housing dining about piloting composting in their catering operations?

     

    I believe we could encourage them to lead a pilot for that.

     

    Thanks,

  • 11/10/2023

    Members from the ISC, ZeroWaste Interns, as well as Daphne Hulse and Codie Sterner attended a tour of the Illinois Street Residence Halls and their Grind2Energy system today.