RecycleMania was a friendly competition and benchmarking tool for college and university recycling programs to promote waste reduction activities to their campus communities. The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign participated in RecycleMania in 2014 with a Game Day Event on February 26 and an e-Waste Collection on March 18.

ECO-OLYMPICS is an energy competition between residence halls on campus. Our goal is to engage, educate, and motivate students/employees/professors to change their behavior, and have a good time while doing it. add us on Facebook  and  Sign-up for this year's competition HERE! and visit EcoOlympics web page for more details.

For many years, the UI has grown significant quantities of biomass plant products at the Energy Farm on South Farms. There have been a few preliminary attempts to identify a post-research use for this material, including the cancelled Vet Med Combined Heat and Power (CHP) project and a study of the compatibility with existing boilers at Abbott Power Plant.  Meanwhile the biomass material continues to be stockpiled at the Energy Farm. This project is looking to convert the existing (and future) biomass from the Energy Farm into power for the on-site Energy Farm facility.

The Bicycle Coordinator should partner with local police enforcement, safety educators, and advocacy groups to produce an educational pamphlet for motorists about how to drive safely with bikes.  Many of the 'share the road' principals and concepts can be included, as well as technical legal requirements (like 3' passing laws) and helpful explanations, perhaps in a Q&A format.

There are many metrics that the University needs to evaluate the success of bicycle programming efforts. The University aims to improve and increase the rate of reporting on bike thefts and crashes to better understand changing trends for safety and security of bicycles on campus. Bicycle theft or crash or indecent driving behavior should be reported to the UIPD at the non-emergency number (217) 333-1216

To better understand the demand for bicycle infrastructure, programming, and services, as well as to better track the impact of past improvements, regular bicycle counts are recommended for the University to know exactly how many bikes are on campus at any given time throughout each school year. 

Like any large community with many bicycles, bike theft is a problem in Champaign-Urbana.  Bike theft is a real barrier that prevents theft victims from riding bicycles, and discourages others from bringing high-quality bicycles to campus. The University aims to reduce bike thefts on campus by providing better, more secure bicycle parking and storage facilities, a more robust bicycle registration system, and by working with local police enforcement, bicycle shops, and community groups to identify theft deterrents on campus. 

Keys to reducing bicycle theft:

Mission:  Serve as a state-wide resource to promote sustainability at both the individual building and campus level for colleges and universities throughout the USGBC Illinois Chapter’s geography.

Vision: Sustainable and responsible buildings and campuses that enhance the quality of life for Illinois’ students and employees of higher education institutions, current citizens and future generations.

Goals :

The Climate Action Plan includes a commitment to adopt a Zero Waste Policy campus. Campus is working toward Zero Waste with the report done by Marcus Ricci last year, waste characterization audits through the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, and hiring a Zero Waste Coordinator under the Waste Management Coordinator, Tracy Osby.  However, ultimately the only way to really achieve Zero Waste is by getting behavior change in individuals.

Tikkun Chambana is a new, all inclusive, environmental club, committed to helping to protect and educate others about our natural resources as stewards of the land and as Jews.  We strive to accomplish this through a combination of workdays, education, and fundraising with regards to predominantly local initiatives. This includes leaving campus to help out with local or regional projects or through bringing conservation or promoting conservation and environmentally friendly behavior on our own campus.