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Project Updates for collection: Student Sustainability Committee Funded Projects

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  1. UW-Madison Polystyrene Reuse Project for Bio Lab Materials

    Associated Project(s): 
    Implement Solutions for Special Recyclables

    The University of Wisconsin  in Madison has a program to reduce polystyrene waste.  They reached out to Ben McCall to get a letter of support.  Meanwhile, Bart Bartels, Seth Rients, and Shantanu Pai suggested we could start a similar program now, rather than wait to know if Wisconsin's funding comes through.  Ben suggested the following questions to consider as a starting point.

    1. Where can we set up local "staging areas" in the relevant buildings?
    2. Who can move things from the staging areas to a central location for bundling?  Students?
    3. Can we identify "local" (St. Louis, Chicago, Indy) companies such as Sigma that would want these?
    4. How can we arrange to truck them to those companies?  [I wonder if we could even send them back on the trucks that drop off chemical orders?]

  2. LEED Gold considered for State Farm Center

    Associated Project(s): 
    LEED Certification
    RecycleMania

    The rennovation of the State Farm Center (previously known as the Assembly Hall) will seek LEED Gold certification.  One item that this includes is the prerequisite that the building have indoor recycling bins placed throughout the facility.  This will be a nice follow up to the first Zero Waste Game Day event our campus held in Spring 2014.

  3. Update from Zack Grant

    Associated Project(s): 
    Vermicompost

    The greenhouse is built, the bin is constructed, bedding logistics are in place, and food waste collection should begin the week after spring break. Ramp up to about 150-200 lbs of food waste processing per week should be complete in about 4-5 months. For this bin and the way it fits into the SSF management plan, we’d never process more than 250-300# of actual food waste a week. This would make for a max range of 7,000-14,000 lbs of food waste processed per year (47 weeks, we wouldn’t collect waste during Christmas and Spring Break). 

    If there is any confusion about this PILOT vermicomposting project I’d like to clarify it here, because I have gotten a few requests from outside sources about taking in outside food waste (word spreads quickly). This particular unit is only meant as a pilot demonstration to prove this can be done on a larger (potential campus wide) scale. This 5x16 unit we have is an example of one part of what could be a much larger facility. However, if this is successful I would like to see that facility be something that the SSF does not manage, and ideally in another specifically built piece of infrastructure to house a larger scale process. The greenhouse also serves as our transplant production house. Between the existing unit and managing the transplant production system, the SSF has more than it can already incorporate into its existing management.

    That being said, once the system is up and running, we’d love to showcase this to any number of relevant parties and incorporate the data into any Zero Waste policy the campus has. As well as any other sustainability metrics the campus tracks.

     

  5. Archived web info - CSE e-cycleMania

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania

    E-Cyclemania

    On March 18th from 2pm to 6pm the Urbana-Champaign Campus will host an e-waste collection event as part of Recyclemania, a national competition to minimize waste and reduce the amount of material going to landfill.  On that date there will be three collection sites including the Allen Hall turn-around, Ikenberry Commons at Euclid Avenue, and a vehicle drop-off behind the ISTC Building in the research park. Personal electronics will be accepted free of charge including anything that has a plug or runs on batteries.  However the event can’t accept university owned inventory.  

    In an effort to reduce traffic congestion that is sometimes created by such an event, volunteers will help pick material using bicycles and carts (E-cyclers).  Buildings participating in the event can begin collecting e-waste on the morning of March 18th.  The E-cyclers will pick up that material and transport it to one of the collection sites.  E-waste that is too heavy to transport by cart should be delivered to the ISTC vehicle drop-off.

    All e-waste collected will be recycled by a vendor that is R2 and E-steward certified.  Weight of the material collected will be reported as part of the national Recyclemania competition.  Additional information can be found here.

    View the facebook page here.


    If you have questions about the event or would like to volunteer, please contact Bart Bartels atbbartel@illinois.edu or 217-244-7572. 

  6. energy savings tips

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Hello Ofelia,

    It would be great if you would do some research into the most effective conservation tips, and select the best based on that research.  However, if you do not have time, I would like to see these three: turn your computers off at night, consolidate coffee makers and mini-fridges, and as always turn off the lights.

    Thanks,

    Morgan

    -----Original Message-----

    From: Ofelia Rodriguez

    Sent: Sunday, March 09, 2014 5:33 PM

    To: Johnston, Morgan B

    Subject: Illini Energy Website

    Hello Morgan,

    I am working on the Illini Energy website and am in charge of having energy saving tips. I wanted to ask for your opinion on what type of information would be useful or would be best to have on the website. We have a long list of energy saving tips, but wanted to focus on top 3 tips to put not the website.

    Look forward to hearing from you!

    Best,

    Ofelia Rodriguez

     

  7. F&S comment on solar house at Energy Farm

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illinois Solar Decathlon

    Collin has been involved in this project from the very beginning, so he should be involved in any further discussions on this project. I really want to ensure proper code compliance on this since it was not originally built nor inspected to verify adherence to the International Residential Code or the NEC. We are trying to renovate it to be considered to be a code-compliant single family residence. - Craig Grant

  8. notes from SSLC presentation

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Observer
    • RSO and YMCA program
    • Publish 4x/year
      • Next issue comes out Monday, 3/17
      • In print at YMCA, Greg Hall, ACES library, Union, LAR (maybe)
    • Mission
      • Inform students about environmental news
      • Provide students with platform to practice journalism and practice journalistic advocacy
        • Journalistic advocacy – choosing specific topics to write about, inherently advocating for those issues.
    • Mutual Benefit
      • Goals to collaborate with other environmental organizations
        • Send press release about upcoming events (email Olivia Harris, oharris2@illinois.edu)
        • Co-sponsor events
        • Calendar function – google calendar with environmental events/talks/presentations

  11. e-week announcement about e-cycleMania

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania

    E-Cyclemania

    E-waste will be collected from 2-6 p.m. March 18 (Tuesday) as part of Recyclemania, a national competition to minimize waste and reduce the amount of material going to landfill. Three collection sites will be available: the Allen Hall circle drive, Ikenberry Commons at Euclid Avenue and the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.

  12. Game Day Event

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania
    Zero Waste Gameday Challenge Spring 2014

    Wednesday night marked the first ever involvement with RecycleMania on this campus, and our Illini basketball team were not the only winners that evening.  The event at the Illini-Nebraska basketball game was successful for all involved.  Over 100 student volunteers partnered with various campus organizations and departments to raise awareness about reducing our environmental impact, and to help divert recyclable materials from landfills. Our first attempt, encouraged by the competitive atmosphere of the game, enabled us to divert 31.5% of the waste from landfills. 

    By weighing all of the event’s trash and recycling, a baseline data point was established and areas for improvement were identified.  While Illinois' ranking in the national RecycleMania competition won't be known until after March 30, the impact made on the community left many participants feeling like they made a difference and that our Basketball team were not the only winners that evening. 

    If you have any questions contact Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.

  13. resolution to project plans

    Associated Project(s): 
    Orchard Downs Multifunctional Landscape (ODMFL) [ARCHIVED]

    From: Ben McCall
    Sent: Tuesday, February 25, 2014 6:18 PM
    To: Sealine, Alma R
    Cc: Wolz, Kevin James; Lovell, Sarah Taylor; Ricci, Marcus Enrico; Nell, Marika Ruth; Tousignant, Teresa Marie Giardina; Johnston, Morgan B; Lage, Stephanie M
    Subject: Re: Orchard Downs Multifunctional Landscape - Repackaged

    Alma,

    Can you make arrangements for this reimbursement?

    Thanks,

    Ben

    On 02/25/2014 01:31 PM, Kevin Wolz wrote:

    Ben, 

    Sorry for the slow response. We appreciate your thorough and firm response. Our group will desist pursuing any project at Orchard Downs. 

    We appreciate Ed's willingness to reimburse sunk costs. Total sunk costs (the amount of our grant that we spent under the assumption that everything was a go) for the project are $7,650.10. This amount can be reimbursed to the following CFOP: 

    1-303692-802050-802502-802ORC

    Thanks,

    Kevin & the OD Team

    On Tue, Feb 18, 2014 at 5:01 PM, Ben McCall wrote:

    Hi Kevin,

    I'm afraid I do not have good news for you.  Ed seems to be firm in his position that this site is not acceptable because it may be needed for another purpose in the future, and the administration does not want to be "the bad guy" tearing out something that people have grown to love.  He remains open to consideration of other sites, but I understand that neither you nor the other involved parties are interested in pursuing other sites.  Ed did agree to reimburse any sunk costs.

    You certainly have the prerogative to escalate this issue to higher levels of the administration, but my hunch is that such an effort is not likely to succeed.

    I wish I had better news for you, and I am really sad to see this project evaporate.  One lesson I think we can learn from this experience is the importance of establishing a more thorough process for getting campus approval for SSC projects before they are funded.  I intend to discuss this with the SSC leadership and see how the Institute can be of service in preventing this sort of terrible situation from recurring.

    Cheers,

    Ben

  16. Inside Illinois brief

    Associated Project(s): 
    RecycleMania
    Zero Waste Gameday Challenge Spring 2014

    Zero waste

    Recyclemania kicks off Feb. 26

    A friendly recycling competition will take place during the Illinois-Nebraska basketball game Feb. 26 at State Farm Center. Fans can compete against other schools around the country by recycling with the goal of a “zero waste basketball game.”

    During the game, the university will compete in Recyclemania, a friendly competition and assessment tool used to promote waste reduction activities in college communities. Recycling and landfill materials from the game will be weighed to calculate the event’s diversion rate; the more waste diverted from landfill, the better. The weights will then be entered into Recyclemania’s national database for future benchmarking and comparison. 

    The university’s entrance into this national competition is a collaborative effort among the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics; Facilities and Services; State Farm Center; the Student Sustainability Committee; and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment.  Volunteers from Students for Environmental Concerns and Teryl Brewster’s psychology class of “Social Justice Educators” will help direct the efforts at recycling locations during the event. 

    Winning schools receive national recognition and an award made out of recyclable materials. Goals of the event include motivating the campus community to minimize waste and increase recycling efforts.

    For more information and updates on the event, see https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project/recyclemania or email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.

    --The above was quoted from Inside Illinois, Brief Notes.

  17. DCEO grant information

    Associated Project(s): 
    Krannert Art Museum LEDs

    All I need to know is the total number you have replaced and date completed.  The DCEO grant would reimburse $15/lamp.  I need the information by May 1 so we can submit our application.  If the project isn’t complete by then it will just have to be submitted on next year’s grant cycle.

    -Eva Sweeney, P.E., LC

  18. LED detail information from Eva Sweeney

    Associated Project(s): 
    LED Bi-Level Lighting pilot

    Attached are the specifics from our parking lot E-15.  We were reusing 27’ poles on approx. 90’ staggered spacing. The BetaLED occupancy sensors are operating right at their max distance, but seem to give good coverage for both cars and pedestrians.  We were targeting a low footcandle level, only about 1.0fc average.

    Another LED fixture we have used with success is the Lithonia DSX2.  Due to taller poles (37’) on that project we did not use the occupancy sensors.  Lithonia has since indicated that their sensor may be able to adequately cover motion at that height, but we have not tried it.

    University of Illinois is now considering bi-level LED lighting for almost all of our new outdoor installations, particularly parking lots that don’t get a lot of traffic late at night.  Between the energy savings and reduced maintenance, it’s working out very well so far.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Memorial Stadium project funded by RLF

    Associated Project(s): 
    Revolving Loan Fund (RLF)

    Revolving Loan Fund Selection Committee,

    Thank you to all who participated in the special vote. We received a majority vote of four “yes” responses, so the project is accepted. Our Business Office will get the MOU written and we will move forward with the work very soon. The terms of the loan will be outlined in the MOU and will be in accordance with the signed agreement dated 12/03/2015.

    Again, thank you to all who participated and we’ll be in contact with you very soon regarding the next selection meeting.

    Josh Whitson

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