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  2. Illini Union cooling towers removed

    Associated Project(s): 
    Reduce Cooling Tower and Chiller Plant Water Use

    The Illini Union has demolished its old cooling towers for HVAC in the past 15 years, and recently demolished the old evaporator cooling system for the refrigeration chilling water in 2017. Almost all of our HVAC is now on DDC, with the exception of AHU’s 1, 2, & 3 in the South Building attic, and AHU-21 in the North Building NW subbasement.

  3. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    This past week 

    • Morgan and I had a phone call to catch up on glove recycling. We are still sorting out the situation at Noyes, as they seem to have an independent arrangement with Kimberly Clark for glove pick-up. I am also trying to see if they would allow one of the labs from RAL to drop glove off there. A post-doc from the lab at RAL is interested in having the lab participate but can’t get the gloves to PPSB. 
    • I asked Morgan and Anna for feedback on an online glove recycling participation form to go on the relevant iCAP portal page. I also sent content for an informational flier which will eventually be posted on the site. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  4. ECBS SWATeam Meeting Minutes

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Eco-Olympics

    On January 19, 2018, the ECBS SWATeam discussed updates on the Freezer Challenge, Eco-Olympics, and the Illini Lights Out program. They also brainstormed methods for the departments to become more invested in energy conservation. They are broaching the idea of the departments receiving payback for their participation or possibly charging departments for their energy usage. The team members will research into peer institutions and what they are doing on this issue. The ECBS SWATeam also wishes to build more awareness for energy conservation in residential facilities and in the campus community.

    Attached Files: 

  8. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was ever-so-slightly on the busy side of things. Friday in particular. Alana dropped off shirts (thanks!) so all CBC staff will now have nice new Campus Rec t-shirts. I finished constructing the shelving behind the tool wall so now I need to buy some paint for them. The majority vote on colors is: Pink and yellow. Neither color muted, either. Loud ones.

    Last week I emailed all of the owners of expired build-a-bike tags here at CBC to alert them to their expiration. Two or three have come to update their tags in the last week. This week I’ll cull the remaining abandoned ones and either finish them as Shop Builds or return them to the available stock.

    This week is the Bike Project Members’ Meeting (tonight). The weather is looking to be warmer all week, so I’ll staff accordingly. Hopefully warm weather means selling some bikes. I’ll build bikes, too.

    The numbers:
    Sales: $186
    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Visitors: 32

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  9. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Here’s what I did this past week for the zero-waste effort: 

    • Continued communications with Roger Adams Lab regarding their interest in glove recycling. Continued correspondence with Serenity Desmond at Noyes about lettng RAL drop off gloves there, since it will be difficult for RAL to get them to PPSB.
    • Received a Purchasing report of glove purchases across the campus. Morgan and I intend to use the information to help promote the glove recycling program.
    • Received a report from UIC on outdoor trash and recycling collection costs before and after implementing Big Bellies on the campus. 

    Best regards,
    Marya Ryan
    Zero Waste Coordinator

  14. PWR SWATeam Meeting - 2/5/18

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Recycling for the Quad
    Battery Recycling
    Single-Use Battery Recycling
    Recycled-Content Paper Policy in CAM
    EPA SmartWay Affiliate

    The PWR SWATeam had their first meeting of the semester, where they discussed several updates related to purchasing, waste, and recycling. The Team discussed concerns about recycling bins on the Main Quad, persistent issues with the purchasing of recycled paper on campus, challenges with a centralized battery recycling program, and the formal adoption of EPEAT standards for electronics on campus. The SWATeam also discussed and provided feedback on a formal recommendation for the expansion of SmartWay to other campus units.

    Attached Files: 

  15. SSC and F&S to host Free to Ride film screening

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Reduce Driving on Campus

    Free To Ride, a documentary produced by The Ohio State University's Kirwan Institute, highlights the relentless spirit of community leaders from across Dayton, Ohio who overcame a suburban contingent fearfully opposed to the expansion of public transit along a commercial corridor, and the system of checks and balances that allowed justice and reason to prevail.

    Trailer: https://vimeo.com/95444875

    This event is free and open to the public. Join us on March 7th at 4pm in room 112 at the Transportation Building.

    Event Details: https://www.facebook.com/events/1554444197965701/

    Attached Files: 

  17. Food Handling info from SSF

    Associated Project(s): 
    Vermicompost
    Food Waste Reduction

    Matt Turino at the Sustainable Student Farm provided this overview of the food waste handling / transportation related to the Vermicompost project.

    "So we only collected Pre-consumer waste from Busey-Evans so only the things that were cut off the usuable parts of vegetables and fruits.  We had special  30 gallon trash cans that only existed in the kitchen of the Busey-Evans so there was almost never other kinds of trash.  If we saw some while handling we would remove it but we did not need to sort it.

    We had no packaging or animal products in the compost.

    We used a pick up truck to transport the containers and we did not have a good way to load these.  We often had to lift 50-90 lb trash containers up into the truck bed, and us not having the correct equipment contributed to it not being a sustainable program for us.  The waste was extremely wet and so something that made it tricky to handle and and to transport.  We were using leaves from U of I landscaping for the Brown material.

    I did not track the cost of our transportation because we would often drop our produce off and pick up the waste on the same trip.  We were driving a pickup truck about 3 miles per trip 2-3 times a week.  We were picking up between 60-100 gallons of food waste per week during the semester. 

    Also we were using a vermi-compost unit which was not the most effective system for this, if you wanted to do a composting set up I would recommend a larger windrow set up."

  18. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, last week was pretty quiet. Made some progress on a construction project: A member came in on Thursday and we affixed the tool pegboard to a more secure structure than just having it hang on the sewage pipes as it was before. Now it’s screwed into some 2x4s that are hung from the ceiling. This in turn actually bumped it back a few inches, providing a smidge more room, something that is always welcome.

    This week that same volunteer will come in on Tuesday morning and we’ll begin construction on some more shelving directly behind the tool wall to facilitate better storage options for new and used parts. I will then paint the new shelves to make them easier to ID and distinguish. Informal poll of staff thus far: 2 votes for pink.

    CBC will be closed tomorrow (Tuesday) for a staff meeting. I’ll put that on the website and Facebook.

    Numbers:

    Visitors: 37
    Sales: $182.68
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    (No bike sales)

    Sincerely,

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  19. Tour FSHN Pilot Plant with SSC

    Associated Project(s): 
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Sustainable Agricultural Food System
    Sustainable Student Farm

    At this year's Explore ACES, join the Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) and the Food Science & Human Nutrition (FSHN) Pilot Plant for a special SSC tour of the Pilot Plant facility! The plant gives students an experiential opportunity to test new food processing technologies, examine nutritional breakdowns, and contribute to the local food system. This special SSC tour will explore flour milling, tomato sauce processing, hot sauce processing, and more! You'll even get to taste hot sauce with peppers produced at the Sustainable Student Farm. We look forward to seeing you on March 9th at 9:15am, 11:00am, or 1:30pm. Signup here: https://goo.gl/forms/WAtT3klPwxmp8Eaq1

  20. potential to add solar on Oak Street library

    Associated Project(s): 
    Rooftop Solar Potential

    There is a grant for helping libraries go green, which could potentially support solar at the Oak Street facility.

    EBSCO has expanded this year’s EBSCO Solar Grant. For the first time, it will provide three $100,000 grants to libraries looking to install solar arrays. If you’re eager to show your community the benefits of solar energy or to add to your sustainability plans, consider applying to the EBSCO Solar Grant now through April 30th. The winner will be announced on June 22nd, 2018, both online and at ALA Annual 2018.

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