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  1. Zero Waste iCAP Team Meeting Minutes 2/19/2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Zero Waste iCAP Team
    Adopt Environmentally Preferred Procurement (EPP) Guidelines
    Sustainable Procurement
    Sustainability Literacy Assessment

    The Zero Waste iCAP Team Met on 2/19/2024 to discuss initiatives regarding environmentally preferred procurement, updates on the university's participation with Coca-Cola buyback, and recyclopedia feedback. The Engagement iCAP team chair, Codie Sterner, joined to discuss the sustainability literacy survey. The Zero Waste Team will come up with questions to add to the survey. 

  2. 02-12-24 Dump & Run Meeting 2

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Attendance: Pete Varney, Dan Hiser, Miriam, Bryan Johnson, Thurman Etchison, Daphne Hulse

     

    Agenda

    1. Determine exact remaining budget for this year (Daphne)

      1. $5,951.38 in SSC fund

      2. $6,992.19 spent for the 2023 program

    2. Identify locations for Orchard Downs & Ashton Woods (Mark, Bryan)

    3. Reassess all previous locations & confirm (Mark, Bryan)

      1. Box truck sizes on Euclid - donation partners

      2. Babcock Hall - inquire with driver on the northernmost suggestion

      3. Sherman Hall - inquire with driver

    4. Inquire with Housing communications team about opportunity for advertisement + communications for Orchard Downs, Ashton Woods (Mark, Bryan)

    5. Loop in Jenna (Project4Less) into food pantry donation conversations (Thurman, Daphne)

      1. Connected with the Eastern Illinois Food Bank - setting up meeting to discuss logistics

    6. iSEE - what materials will be collected? (Miriam)

      1. Out of office - reconnect later

    7. Assign locations to non-profit partners, once locations are determined (Daphne)

     

    Action Items

    1. Connect with driver for shipping containers, ensure access to locations (Daphne)

      1. Confirm all locations with Stacey DeLorenzo (Daphne)

    2. Connect with non-profit groups, confirm participation (Daphne)

    3. Confirm graduate halls move out timing (Mark, Bryan)

    4. Marketing materials from Housing - posters, digital sign (Mark, Bryan)

    5. Confirm iSEE’s plan for integration (Miriam, Daphne)

  4. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Run of the mill week here. Thanks to Todd for grabbing scrap over the weekend. This week I’ll grab some more bikes from the barn to fix up and/or scrap. Had a few sneaky ones that look good at first glance and are junk in the end. We’re getting a good stockpile of overhauled wheels ready for when folks’ bikes need new-to-them wheels.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 35
    Sales: $388.50
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $200
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Tires/tubes: 2 for$8

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center

  5. Illini Lights Out Event 2/9/24

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    At Friday's Illini Lights Out event, 3,668 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $588.50 in energy costs. This also prevented 4.7 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 532 gallons of gasoline being consumed.

  9. 1/26/2024

    Associated Project(s): 
    Illini Lights Out

    At Friday's Illini Lights Out event, 2,995 light bulbs were shut off that otherwise would have been left on all weekend, saving $455 in energy costs. This also prevented 3.7 metric tons of CO2 equivalent from entering the atmosphere, which is equivalent to the greenhouse gas emissions from 412 gallons of gasoline being consumed.  

  10. Weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    All, Sneakily busy last week. Warmer weather this week will likely keep visitors darkening the doors. Still plugging away at the abandoned bikes. Had an interview last week for another student worker to bolster our team in advance of the really warm weather.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 43
    Sales: $615.50

    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $260
    Bikes (B-a-B): 1 for $50
    Memberships: 3 for $90
    Tires/tubes: 2 for $5

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center

  11. 01-29-24 Dump & Run Meeting 1

    Associated Project(s): 
    Dump and Run

    Attendance: Pete Varney, Dan Hiser, Miriam Keep, Bryan Johnson, Mark Kuehl, Thurman Etchison, Daphne Hulse

     

    1. Overview of the budget last year

      1. $6,992.19 spent for the 2023 program

      2. Daphne is determining the number of remaining funds from our SSC award (this will likely be the last year we have funds remaining in our SSC account)

    2. Overview of results last year

      1. Goodwill: 16K lbs (hard household goods)

      2. Salt & Light: 3.5K lbs (soft clothing and bedding)

    3. Overview of this year

      1. Undergraduate residence halls

      2. Explore expansion to graduate residence halls

        1. Orchard Downs

          1. 2 laundry room locations

        2. Ashton Woods

      3. Explore food collection - work with local pantry

      4. iSEE collaboration

        1. Interested in collecting recyclable materials (both that F&S typically collects, as well as special collections)

      5. 3 non-profits interested

        1. Goodwill Land of Lincoln - interested in returning for this year again

        2. Salt & Light - interested in returning for this year again

        3. Habitat for Humanity ReStore - interested in joining this year, wants furniture specifically

    4. Assess last years’ donation site locations (bolded locations were successful, asterisked locations should be reassessed)

      1. Hopkins

      2. Student Dining and Residential Programs

      3. Illinois Street

      4. Lincoln Avenue

      5. Wassaja*

      6. Weston*

      7. Busey-Evans*

      8. FAR/PAR*

    5. Pete & Dan: containers could be opened at 8am and closed at 8pm

    6. Housing suggests that we should look into bolder advertisements in residence halls

     

    Action Items:

    1. Determine exact remaining budget for this year (Daphne)

    2. Identify locations for Orchard Downs & Ashton Woods (Mark, Bryan)

    3. Inquire with Housing communications team about opportunity for advertisement (Mark, Bryan)

      1. + communications for Orchard Downs, Ashton Woods

    4. Reassess FAR-PAR location (Mark, Bryan)

    5. Reassess Busey-Evans location (Mark, Bryan)

    6. Loop in Jenna (Project4Less) into food pantry donation conversations (Thurman, Daphne)

    7. iSEE - what materials will be collected? (Miriam)

    8. Assign locations to non-profit partners, once locations are determined (Daphne)

  13. ECE Net Zero Celebration

    Associated Project(s): 
    ECE Net-Zero Energy Building
    ECE LED Lighting
    ECE Rooftop Solar PVs
    Electrical and Computer Engineering Building: LEED Platinum

    https://ece.illinois.edu/about/calendar/eceb-anniversary 

    The Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) Building at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign was certified as the university’s first zero-energy facility in January 2023. Join the ECE Department and The Grainger College of Engineering to celebrate this milestone on the path to building a more sustainable future. 


    When: Wednesday January 24, 2024 from 4 p.m.
    Where: Electrical & Computer Engineering Building Atrium, 306 N. Wright St, Urbana, IL 61801

     

  14. Weekly Update: Kid's Bike Giveaway, Busy in cold weather!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center

    Happy New Year! Since my last email, we hosted our annual Kid’s Bike Giveaway. It was terrible weather with a steady cold rain, but we still gave away 70+ bikes in about 20 minutes. There was supposed news coverage with WCIA but I wasn’t able to track down the actual footage. Not an hour after we’d given away all the bikes, someone showed up with a couple kids bike donations. Already started on next year!

    The semester started last week, and we were surprisingly busy—even on Friday when it was a snowy mess out there, which meant it was a melting snowy mess in our workshop, too. A good problem to have.

    We’ll see how we fare this week with the freezing rain.

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 21
    Sales: $283
    Bikes (refurb): 1 for $170
    Memberships: 1 for $30
    Tube/tire: 1 for $4

    Thanks!

    Jacob Benjamin
    Coordinator -- Campus Bike Center

  16. SLLC moving to Illinois Street Residence (ISR) Hall

    Associated Project(s): 
    Sustainability Living Learning Community (SLLC)

    Sustainability LLC on the Move! The Sustainability Living Learning Community (LLC) is moving from Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls to Illinois Street Residence Halls in fall 2024! Residents in the SLLC can explore their interest in sustainable living academically, organically, and experientially with students of diverse backgrounds. Information >>>

  17. iSEE newsletter - biomass boiler

    Associated Project(s): 
    Biomass Boiler at the Energy Farm

     

     

    Warm for the Winter: How the Energy Farm's Biomass Boiler helps fuel research during the cold months

     

    		  

    Sustainability in Action: Biomass Boiler


    The 5-year-old biomass boiler at the Illinois Energy Farm is truly a sustainable option. Miscanthus from the fields is dried and used to fuel the boiler, which heats a large greenhouse growing new plants. The ashes are applied back onto Energy Farm fields to create a carbon sink, adding to the closed loop. In our new video, you can see how it works and hear Energy Farm Director of Operations Tim Mies describe the system!

     

  18. Green Power Partnership’s 2022 Year in Review

    Associated Project(s): 
    EPA Green Power Partner

     

    The EPA GPP has realeased a 2022 year in review graphic and data. Please see the attached graphic.

    • EPA Partners reported more than 3,000 green power purchases and projects, up 13 percent over the previous year.
    • EPA Partners increasingly engaged directly with new projects through project-specific supply options like PPAs, surpassing retail supply options for the first time in program history.
    • Nearly half of all 687 EPA Partners procured enough green power to meet 100 percent of their total annual domestic electricity demand.

  19. UIUC works with Ecolab to transition to soap concentrate

    Associated Project(s): 
    Green Cleaning Products and Practices

    Soap waste is especially prevalent on large campuses and facilities that experience high day-to-day foot traffic. Through North American, UIUC's custodial product vendor, the university is transitioning to Ecolab's soap concentrate. This allows soap dispensers to be refilled rather than tossed and replaced with a single-use dispenser. This choice was made in an effort to address waste reduction practices in the Building Services division of F&S.

     

    ***************************************************************************

    From: Dean, Sean <Sean.Dean@ecolab.com>
    Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2024 10:43 AM
    To: Varney, Pete <pvarney@illinois.edu>
    Cc: Walter, Christopher <Christopher.Walter@ecolab.com>; zhansen@na.com
    Subject: Thank you from Ecolab

     

    Hello Pete,

     

    Was a pleasure to meet you yesterday, thank you for the time, especially unannounced!  Look forward to scheduling a formal review once installations are done and your teams have had a chance to acclimate to the concentrated program.  Sending a recent link highlighting a topic from our discussion, environmental responsibility is key guiding principle for all Ecolab businesses.  It’s nice to be recognized for it and perhaps there’s more opportunities for North American, Ecolab, and the University to partner on sustainable initiatives in the future.

     

    Thanks again,

     

    Ecolab Honored for Sustainability Initiatives (cleanlink.com)

    Sean Dean
    Regional AVP Facility Care

    ECOLAB  T 336 207 2732  E sean.dean@ecolab.com

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