Hi Pete and Shawn—

My intentions to make progress on zero waste this weekend were scuttled by illness. In the coming week, my focus will be to find community gardens that would like used coffee grounds from Starbucks, update the glove recycling page on the iCAP portal, and work on the SSC report. 

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Pete and Shawn—

This past week, activities were as follows: 

• At Morgan’s request, I contacted Interstate All Battery Center today and learned that they charge $2/pound for alkaline, cordless tool, cell phone, and laptop batteries (nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride, lithium ion). They take any lead acid batteries at no charge (most are purchased by the U of I from them). They accept drop offs, but there is no difference in price between drop off and pick up. Some of the battery types they accept are rechargeable. There is no price difference between single-use and rechargeables. I provided an update to Morgan on this and offered to share it with the PWR SWATeam and other interested parties, as appropriate. 
• Also at Morgan’s request, I contacted Division of Research Safety to find out what they offer by way of battery recycling. They told me that will pick up batteries from those who submit a request for disposal. They will take any battery type, and it must be University property. Rechargeables are recycled through Call2Recycle; alkaline batteries are not recycled. There is no charge to the unit requesting disposal. DRS gets reimbursed by the Office of the Provost through a chemical waste disposal account. Again, I updated Morgan and offered to share the information as appropriate. 
• I contacted Call2Recycle to see whether we might be eligible for their free battery recycling program, but they told me it is available only to municipalities, not to universities. I followed up with a resident of Ashton Woods on her efforts with Housing to have the City of Champaign provide recycling at Ashton Woods so that they can include glass, tin, and more plastics in the collection there. She had already been in touch with Nichole Millage at the city and received confirmation that the City is willing to provide service. I let her know that if it’s just Ashton Woods that switches away from F&S service, there wouldn’t be any substantive issues on our part but that if the whole Housing operation switched over, we would need to talk with them about a transition plan because of the revenue that supports a couple of staff positions.

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Tracy—

Here are my updates on zero-waste activities from the past week: 

• I updated the information on glass recycling on the iCAP Portal page.
• I drafted instructions for units that would like glass recycling pick-up from Housing; they are with Morgan and Housing for review.
• Although no new changes have been made to the battery recycling program, there was quite a bit of correspondence about it during the past week.
• I participated in some correspondence about the best way to wind down the Styrecycle program and transition to decentralized EPS recycling.
• Anna Barnes notified me the previous week that she has time available to work on glove recycling materials, so I re-sent drafts of content I had developed. 

While I’m on this email, I have a question for you that came up in my work on glass recycling. You told me a while back that campus units can purchase blue desk-side recycling bins through Central Stores. I’ve been trying to reach Marcy Wright at Purchasing to see if the larger indoor bins and outdoor toters/bins should be purchased through iBuy. Do you have information on that question? I tried to get in and look through iBuy catalogs on my own, but I wasn’t able to find a way to do so; I think it may require an iBuy login, which I wouldn’t be eligible for, given that I don’t have any purchasing responsibilities of my own. 

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Tracy—

Morgan is reviewing a Styrecycle change-of- program message for our participants that I wrote week before last; she will also give me feedback on the updates I made to the iCAP Portal regarding EPS recycling. There were no new activities for me this past week.

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Tracy—
Here are the zero-waste activities from the past week: 

• I updated the battery recycling location information on the iCAP portal and sent updated content to Steve Breitweiser for the F&S page.
• I moved content for glove recycling promotional materials forward for Anna to work on.
• I contacted Morgan about a request from a vendor of biodegradable gloves to discuss his product. The VWR representative I spoke with a couple of weeks ago had put him in touch with me. 

Best regards,

Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Tracy—
This past week, my zero-waste coordination activities were 

• Finalizing updated instructions for participating in the battery recycling program
• Updating battery and glove recycling locations in the iCAP portal
• Coordinating with ISTC on relocating the styrofoam densifier from Midwest Fiber to ISTC
• Communicating with a VWR representative on their participation in the Kimberly Clark glove recycling program 

Best regards,

Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hi Tracy—

This past week, my zero-waste activities were as follows: 

• I completed mapping where all the outdoor waste bins are. I scanned in the maps, uploaded them to Box.net, and shared the folder with you and Morgan. I also created a spreadsheet with the counts of how many bins are mapped on each sheet and what the totals are.
• I sent updated battery recycling instructions to Steve Breitweiser to post on the F&S page about battery recycling and posted related updates to the project history on the iCAP portal. 
• I had a phone call with Shantanu Pai at ISTC regarding glass recycling and glove recycling.
  • For glass recycling, I told him that for now, Housing is willing to provide pickup service to buildings on campus. He mentioned a couple of alternatives, but they would involve the Waste Transfer Station sorting and storing glass. My understanding is that you don’t have any current plans to have the Waste Transfer Station take on that activity.
  • With regard to glove recycling, Joe Pickowitz could pick up gloves at collection sites and transport them to the trailer at the Physical Plant. However, ISTC would need to charge for his time. I will follow up with you and Morgan about whether that is a possibility and if so, how it would be paid for. 

Best regards,

Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Hello Tracy, 

Here are my zero-waste coordination activities from the past week: 

• Continued my efforts to find out who in the area can provide glass recycling service. See the attached document for what I’ve learned so far. It looks like we are on track for the time being, as Midwest Fiber has agreed to continue to accept drop-offs from Housing. I have a phone call coming up this week with Michael Olinger at Housing; they may be willing to pick up glass from the Wounded Vets Center and possibly other buildings. I will confirm this when I speak with Michael. 
• I collated a list of LEED buildings on campuses in Urbana, Champaign, Bloomington, Normal, Springfield, and Decatur. If need be, I will find contacts at the buildings to inquire about how they handle glass recycling. Given that Midwest Fiber is willing to continue the arrangement with Housing, it is unlikely that I will need to follow up. I identified a vendor who carries rectangular recycling bins for glass collection and will continue to look for others who do. I’ve inquired with you and Morgan about whether to coordinate my efforts with iBuy and will do so if appropriate.
• Updated battery recycling information on the iCAP Portal and uploaded the attached file to the pages for rechargeable and single-use recycling. Contacted Call2Recycle for information about what the U of I parent ID number is used for. Once I find out, I will update the iCAP pages if necessary and will follow up with Steve Breitweiser with updated instructions for the F&S website.
• Continued developing program materials for the glove recycling program on campus. I had a phone call with Kimberly Clark representatives, who are working on a list of chemicals that gloves may have been used with prior to recycling. Once I have that list and instructions from you regarding the trailer at the Physical Plant, I will forward materials to Anna Barnes so she can create web pages and PDFs to support program implementation.
• I have contacted a potential volunteer at ISTC who had expressed willingness to help transport gloves from labs and other sites to the trailer. He volunteered over a year ago, when Bart Bartels was still here, so I have reached out to see if he is still willing and able to assist.

This afternoon, I will continue my work on mapping trash bins around campus and will send you and Morgan as much as I complete today. I plan to fully complete the task over the Labor Day weekend. 

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator