Agenda

• SSC project embedding
  • Discussions since our last meeting:
    • Discussion about reporting Bike Fee funding - April 15, 2024 (Sarthak, Michael)
    • Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - May 3, 2024 (Miriam, Codie, Michael)
• Recommendations
  • Discussions since our last meeting:
    • Discussion about iCAP recommendations - April 15, 2024 (Miriam, Sarthak, Michael)
• Power Search: Projects
  • Add CSV download option
• Archiving projects

Discussion/Decisions

• The idea of Power Searches is popular - will add additional content types and filters. Suggestions welcome!
• Archiving projects
  • Decided to start with a simple Archived/Not Archived checkbox or dropdown list (do we have better terminology than "Not Archived"? Public and Visible are already used in other contexts). Michael will try it out on a dev site and report back next meeting.
  • Rejected ideas:
    • Add "Archived" to Visibility options - seems distinct from Public/Private, plus we want the option to still show projects publicly, just default to hiding them in most listings.
    • Add "Archived" to Project Status options - this mixes the status of the project itself with whether we still want it to show up on the site; e.g., cannot represent both "Cancelled" and "Archived" simultaneously
• The Phantom Menace is in theaters this weekend in honor of Star Wars Day (May the 4th be with you) and Codie's birthday (5/5)! See it, you will.

Agenda

• Project Updates tasks
  • New "To Do Item(s)" field - is this single field what you were thinking? Would a set of multiple one-line fields be better? Or something else?
    • Q: Show field in Pending Tasks listing?
    • Q: Who should be able to view the content of this field? Other task-related fields are restricted to iCAP Admins & iCAP Moderators, but if you want to assign a task to a non-admin or non-moderator, they'll need to be able to view this task field (and the other fields) in order to view the task. Should we expand the scope of who can view task-related fields? At least add iCAP Clerks, or perhaps even all logged in users?
  • Q: Also add field for tagging iCAP Portal user(s) as responsible party for tracking tasks and updating when they're completed? (note: separate from "Assigned To" field which allows free editing and doesn't associate with user accounts
    • Q: What should this field be called?
    • Q: Should it allow multiple people to be entered?
    • Q: Add a My Tasks page where logged in users can view all tasks assigned to them?
• Recommendations
  • Discussions since our last meeting:
    • Discussion about iCAP recommendations - March 13, 2024 (Michael, Miriam)
    • Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - March 22, 2024 (Michael, Miriam, Morgan)
  • Test drive new feature on dev site before porting to live:
    • All Recommendations
    • All Recommendation Updates
    • Add a Recommendation
    • Add a Recommendation Update
• SSC Projects
  • Discussions since our last meeting:
    • Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - March 13, 2024 (Miriam, Codie, Michael)
    • Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - March 22, 2024 (Miriam, Codie, Michael)
  • Demo of SSC project embedding (TEST site) which includes a map which responds to filters
  • Questions:
    • We've tweaked how we're planning to represent SSC Projects using the iCAP Portal a bit:
      • Allow multiple semesters of funding info to be entered on a project (collections of fields, rather than fields directly associated with a project)
        • Pros: SSC-specific solution; minimal complexity; fairly straightforward way people entering the information would think of it
        • Cons: SSC-specific solution, so not easily generalizable if we want to use it for something else in the future; requires each of SSC's funding projects to be associated with exactly one iCAP Portal Project - is that a concern?
    • How do we handle multiple locations for a project? Show the SSC project at all of them? Just the first one? Have a way to specify? (could this get difficult for projects with SSC funding multiple times, if the locations are different each time?)
• Archiving projects - deferred to next meeting

Discussion/Decisions

• SSC Projects:
  • There was general agreement that the recommended approach will work. Reed affirmed based on his knowledge of the SSC projects, he didn't see a problem with mapping each SSC project to a single iCAP Portal project
  • Miriam encouraged documentation of clear guidelines for handling special cases
  • Locations: don't use all project locations, that will be too many and overwhelm the map. Codie suggested adding a new location field for SSC to specify location(s), typically just the location of the organization receiving the funding
  • Funding: Sarthak reiterated interest in using the funding feature for the Bike Fee. Michael will schedule a meeting with Sarthak to discuss further details.
    • See meeting notes: Discussion about reporting Bike Fee funding - April 15, 2024
  • Michael will schedule a meeting with Codie and Miriam to discuss further details regarding locations and funding.
    • See meeting notes: Discussion about SSC projects in iCAP Portal - May 3, 2024
• Recommendations:
  • The group generally liked the direction things were headed
  • Need to resolve a question about the difference between project(s) that a recommendation is linked to initially (e.g. the project that spawned the recommendation, if any) vs. the project that comes out of a recommendation, if any. Do recommendations ever have both? Do they always have at least one?
  • Michael will schedule a meeting with Miriam and Sarthak to discuss further.
    • ​​​​​​​See meeting notes: Discussion about iCAP recommendations - April 15, 2024

Overview

Miriam Keep, Codie Sterner, and Michael McKelvey met to continue discussing how to approach embedding projects from the iCAP Portal on the SSC website.

Discussion

We discussed several possible ways to represent SSC Projects using the iCAP Portal:

1. For each Project the SSC funds, create a sub-project for each semester the SSC provides funding (e.g. "SSC Funding for Campus Bike Center, Fall 2023")
   • Pros: uses existing structure with minimal modification
   • Cons: LOTS of new sub-projects with very little information other than SSC details - could be confusing for visitors and cumbersome for data entry
2. Expand the currently unused Project Funding bridge between Funding Sources and Projects
   • Pros: uses an existing system that's not currently used for anything else
   • Cons: adds complexity with minimal gain, since we don't expect this system to be used for anything other than SSC projects
3. Allow multiple semesters of funding info to be entered on a project (collections of fields, rather than fields directly associated with a project)
   • Pros: SSC-specific solution; minimal complexity; most straightforward way people entering the information would think of it
   • Cons: SSC-specific solution, so not easily generalizable if we want to use it for something else in the future; requires each of SSC's funding projects to be associated with exactly one iCAP Portal Project - is that a concern?

Decision

We decided to pursue the 3rd option (multiple semesters of information added to a project). It seems like the simplest approach.

Timeline

Codie would like it ready to go by summer, when he'll have staff who can work on the data entry. Goal of completion by start of fall semester.

TODOs

Michael will mock something up for our next iCAP Portal meeting so we can run it by the group and get feedback.

Daphne, thank you so much for your efforts to wrangle the various building representatives! Did you happen to get a response from the Illini Union yet? Looking through the other polls, it seems as if someone from all the other buildings would be available for walkthroughs on either September 11th or 12th, so if the Union is available on either of those days, we’d like to go ahead and start scheduling appointments for those two days. Having all the walkthroughs on two consecutive days will minimize travel for Zach, who will be coming down from Chicago to participate. If the Union simply isn’t available either day, we’ll just schedule a time after the 12th and plan for me to handle that without Zach.

Speaking of scheduling, might I suggest that we go ahead and plan to conduct the building audits during the third week of October (16th-20th)? Looking at the academic calendar, there doesn’t seem to be a reason for that week to problematic in terms of student volunteer availability. I know maintenance of Memorial Stadium is the responsibility of DIA, not F&S, but I did check the football schedule too. There’s a game on Saturday the 21st, which also happens to be homecoming. If for some reason that makes you think it would be best to avoid audit activities on Friday the 20th, we could alternatively conduct the audits during the fourth week of October (23rd-27th). That week doesn’t seem to have any conflicts with the academic calendar or football schedule. I know it’s still a few months away, but because Zach and Savannah both will be traveling to Champaign for the audits, the sooner we settle on a week, the easier it will be to plan travel and other details leading up to the audits. If you have a preference for the third or fourth week in October based on F&S staffing and schedules, please let us know.

Thanks for your comments on the draft sorting categories! I read through them and accordingly made some slight changes to sorting category descriptions; see the attached file. I also replied to some of your comments or edited a few of the plastic-related categories, explaining my reasoning in the comments. I think this is in good shape! Just let us know if you have additional questions or suggestions.

Thanks so much, and good luck navigating move-in this week!

Joy

Hi Daphne! Thanks again to you and Pete for taking time to review the preliminary audit data with us yesterday. As you have time to digest all of that, please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to the FY 2023 tonnage stats for landfilled waste, commodities recycled, and the updated effective diversion rate calculations to include in the report. As promised, I wanted to follow up with some questions our team has as we work on the report:

• How many campus buildings have at least one MaxR bin? https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/metric/buildings-new-waste-bins says 63, but https://sustainability.illinois.edu/icap-update-toward-a-zero-waste-campus/ indicates number is 64. 64 is correct; I had yet to update the number on the iCAP portal by 1!
• Does campus still send waste to Brickyard Disposal and Recycling, Inc., and is methane capture still happening at that landfill? We plan to note this in our report, as well as the life expectancy of that landfill (18 yrs.), based on IEPA info. No, our current contract with Green For Life (GFL) is with the Clinton, IL landfill which does not have methane capture.
• Regarding destinations for recyclables (previously shared by F&S):
  
  • Does F&S take scrap metal to Mack’s Twin City Recycling in Urbana, or Mervis? I know I’ve heard this before but both company names begin with “M” and they’re both in Urbana, so I want to make sure I’m not mixing them up. Mervis is who we use for our scrap metal.
  • Graphic Packaging in Battle Creek, MI was on the list of destinations for cardboard collected on campus. However, that location seems to have been closed (see https://wwmt.com/news/local/battle-creek-graphic-packaging-mill-closes-friday-employees-plant-expansion). Is cardboard still sent to Graphic Packaging, and if so, which location? Good question. I sent an inquiry to our GFL rep who directly works with the mill buyers/brokers who take our recyclables. I will follow up with his response.
  • Novelis in Atlanta, GA was listed as a destination for aluminum, but looking at their website, that seems to be their corporate HQ. Can we confirm the destination location for Novelis? Working on receiving confirmation!
• Clarifying current practices
  
  • All auxiliary units coordinate their own BSWs, correct? I know Housing, the Union, and Campus Rec do, but wanted to confirm this is true for other auxiliaries not included in the study. This is correct. Every auxiliary on campus has their own BSWs.
  • Are there any buildings on campus where cardboard is still being placed in the landfill dumpster as standard procedure, to be picked out later at the WTS, or is it the case that all buildings either have a cardboard dumpster or toters for cardboard collection? Yes, this is correct. If the carboard is grouped together and visible in the landfill dumpster, it can pretty easily be grabbed out when it is dumped at WTS. Similarly, are there any buildings on campus with such limited dock space that blue bags of recyclables are being put into the landfill dumpster for later recovery at the WTS? Yes, this does occur because of the limited dock space. In other words, are there buildings without adequate dock space even for toters for recyclables? I believe that was true in the past but want to confirm whether that is happening at all on campus as we work on process flow diagrams. Improvements are being made during new capital builds to include the perspective of waste management (BSWs, truck drivers) in the design process for buildings. We continually face the challenge that there is inadequate space outside of buildings to place more than 1 dumpster. This situation further emphasizes the need for correct color-coding of the bags.
  • When considering the “acceptable” materials list for paper bins, does “Office Paper: All Types” include shredded paper? I assume so but wanted to confirm. Yes, it includes shredded paper.
• We currently have the following items highlighted under “Current Campus Waste Reduction & Diversion Initiatives” in the draft report:
  
  • WTS Tours https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2022/08/19/tours-bring-reality-to-campus-waste-and-recycling/
  • Grind2Energy
  • Bin Standardization (Indoor & Outdoor)
  • Dump & Run  https://fs.illinois.edu/News/dump-and-run-expands-to-multiple-campus-locations/
  • Don’t Waste Campaign with Coca-Cola
    
    • Welcome Celebration Recycling https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/project-updates/8721
    • Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste
      
      • Basketball Game Recycling https://dailyillini.com/news-stories/around-campus/campus-life/2022/11/17/fighting-illini-fighting-waste/
      • Tailgate Recycling https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2023/09/29/illini-football-tailgate-recycling-event/ & https://newschannel20.com/news/local/university-of-illinois-promotes-sustainability-with-tailgate-recycle-event

Please confirm that we should also add:

• Recyclopedia Confirmed, let’s add!
• Pilot transition to new paper towel dispensers (which will help reduce paper towel waste) Confirmed, let’s add!
  
  • 17 buildings transitioned to the new paper towel dispensers over the holiday break (December 2023 – January 2024). The Building Services team is slated to transition another clockstation or two during the summer break (June 2024 – July 2024), transitioning an additional 40-60 buildings to the new dispensers.
• Anything else? Should we highlight LeanPath or other efforts related to organics (e.g. exploration of anaerobic digestion) given the amount of food scraps being sent to landfill?
• If you could point us to relevant iCAP or other online information on additional programs to highlight, and/or provide suggested blurbs, we’d appreciate it!
  
  • Other initiatives to consider including:
    
    • Provost-approved purchase of a $1.65M new recycling baler system. Joy already came across this news: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2023/09/29/incoming-new-and-improved-baler/
      
      • This will be a sole-source contract. We attempted a competitive bidding process that failed, so we are moving forward with working with Harris Baler directly.
      • We have experienced a lot of issues with our current baler. A new baler will significantly improve the amount of unexpected down time that we see with our current baler.
    • Along with the paper towel dispensers, F&S is revamping its cleaning process to achieve LEED and WELL green cleaning certifications in the buildings it services. The transition started this past summer with five facilities. The transition across more buildings will continue to take place: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2023/09/18/adapting-building-services-new-custodial-operations/
    • When the waste of a building is not contracted out during a construction & demolition project, F&S takes special care to recycle as much of the debris as possible. Undergrad library example: https://fs.web.illinois.edu/Insider/2023/03/16/big-blue-new-crane-acquired-to-use-on-ugl-renovation/
    • Early research into AI / robotic sorting. Joy, let me know your thoughts on including this? The research hasn’t started, but funding from both iSEE and SSC has been awarded to Nishant’s project.  https://sustainability.illinois.edu/isee-seed-funds-2-new-projects/ F&S recognizes that it will not be able to rely on DSC sort-line workers forever, and has started preliminary conversations with companies that retrofit MRFs for automated sorting.

Thanks in advance!

Joy

Hi Joy,

Please see in red the responses to your questions in your previous email. Let me know if anything needs more clarification. I will follow up on the questions I didn’t immediately have an answer for. Recyclopedia will eventually be a webpage on the F&S website but for now I have the drafted word doc form to share.

Question for you all – we have started up conversations with Tork/Essity for paper towel recycling in light of the preliminary results you shared with us last week. It’s a very telling story that paper towel recycling would be hugely beneficial for a campus that so heavily relies on the material. Would it be okay with you all for us to share the data with them/the drafted report you walked Pete and me through?

Thank you,

Daphne