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.
Clayton Glazik 3/5/2014
Since we were little our parents have told us to turn off the lights after we leave a room. That is just what the Christopher Hall residents at the University of Illinois did in 2013. By shutting the lights off in rooms not in use, switching their lights to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs, as well as other sustainable practices, the building was able to cut back its energy usage by 30.6% from the previous year.
The campus Facilities & Services (F&S) hosted a reception at Christopher Hall on February 14 to celebrate the building’s accomplishment in the F&S Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP). A campus-wide sustainability effort, ECIP provides building upgrades to facilities that produce top energy conservation results in energy advancement and occupant action categories. ECIP calculates how much money the buildings are saving in energy reduction and gives it back to the building to pay for upgrades.
Christopher Hall, which houses the Family Resiliency Center (FRC), the Autism Program (TAP), several classrooms, faculty and staff offices, and a family research home, saved nearly $22,000. According to FRC Director Barbara Fiese, a building committee recommended investing the funds in a bike rack since so many people cycle to work, as well as other items that can further reduce energy usage.
In 2010, the University of Illinois published a climate action plan that set aggressive timeliness for reducing energy consumption on campus. Currently, there are more than 300 such active projects, which can be tracked at http://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/projects.
“At the end of the day, if we really want to meet ICAP goals, we have to do more,” says Al Stratman, F&S executive director. “That is why we came up with ECIP, which mirrors the campus goals.”
At the award ceremony, faculty and students pledged to continue reducing energy in their lifestyles by taking public transportation, using natural light in their offices rather than electricity, and shopping more at local food markets instead of commercial grocery stores. With their current sustainable practices and these recent pledges, Christopher Hall will continue slashing their energy consumption, making the Illinois campus a greener place.
(from Family Resiliency Center news http://illinois.edu/lb/article/3493/82438)
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.
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.
Please see the ECIP article in the Daily Illini.
DIA, SSC, iSEE, F&S, and SECS are collaborating to facilitate the University's first Recyclemania event. On February 26th in the State Farm Center, as the Illini battle the Nebraska Cornhuskers, waste conscious volunteers will be competing against other institutions to recycle as much as possible. After the game all landfill material and recycled material will be weighed to calculate a diversion rate. The results will be posted on the Recyclemania website. If you would like to volunteer for this event please email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.
University Housing and Facilities & Services are collaborating to facilitate an e-waste collection day as part of Recyclemania, a national competition to change behavior and reduce waste. The event is tentatively scheduled for March 18th. All electronics will be accepted free of charge. Locations and hours of operation will be announced in the next couple weeks. To volunteer please email Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu.
Libraries Win Energy Awards
Jan 23, 2014
The Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP) at Illinois awards building upgrades on campus in facilities which have produced top energy conservation results. Each year eight campus buildings receive ECIP awards in two separate categories. Those selected have demonstrated the greatest percentage of energy conservation over a one-year period.
In 2013, three of eight awards went to Urbana campus libraries. The Undergraduate Library won 1st Place in the Occupant Action category; in the Energy Advancement category, the Main Library took 3rd Place while the Grainger Engineering Library took 4th Place. These libraries will work with the Utilities & Energy Services Division within Facilities & Services at the University to implement upgrades to their appearance or functionality.
The Energy Advancement category is for campus buildings whose energy reduction is the result of central funding from a significant energy conservation project. The Occupant Action category is for those buildings which have not benefited from such projects in the last fiscal year.
To learn more about the ECIP, please visit go.illinois.edu/ecip.
(from Library News at http://www.library.illinois.edu/news/ECIP2013.html)
A couple options are being looked into as possible ways to compete in this year's Recyclemania Competition. One option could be a zero-waste basketball game. Another possibility would be to hold an e-waste collection event. More information will be available in the near future.
Energy Advancement Category
Occupant Action Category
We take total energy usage by building (electricity, Steam, Nat Gas and Chilled Water) convert all of those to one common unit, MMBTU (million British Thermal Units) and after adjusting for the weather differences between years, compare each building's annual usage with the year before. We then convert the change into a percentage and then rank all eligible buildings by percentage saved. The top four in each category win first through fourth. Having won in FY13 does not disqualify you from winning in the future. The goal is to encourage individual contributions to saving energy. Mike Marquissee
