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Projects Updates for place: Waste Transfer Station

  3. Restarting Loadman Initiative

    Associated Project(s): 
    Track Waste from Frontload Trucks

    Kenny is going to call, as a side note there have been multiple pan replacements and broken or missing RFID’s on front loads around campus. I think to get a real count on what locations don’t have RFID’d the functioning system will have to go around dumping and it should geolocate as unreadable and with that info we will know the location not tagged or broken.

     

    Thank you,

    Dan

    217.300.8545

     

    From: Richard Boyovich <richard@loadman.com>
    Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 2:57 PM
    To: John Cramer <john@loadman.com>; Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
    Cc: Baarla, Naveen <nbreddy2@illinois.edu>; Larry Santi <larry@loadman.com>
    Subject: Re: Restarting Loadman at UIUC

     

     

    Hello Daphne

     

    If you could get someone to call me from in the cab of said vehicles, I can provide technical assistance without any cost. Not sure what parts were shipped to you for repairs, but I can figure this out quickly once I have someone to speak with. Understand, these systems have very sophisticated troubleshooting features. I can typically know what the issue is in less than 15 minutes. You can give my mobile number out to anyone that works with the front loaders, and I work on Saturdays, no problem. 

     

    Thanks, 

    Richard Boyovich

    Mobile 206-898-7801

     

    From: Hulse, Daphne Lauren <dlhulse2@illinois.edu>
    Sent: Friday, June 2, 2023 12:02:12 PM
    To: John Cramer <john@loadman.com>
    Cc: Baarla, Naveen <nbreddy2@illinois.edu>
    Subject: Restarting Loadman at UIUC

     

     

    Hi John,

     

    I work as the zero waste coordinator at the University of Illinois, and I wanted to reach out regarding the Loadman service that we previously used. We had just begun this initiative under Shantanu Pai (who has since left) and as I understand it, things fizzled out after the pandemic hit. We’re very interested in restarting this initiative!

     

    Currently, we have two frontload trucks that have the Loadman equipment. There were parts that had broken, so parts were ordered to replace the broken ones. However, we have not yet installed these pieces. We are thinking that a site visit from Loadman might be helpful in getting everything back up and running again.

     

    Wanted to reach out to you, introduce myself, and see what next steps would be best to take.

     

    Thank you!

     

    Daphne

     

    DAPHNE HULSE (she/her)


    Zero Waste Coordinator
    Facilities & Services | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
    +1 (217) 333-7550 | dlhulse2@illinois.edu


     
    T+oZTVvEYU4VwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==



    Please consider the environment before printing an email. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication to or from university employees regarding university business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

     

     

  6. Restarting the Initiative

    Associated Project(s): 
    Track Waste from Frontload Trucks

    Hi Daphne,

     

    Thank you for contacting us. The pandemic did interrupt a lot of projects.

     

    I have added Larry Santi, the owner of Loadman, and Richard Boyovich, the VP of Sales, on the CC line. They are the best people to help with putting you in contact with your dealer for repairs and parts. I am a software developer and I can help you with software issues like creating accounts to log onto Load Manager and fetching your data. I also do all of the web-based software support and training.

     

    Thanks again for contacting us,

    John Cramer

    Software Developer

    Creative Microsystems, Inc

    425-235-4335

     


     

    Hi John,

     

     

    I work as the zero waste coordinator at the University of Illinois, and I wanted to reach out regarding the Loadman service that we previously used. We had just begun this initiative under Shantanu Pai (who has since left) and as I understand it, things fizzled out after the pandemic hit. We’re very interested in restarting this initiative!

     

     

    Currently, we have two frontload trucks that have the Loadman equipment. There were parts that had broken, so parts were ordered to replace the broken ones. However, we have not yet installed these pieces. We are thinking that a site visit from Loadman might be helpful in getting everything back up and running again.

     

     

    Wanted to reach out to you, introduce myself, and see what next steps would be best to take.

     

     

    Thank you!

    Daphne

     

    DAPHNE HULSE (she/her)


    Zero Waste Coordinator


    Facilities & Services | University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign


    +1 (217) 333-7550 | dlhulse2@illinois.edu
     




    Please consider the environment before printing an email. Under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act any written communication to or from university employees regarding university business is a public record and may be subject to public disclosure.

     


    T+oZTVvEYU4VwAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==      

  9. Zero Waste iCAP Meeting 4/25/23

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Recycling Rates
    Green Sports Alliance (GSA)
    Project4less
    Food Waste Reduction
    Education iCAP Team
    Engagement iCAP Team
    Zero Waste iCAP Team

    On April 25th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met to discuss the State Farm Center Recycling (ZW011) recommendation and brainstorm on the Zero Waste iCAP summary report for the 22-23 FY. 

    Meeting minutes are attached.

    Attached Files: 

  10. can you please share that slide showing the waste transfer mural wall?

    Associated Project(s): 
    Increase Recycling through the WTS

    Hi Daphne,

     

    Please see my request in the subject line. 

     

    Also, based on our costs, I’m looking at about $62 a SF.  So for a 12’ by 8’ installation, we’re looking at roughly $6,000 total.  Given that they will have to install up higher, and the installation of panels might not be directly mounted, but more of a strut system, braced on either side of the metal shed, I’d just go a bit higher to $8000 for an ask.

     

    I ran this past ARC, and we didn’t have any issues with this idea.  We just want to be involved with approval.  Everything that I talked about this morning seemed good with them.

     

    Thanks!   

    Brent Lewis

    ---------------------

    Hi Brent,

     

    Thank you for this cost estimate. Please see the attachment for the slide.

     

    Thank you,
    Daphne

    Attached Files: 

  19. Housing Sustainability Re-Cap

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste
    Increase Recycling Rates

    Below is an email exchange regarding University Housing recycling:

    It was great talking with all of you about sustainability in University Housing. I hope my input didn’t scare you too much. Given our size, and the number off residents we house, we have to maintain some discipline in how we communicate to and interact with our residents. I’m sure we can find a viable method for reaching our residents to inform them of sustainability issues and event across campus. Below are a few talking points I jotted down during out meeting.

     

    • Below are four key communication methods for reaching our residents.
    1. 11x17 posters in the dining halls. You would need to produce 200 posters to reach all the halls. I can share any drafts you have with various people in Housing to get their feedback before they are printed.
    2. Digital Signs Link: https://housing.illinois.edu/resources/policies/digital-signs
    3. Dining hall napkin holders (I need to double check with Thurman Etchison on availability, or Meredith can ask him next time she talks with him)
    4. Housing Insider and Family and Graduate Housing Newsletter. The Housing insider a weekly newsletter we send to all undergraduate residents. The FGH Newsletter is sent to all graduate and apartment residents monthly. Notices in the Housing Insider are typically one and done. They don’t like to run the same notice for consecutive weeks at a time.
    • I attached our standard recycling container label. This is placed above all recycling containers in Housing and in the trash/recycling rooms in the residence halls.
    • Placement of a QR code on the residence hall room recycling containers, similar to what was displayed on the Don’t Waste It recycling containers. I suggest we wait until next summer when the students are not in the rooms to add this to the containers. It’s far less complicated if the residents are not in their rooms. Although, like Meredith suggested, we could explore providing the stickers at the residence hall front desks for the students to place on the containers themselves.
    • We discussed incorporating a short segment on sustainability in the RA training at the beginning of the academic year. I will bring this idea to the Residential Life leadership to get their thoughts.
    • We also discussed how we might be able to include components on sustainability in our programming to Housing residents. Nathan Sanden is responsible for implementing the Residential Curriculum, so I will share this idea with him for thoughts and input.

     

    I ended up closing the meeting invite without saving, which I was using to keep notes during the meeting. So please let me know if I missed any key takeaways.

     

     

    BRYAN JOHNSON

    ------------------------------

    Hi Bryan,

     

    Daphne Hulse and I have been developing plans for a campus-wide plastic waste reduction campaign. I think the communication methods you mention below could be valuable for messaging. If you agree, Daphne can incorporate these into the strategy.

     

    We remain interested in adding a sticker with a QR code to the residence hall room recycling containers to direct students to a website with more information about recycling and waste management. Can you provide an estimate of how many stickers we would need?

     

    I also want to follow up on your last two points about incorporating sustainability into RA training and programming to Housing residents. Our survey data indicate that first year students are more likely to purchase single-use plastic bottles, so we think targeting this group is important. Has Residential Life leadership and or Nathan Sanden responded to your inquiries concerning this issue?

     

    If you would like to discuss any of these items further, Daphne and I would be happy to join you on a call.

     

    Thank you,

    Jen

    ------------------------------

    Okay, I have some answers for you. Attached is our proposal to the SSC to fund the recycling containers. The original purchase was for 6,511 containers, but I would guess a few have disappeared by now. I was not able to find anyone within our Sustainability LLC to help mange this project or take on submitting another request to SSC to fund the stickers. If we move forward with this project, we will need to meet with Housing Facilities staff to iron out the logistical details. Our facilities staff will not be able to assist with placement of the stickers, so we will need to find a different avenue for getting them placed. I copied Matt Brown and Mark Kuehl from Housing Facilities on the email to keep them in the loop.

     

    Herb Jones, Director of Residential Life, said he is open to a conversation to talk through your thoughts on incorporating a sustainability component into our RA training. Jenny Bates, copied here, manages his calendar, if you would like to reach out to her and schedule a time to meet.

     

    Also, here is an updated link to Housing’s website for digital sign requests. We redesigned our webpage a couple months ago and the old link was inactive.  https://www.housing.illinois.edu/digital-signage

     

    Also, also, I am still trying to confirm if we rent out the space on the napkin holders in the dining halls. We have not done this in the past, but we have a new Director of Dining who might have a different direction for these.

     

    Thanks,

    BRYAN JOHNSON

    ------------------------------

     

    Bryan,

     

    Thank you for sharing this information. It is all very helpful!

     

    Daphne and I can look into developing an SSC proposal, perhaps with the assistance of our iCAP Engagement team. I think we can also find people to help with sticker placement if the project is funded.

     

    We are looking forward to discussing incorporating a sustainability component into RA training with you on April 7 at 3:00 pm.

     

    Best,

    Jen

  20. iSEE announces seed funding for two new projects

    Associated Project(s): 
    Towards Zero Waste: Automated Waste Classification via Computer Vision

    On March 6, iSEE posted a news release with the following information:

    "The Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) is providing seed funding for two new research projects at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign that will use automation to enhance waste sorting for campus recycling efforts and reduce manual labor costs in small urban farming operations.

    Both projects are funded through iSEE’s 2023 Campus as a Living Laboratory (CALL) program, which supports research teams that tackle interdisciplinary sustainability issues on campus or in neighboring communities. They focus on leveraging campus infrastructure and enhancing researchers’ capacity to address critical knowledge gaps and ultimately secure major federal, foundation, or private funding.

    “U of I researchers are applying the latest advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to overcome environmental challenges confronting our communities and the world at large,” said Jeremy Guest, iSEE Associate Director for Research. “Through these grants, our engineers, scientists, and university staff will tackle the pervasive problem of municipal waste and help make sustainable farming more accessible to all, using our own facilities as a model.”

    The U.S. EPA estimates that half of municipal solid waste ends up in landfills, contributing to significant methane emissions that harm our climate, and the problem is growing with the spread of urbanization. New refined resource recovery methods are needed to expand recycling and meet the demands of global recycling firms for higher-quality material. Robotic systems with mechanical arms and machine learning can sort waste more efficiently, reducing processing time and turning waste into treasure.

    A new project led by Nishant Garg, Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, will use advances in computer vision to more efficiently classify the more than 5,000 tons of waste generated on campus each year, which is now sorted by hand for recycling. Using cameras installed at the Waste Transfer Station, a machine-learning model will classify waste on a conveyer belt into six categories: paper, plastic, food, metal, glass, and yard waste. It will feed that data into a live dashboard, to motivate the campus community to follow best practices for waste disposal and recycling and to help meet zero-waste goals in the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).

    Another new project addresses the manual labor costs associated with high tunnels — curved metal structures covered with greenhouse plastic that are ideal for growing plants on small urban farms. Cost-effective and adaptable, these high tunnels can extend the growing season, protect against severe weather, increase crop yields, and improve the quality of fruits, vegetables, and cut flower. But they are labor-intensive, requiring an extra layer of management to ensure quality crops.

    The Robot Integrated High Tunnels (RobInHighTs) project will use AI-powered robotics to automate operations for high tunnels at the Sustainable Student Farm – leading to improved crop yields, reduced manual labor costs, and higher profits. Led by Naveen Kumar Uppalapati, Research Scientist at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA), the team will also evaluate the profitability of RobInHighTs and identify barriers to their use by urban and minority farmers. RobInHighTs can ultimately help transition amateur urban gardeners and growers into profitable long-term farmers, enabling efficient and fresh local food production and opening up new income streams for small and underserved communities."

    Read more about the Campus as a Living Lab program and current and past projects >>>

    Seed-funded teams are expected to work with iSEE to submit proposals for external funding of at least $1M.

    “We are excited to work with these teams to help grow these projects into full-fledged interdisciplinary research programs,” Guest said.

    — News release by Julie Wurth, iSEE Communications Specialist

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