Glass recycling finds funding on campus

MARK CAPAPAS

Recycling and trash bins lie near the west courtyard of the Union on Wednesday. The University offers more than 3,000 recycling bins around campus including glass deposits.

BY LUIS VELAZQUEZ, STAFF WRITER
OCTOBER 10, 2019

A glass recycling bin located in the Illini Union Courtyard surprised associate director of Facilities and Services for Sustainability Morgan White because she thought the University does not partake in recycling glass. Although many bins around campus only have places for plastic, paper, cardboard and scrap metal to be recycled, the University Housing Dining Services still funds glass recycling.

More than 3,000 recycling bins are available throughout campus in dorms, as well as public facilities where plastic bottles, paper, cardboard and scrap metal can be recycled. 

“A few times in the past 30 years, we have reviewed the materials that go through the F&S Waste Transfer Station, and we found that there is a very small amount of glass,” White said in an email. “Recently, Waste Characterization Studies were done for (eight) buildings on campus, measuring the exact amount of waste materials produced by each of those buildings.”

According to White, Dave Guth, interim senior associate director of operations at the Illini Union, said, “This is probably one of the last remaining fiberglass bins we have in the building. The old containers had a separate stream for glass bottles and aluminum cans/plastic bottles.”

White said although small amounts of glass come from campus buildings, the University Housing’s Dining Services have chosen to fund glass recycling.

According to the Waste Management and Recycling website, “The University ‘diverts about 30% of its waste from landfills.’”

With help from the F+S Waste Management Department, the University is aiming to reach its goal of reducing the total amount of waste sent to landfills. The University’s objective is to obtain a Zero Waste Campus environment, as indicated in the Illinois Climate Action Plan.

The Waste Transfer Station, a facility for recycling goods, operates daily compacting and shipping trash to a landfill. However, the recyclables that come from campus are manually sorted and deposited into storage bins. After being compressed in a different bin, they are sold to recycling companies.

Nichole Millage, environmental sustainability specialist for the City of Champaign Public Works Department, said the city offers glass recycling, but does not actually collect or process trash. This job is done by other companies, such as private solid waste haulers.

“The City manages a multifamily recycling program (Feed the Thing), but the pick-up services are contracted to a private hauler (Midwest Fiber Recycling in Urbana),” Millage said in an email. “Per City Code, all licensed residential solid waste haulers in the City of Champaign are required to accept glass for recycling from residents.”

Lesly Ortega, sophomore in LAS, said she believes since the University does not tell students to recycle, the majority do not properly recycle trash. However, Ortega is glad the University offers this option in general.

“I feel like glass is used a lot more now,” Ortega said. “A lot of the refreshments sold in vending machines or in stores are accompanied with glass, so instead of it being thrown away, it should be recycled.”

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As part of Illinois’ effort to improve sustainability, new recycling and landfill collection containers have been distributed to buildings on the Urbana campus.

This first set of containers can be found in Gregory Hall, Lincoln Hall, English Building, Henry Administration Building, Wohlers Hall, and the Physical Plant Service Building. By fall 2019, 113 containers will be deployed across campus, primarily in first-floor hallways to divert recycled products away from the landfill.

The containers feature three top openings with easily identifiable and color-coded labels for either “landfill,” “paper,” or “bottles & cans.” The acquisition and distribution of the new collection containers was coordinated from the office of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center, the F&S Waste Transfer Station, and by Pete Varney, associate director of Operations, Maintenance & Alterations, Transportation & Automotive Services.

“We are striving to add consistency to receptacles across campus,” said Varney. “We’ll continue to increase the number of containers over time, but we want to get a big impact out there now. We want to start someplace where they will be seen, they will be noticed, and they will have an impact.”

The containers will help continue to raise awareness about the importance of recycling on campus, according to Shawn Patterson, transportation manager.

“What we see is, ‘Just throw it in the trash can and [F&S] will recycle it,’ and that is something that sets a bad example for us, for the students, and for everybody especially going forward. We need everyone’s help to make sure we are recycling the right things, and these containers will make it easier for students, faculty, and staff members to help us accomplish the university goal of an increased recycling rate.”

The Waste Transfer Station diverted 26.2 percent to recycling in FY2019, with a goal set by the Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) of 30 percent by 2020 and 35 percent by 2025.

For more information about the program, contact Associate Director of Operations, Maintenance & Alterations, Transportation & Automotive Services, Pete Varney pvarney@illinois.edu, 217-333-7583.

The Campus Bike Center held Fix-a-flat classes every week on Fridays from March 29, 2019 (from 11 am - 12 pm) till the end of semester (May 3, 2019).

Description for the Fix-a-Flat class:
“Tired of getting flat tires on your bike? Come to this 1 hour informational hands-on class to learn how to solve one of the most common bicycle repair problems! We’ll cover the basics of removing a wheel and tire, replacing the tube, and reinstalling the wheel on the bicycle. All tools and parts will be provided.”

This project aims to help meet iCAP energy conservation goals and provide a sustainable environment for student based activities. By replacing inefficient and broken single pane windows and non-insulated rusted out doors in the ABE farm offices and shop facility, this project will help achieve the iCAP goals and save funds that be used to promote other activities. The planned outcome is four new insulated walk through doors and seventeen new insulated windows that assist in achieving the goals and provide for a welcoming and efficient learning environment.

As part of the construction of the new Hydrosystems Laboratory, it has become possible to integrate energy piles into the construction. This represents an emerging chance to take the next steps toward geothermal energy on campus by installing energy foundation piles in a large campus building. This project focuses on installation of geothermal heat exchangers within the foundation of the new Hydrosystems Laboratory. Approximately half of the pre-existing building was removed and a larger segment is being built to replace the demolished half. The new portion will be supported by eight drilled shafts. The goal is two use four of these shafts to install energy piles to provide the heating and cooling to the Geotechnical Instructional Laboratory. Data collected during operation of the piles will be used to investigate their heat transfer processes, and the results will be compared with the experimental data and the numerical model will be validated for further use to design new buildings on campus and in the surrounding areas.

The importance of honey bees cannot be understated; they are responsible for pollinating 1/3 of the food supply in the USA, worthy $15B annually. Bees are experiencing steep population declines, and beekeepers nationwide fight against the 4 Ps: parasites, pesticides, pathogens, and poor nutrition to keep their colonies alive and healthy. The Bee Research Facility will use this funding to construct a Sustainable Auxiliary Building enabling expansion of a cutting-edge research system to study the 4 Ps in an unprecedented level of detail. Overwintering colonies indoors will increase colony survival and the sustainability of campus resources, and provide further research opportunities.

The ECEB is projected to achieve net-zero energy shortly, due to its super-efficient design, construction materials, and recently installed solar panels. In order to celebrate and educate about this achievement, a multi-disciplinary team from ECE, Facilities & Services, iSEE, Engineering AV IT, and the School of FAA is coming together to visualize, construct, program and operate a student-focused display about energy production, utilization, and conservation in the ECEB south lobby. Several thousand students pass through this lobby daily, as well as many campus visitors, including the 10,000+ that come during Engineering Open House. The display will engage students and visitors with a touchscreen and information kiosks, show in real time the energy produced by ECEB’s solar panels and solar farm allotment, and demonstrate the efficiencies of ECEB. With the installation of this display, the building will be able to obtain LEED Platinum certification.

“Hyperloop” is a proposed mass transportation method originally theorized by Elon Musk. The system involves a high-speed train, or “pod,” inside of a vacuum tube. In theory, a full-scale design could see pods traveling at up to 700 MPH, making it ideal for inter-city transportation normally taking up to six hours by car, and consuming very little energy. Illini Hyperloop is one of 21 competition teams accepted globally to build a pod for the SpaceX Hyperloop Pod Competition. Musk’s SpaceX has built a mile-long Hyperloop tube, which can support a near-vacuum. Student-led teams around the world have entered the competition to race their vehicle. Illini Hyperloop has made it into the competition, and hopes to successfully complete construction of their vehicle, ship it to California, and race it on the track. With many students driving or taking buses to and from campus, a Hyperloop could potentially provide quick, inexpensive, and sustainable public transportation, and link Champaign to cities such as Chicago or St. Louis.