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Projects Updates for place: Roger Adams Laboratory

  1. 2018 International Freezer Challenge - 1st place internationally

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    We Won 1st place internationally in the Institutional category for last year’s efforts!

    My Green Labs and I2SL hosted the 2018 International Freezer Challenge see category winners here

    Place Photo here

    Worldwide recognition published through these media outlets:

    Lab Manager Magazine, Cold Storage March 2019

    Published article with participants quoted for expert advice here  

    Nature Magazine feature published in Oct. 2018 (see attached PDF)

    S-Labs highlights our achievements in their short-listed profiles here (PDF of short list attached)

    ISEE and Facilities & Services published news releases U of I Wins Freezer Challenge & 2018 International Freezer Challenge Champions

    Highlights from lab efforts in 2018

    Achievements from researchers in the 2018 competition!

    # of labs submitted score sheets

    45

    # of freezers/ refrigerators impacted

    323

    # of units defrosted and/or cleaned coils

    198

    # of units retired due to no longer needed

    16

    # of units replaced with a more efficient model

    9

    # of units that were cleaned out and/or removed samples

    162

    # of units where you updated or created new  inventories

    143

    # of samples moved from colder to warmer storage 

    14065

    # of units created a searchable digital inventory

    100

    # of units containing a Barcoded inventory

    27

    # of units shared among research groups

    103

    # of researchers that registered labs

    60

    # of individual labs registered

    58


    Goal for this year is to DOUBLE last year’s participation of 45 labs in 17 buildings and energy reduction, which totaled an estimated 720 kWh/day from October 2017 through June 2018. The annual total of 262,800 kWh of electricity saved during the competition is the approximate equivalent of the yearly energy used by 25 typical U.S. homes.

    We can repeat the WIN; so far, the CDC is the only group to win twice in their division.

    Join us

     

    Thank you

    Paul Foote

    Think Globally- Act Locally

  6. Freezer Challenge update and encouraged to register

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge
     
    Click here to see this online
     
     
     
     


    Hello everyone and Thank You to the many labs already registered!

    The International Freezer Challenge is in full swing with an EXTENDED deadline thru JUNE 15th. 
    Approximately 25 labs have registered to participate in the Freezer Challenge. Reaching our goal of 50 labs participating will put the university in contention for first place in the academic organization category. Regardless, participation represents your commitment to environmental stewardship and supports the University of Illinois in reflecting our world-class standing.

       All actions taken during the past school year are eligible for points and can be added to your score card

    The Eco-Olympics student group is supporting the University of Illinois’ participation in the International Freezer Challenge and is pleased to provide the following awards.

    The top (4) four Labs scoring the highest points during the competition will WIN $50 gift certificates to Silvercreek, Nando Milano’s or Biaggi’s restaurants.

    Random drawings will be held giving away:
                4- $25 Gift certificates to Silvercreek
            4- $20 gift certificates to Courier Café
            25-Coupons for free drinks at Espresso Royale
            10-Coupons for free shake drinks at Courier Café

    A HUGE Thank You to everyone for making these awards possible!
                You can reach the Eco-Olympics team via email: ecoolympics@gmail.com

    The main take away is that by utilizing best practices in sample management and storage, our labs increase their efficiency and sustainability.

    For more information contact Paul Foote @ gfoote2@illinois.edu
    or visit: https://www.freezerchallenge.org/ or Freezer Challenge on the iCAP Portal
    		 
     
     
     
     
     

  7. Freezer Challenge reminder email

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge

    Hello everyone, The International Freezer Challenge is in full swing thru April 30th. Help the University of Illinois compete while receiving recognition, and a certificate of leadership in Environmental Stewardship.
    Registering to participate in the Freezer Challenge is a fun way to stay up-to-date with the latest in sample management, receive recognition for your efforts, and have fun while helping the University of Illinois maintain our world-class standing.
    Take 20 sec's Register today!
    All lab practices since May 2017 are eligible for points and can be added to your score card.

    Benefits Webinars, Best Practices and Resources

    • Reducing energy consumption, costs, and environmental impact of the lab
    • Learning and applying proper cold storage maintenance techniques to help avoid future failures
    • Removing unneeded or unviable samples from cold storage units, allowing space to be consolidated or eliminated.
    • Reducing costs associated with maintaining extraneous cold storage units.
    • Improving researcher access to and security for viable samples.
    • Developing ongoing cold storage management practices that support efficiency and maximize lab space utility.
    • Awards & National recognition at the I2SL conference for the winning labs in each category

    Increasing grant eligibility is another benefit according to How going green can raise cash for your lab a Nature International Journal of Science article, this quote shares an interesting perspective; Ramirez-Aguilar argues that implementing energy-efficient and environmentally sustainable lab practices can be a smart way for researchers to make their grants stand out. It might seem a small detail, but having such procedures in place could make all the difference to the success of your application. “If it makes your proposal look better,” she says, “you’re more likely to get funding.”

    For more information contact Paul Foote @ gfoote2@illinois.edu F&S Energy Services

  8. Freezer Challenge, 2018 International- Launch email

    Associated Project(s): 
    Freezer Challenge
     
     

    U of I Campus Labs Encouraged to Join
    2018 International Freezer Challenge


    Members of iSEE’s Energy Conservation & Building Standards Sustainability Working Advisory Team (ECBS SWATeam) invite U of I labs of all shapes and sizes to register for the International Laboratory Freezer Challenge, which uses friendly competition to optimize sustainability of freezer management in laboratories.

    Any type of laboratory is eligible to participate by working at its own pace to implement optimal cold storage management practices that save energy. Participating labs from the Illinois campus will receive certificates of Leadership and Environmental Stewardship in Sustainable Laboratory Practices along with special recognition from iSEE at the annual Sustainability Week Celebration and find themselves one-step ahead toward Green Lab certification, a proposed program being discussed on campus and at iSEE. The competition awards include individual lab awards, organization awards and a picture in Nature!

    Results from last year’s winners:

    The organizational winners of the Freezer Challenge were:

    • University of California San Diego
    • Eli Lilly and Company
    • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
      UC San Diego saved an estimated 500,000 kWh/year, Lilly saved an estimated 130,400 kWh/year, the CDC saved an estimated 367,400 kWh/year, and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center saved an estimated 25,000 kWh/year.


    The individual laboratory winners were: 

    • The Hoekstra Lab from Harvard University
    • The Baker Lab from Eli Lilly and Company
    • The Elemental Analysis Laboratory from the CDCP
      The Hoekstra Lab saved an estimated 13,000 kWh/year, the Baker Lab saved an estimated 34,000 kWh/year, and the Elemental Analysis Laboratory saved an estimated 64,500 kWh/year.

    Visit the iCAP Portal for more information on last year’s event
    Registration is ongoing through April 30th 2018 More details can be found on the competition website >>>

    Registration is quick and you participate anytime throughout the semester!

    Partial promotional support provided by the UIUC Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    Questions can be sent to
    Paul Foote, email: fandsgfoote2@mx.uillinois.edu
    U of I, Freezer Challenge Site Coordinator
    University of Illinois Urbana Champaign
    Facilities and Services, Utilities and Energy Services
    Energy Conservation and Retro-commissioning
    		 
     
     
     
     
     

     

  9. EPS recycling at Dart; Departments to arrange transportation of materials

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program

    In July 2017, the vendor with whom the UIUC campus had partnered for EPS recycling was purchased by another vendor that was not able to continue the partnership. Central funding for transporting EPS to drop-off locations ended. Departments that had been participating in the Styrecycle program will be notified of the changed circumstances and will be encouraged to arrange their own transporation of EPS to the drop-off location at Dart Container, 1505 E. Main St., Urbana. There is no charge to drop off EPS at Dart. F&S is exploring options to provide an EPS recycling location on campus.

  10. Archive of page content, Oct. 15, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program

    The following content was replaced with new program information on Oct. 15, 2017:

    Description

    The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) now recycles expanded polystyrene (EPS), more commonly known by its brand name Styrofoam. By recycling this bulky material, we can reduce the volume of waste sent from campus to landfills and avoid the harmful environmental impacts of that practice.

    The Styrecycle program was started in Fall 2015 and partnered with Community Resource Inc. (CRI) to bring EPS recycling to the UIUC campus. Our program can help you do your part to reduce the volume of waste campus sends to landfill — waste which will never biodegrade.

    To find out more about Styrecycle, you can visit our website at: http://sustainability.illinois.edu/campus-sustainability/actionsinitiatives/styrecycle/

    Or Like us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/Styrecycle

    « Collapse description

    Website URL(s)

             

     

  12. program update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program

    STYRECYCLE: During the spring 2017 semester, student volunteers collected more than 500 pounds of expanded polystyrene for recycling — bringing their total collected to nearly 900 pounds. In addition, this program is saying goodbye to a founding member and longtime leader. Thank you to Marco Tijoe for your two years of steering the ship!

  13. Freezer Challenge launching January 15, 2017

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Conservation and Building Standards (ECBS) SWATeam
    Green Lab Program
    Freezer Challenge

    U of I Campus Labs Encouraged to Join Freezer Challenge

    Members of iSEE’s Energy Conservation & Building Standards Sustainability Working Advisory Team (ECBS SWATeam) invites U. of I. labs of all shapes and sizes laboratories on campus to register for the North American Laboratory Freezer Challenge, which uses friendly competition to optimize sustainability of freezer management in laboratories.

    Any type of laboratory is eligible to participate by working at its own pace to implement optimal cold storage management practices that save energy. Participating labs from the Illinois campus will receive special recognition from iSEE at the annual Sustainability Week Celebration and find themselves one step ahead toward Green Lab certification, a proposed program being discussed on campus and at iSEE. The competition has updated the awards to include individual lab awards, including a picture in Nature!

    Register by Jan. 15. More details can be found at the competition website >>>

     

  17. Award Letter - Baseline Waste Characterization

    Associated Project(s): 
    Waste Stream Characterization Study Phase 2
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    The primary deliverable of this proposed project is to provide a detailed waste characterization assessment for three facilities located throughout the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois. Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls (LAR), Business Instructional Facility (BIF), Roger Adams Laboratory(RAL) are facilities that will be characterized.
    This proposal builds upon the initial waste characterizations conducted in the Spring of 2013 for four buildings: Henry Administration Building, Alice Campbell Alumni Center, Swanlund Administration Building, and Illini Union Bookstore.
    The objective of the assessments is to characterize the waste generated from a Lab building, a classroom building and a housing building. The primary goal of the waste stream characterization study is to provide UIUC with an accurate and precise baseline measurement of the solid waste generated at each facility type. ISTC will assist F&S in identifying and implementing practices and technologies that will reduce waste, increase landfill diversion, increase recycling revenues, and decrease waste disposal costs. These efforts will help UIUC to become an example of a sustainable campus, and will provide new learning and teaching opportunities for the university and community at large. The ancillary deliverables are various direct educational programing opportunities both structured as well as passive.

    Attached Files: 

  18. Award Letter and Report - Styrofoam Densifier

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)

    This project is intended to permanently set up styrofoam (expanded polystyrene, or EPS) recycling on the UIUC campus for the first time. This project aims to emulate a very successful program at the University of Wisconsin at Madison; some funding has already been secured for student support and supplies from UW as part of an EPA grant that students and postdocs there have received. The key difference between UIUC and UW is that UW had the benefit of a local styrofoam recycler, and UIUC does not have that benefit: the closest recycler is in Indianapolis and the cost of transporting undensified EPS is too high for this to be viable. This project will establish a partnership with Community Resource, Inc. in Urbana, who have agreed to handle all of the logistics of picking up styrofoam from large containers (“gaylords”) in campus buildings, transporting it to their site, feeding it into a machine called a “densifier”, and selling the densified material to a company in Chicago. Community Resource, Inc. will in return pay back a portion of the proceeds from the sales in order to support student interns on campus who will promote and support the program. The goal of this project is to establish a self-supporting program that will ultimately capture most of the styrofoam waste from our campus and recycle it, while supporting student interns to oversee and continually improve the program.

    Attached Files: 

  19. Community Resources Inc interested in partnering with iSEE

    Associated Project(s): 
    Styrecycle: Expanded polystyrene (EPS) recycling program

    On 12/03/2014 03:06 PM, Bartels, Bart A wrote:

    Hi Everyone,

    I just concluded a conversation with Matt Snyder of Community Resource Inc (CRI).  He is very interested in housing a densifier.  I am going to set up a meeting with him to work out the details and get pricing.  This is going to be the proposal based on his interests and our needs:

    Participating buildings will have a Gaylord on the dock for EPS dropoff.  CRI will pick up the gaylords and take the material to their facility, where the densifier or compactor will be housed.  Matt will take care of paying the labor for pick-ups, processing, and sales.  He will be paid out of the sales revenue with part of the revenue coming back to us.  The money coming back will pay for interns that will facility more EPS collection.  The meeting will determine responsibilities and how the revenue will be divided. 

    I am hopeful that we can work out acceptable terms.  Matt wants to make this work.  He said he shipped out a truck load of EPS this morning, even though it didn’t make sense.  I will let you know when the meeting is to take place.

    Bart

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