Good morning!

It’s Thursday so you know what that means… time for our weekly check-in! You are almost done with Week 3 of the Plastic Reduction Challenge. There is just over one week left until the end of the challenge. We are sad to realize this, too. We love communicating with you and building our community of sustainability enthusiasts. How have you improved since Week 1? What more do you have to learn?

During Week 2, we raised our group average to 12.75 points! This number is outstanding! Not only did our group improve from Week 1, but this number reflects largely positive actions by the entire group. This number is equivalent to refusing plastic (+8 points) and picking up litter (+5 points), while also throwing away no plastic. Wow!

This week, let’s focus on avoiding plastic in the home: the kitchen, the laundry, and the bathroom, specifically. Have you noticed how heavily food products are packaged? Do you know that dryer sheets and cleaning products contribute to plastic waste? The attached weekly tip includes ways to avoid plastic while making and storing food, cleaning, and doing laundry. This week’s tip is a particularly good one to share with friends, roommates, and family members, as well!

Please remember to submit your  Week 3 Google Form by Monday, October 24. Feel free to reach out with any questions, comments, or concerns at any time. 

Late to the challenge? No worries! Check out the Box Folder for any materials you may have missed.

Enjoy the rest of your week and we will talk to you again on Sunday.

Meredith Moore, iSEE Sustainability Programs Manager

Emily Dickett and Jenna Schaefer, iSEE Sustainability Interns 

One of our favorite times of the year is almost here… Campus Sustainability Month! Below is a highlight of major events and programs happening this October, though check out the iSEE Sustainability Calendar for the full list. This is the perfect time to take action and show your support for environmental consciousness (and the Illinois Climate Action Plan!). I look forward to seeing you across campus!

• Plastic Reduction Challenge: Are you up to the challenge? From October 3–30, we provide the resources and point system to help you track your plastic use each week and find sustainable alternatives. The point system and fillable grid are attached, and additional information will be sent out prior to the start of the challenge. Take part with this fun and interactive community, and earn the chance to win a sustainability prize pack. It is easy to make a positive impact! Sign up here for the challenge.
   
• Clothing Swap: This is the perfect opportunity to donate your clothing items and update your wardrobe! Join iSEE, SECS, and SSLC for this reduce/reuse event at the Channing Murray Foundation on Tuesday, October 11. Drop off clothes at Channing Murray the day before, or during the event itself from 10AM – 3PM.  All are welcome to drop off and/or participate (it’s free!).
   
• Green Quad Day: Come check out the variety of student, staff, faculty, and community-led environmental groups on Thursday, October 13 from 11AM – 3PM at the Anniversary Plaza (cement area between the Quad and Union). This is a great opportunity to talk with and learn about the many sustainability efforts on campus. The rain date is October 17. If you are interested in representing your organization at a table, sign up here.
   
• Water Taste Test: It’s 2022 – why are we still drinking from plastic bottles? Let’s put our tap water to the test and see, blindly, which water we prefer. Check out the iSEE table at Green Quad Day (above) and see if you can taste a difference between bottled water and tap! In the meantime, take our drinking water behavior survey (and win a chance for a $50 gift card).
   
• Illini Lights Out: Join us to shut off lights in buildings around campus to save energy and reduce the environmental impact of our massive university! Meet at 5:30PM in the lobby of the Foreign Language Building on Friday, October 14 to receive brief instructions before heading out to turn off lights in assigned buildings. Come back to FLB (roughly 6:30) when you are done to turn in your clipboard, get a snack, and pat yourself on the back for helping to save so much energy! Register here, and come by yourself or bring a friend!
   
• Campus Sustainability Celebration: All are welcome to attend this annual event on Monday, October 17 from 3-6PM at NCSA (auditorium and lobby), 1205 W. Clark St., Urbana. The first two hours will be spent in the Auditorium, where we will hear from campus sustainability leaders and from the iCAP Teams. Following the presentations (5-6 PM), each iCAP Team will have a table in the lobby/atrium area for roundtable discussion, suggestions, and a Q&A. Student environmental groups will have tables set up and together, we will enjoy conversation, light refreshments, and cake!
   
• Trash Cleanup: Help keep our campus beautiful! On Wednesday, October 19, meet at Alma Mater at 4PM and join us to collect trash and recycling around campus until 5:30PM.
   
• TED Talk: Eco-Edition Series: Tune in to this edition of iSEE’s ongoing Zoom series on Wednesday, October 26 from 7 – 8PM. Our host this month is Lucy Nifong, a senior in Agricultural and Consumer Economics, iSEE Communications Intern, and Vice Chair Internal of the Student Sustainability Committee. Participants will view a prerecorded TED Talk, followed by a guided discussion and roundtable on Campus Sustainability Month! Sign up here.
   
• Sustainability BINGO: Fill out the iSEE board (attached) for a chance to win prizes! The board (PDF) includes sustainability-related activities and initiatives you can do across campus during Sustainability Month (Oct. 1-31). Make sure you document and let us know which actions you completed using the Google Form to be eligible for the prize drawing.
   
• Have you gotten your office, event, or Greek chapter certified as Green yet? It’s easy to be sustainable! Get certified and be recognized!

Good morning, everyone!

You are almost halfway through the Plastic Reduction Challenge - wow! With over 185 of us participating, in just two weeks we have already created positive change in our communities and world. Think of all the plastic waste we have avoided and the waste we will continue to reduce over the next two weeks!

We loved hearing about your experiences during Week 1 and have been very impressed with your insightful comments, thoughtful questions, and creative ways you’ve earned positive points. Many of you have great goals for this week, such as remembering your reusable grocery bag, having a conversation with a friend or peer, and even having an overall positive weekly score. 

Last week, our group average was 2.75 points! This is extremely impressive. This positive number reflects plastic avoidance and many, many positive actions to outweigh plastic consumption. Let’s keep it up and try to get an even higher average for Week 2!

This week, we have compiled tips on how to avoid plastics when you’re on-the-go. We feel that avoiding plastics when you’re out and about is one of the more challenging elements of plastic reduction due to how integrated plastics are in “to-go” nature. Plastic bags, take-out containers, straws, cups, forks - oh my! This was particularly difficult during COVID-19 when most restaurants did not allow customers to bring their own reusables. As of now, most restaurants have shifted back to their normal policies, so we urge you to plan ahead when you know you’ll be eating out or gone from your home for a large part of the day. Not sure if your reusables are allowed? Just ask - communication is key, and it shows that people want to do the right thing when it comes to plastic reduction. Check out the attached Week 2 Tip Guide for more details and ideas on how to earn positive points this week.

Please remember to submit the Week 2 Google Form by Monday, October 17th. As usual, please reach out with questions or comments, and be sure to utilize the Waste Reduction @ Illinois Facebook group to learn how peers are reducing plastic consumption this month.

We look forward to chatting with you on Sunday. Have a great Illinois Homecoming weekend!

Thank you!

Meredith Moore, iSEE Sustainability Programs Manager

Emily Dickett and Jenna Schaefer, iSEE Sustainability Interns

Happy campus sustainability month! We wanted to highlight some recent iSEE Green Event Certifications for the month of October.

iSEE TED Talk: Eco-Edition Series, Certified October 2022

iSEE Campus Sustainability Month Trash Clean Up, Certified October 2022

iSEE Water Taste Test, Certified October 2022

We are excited to see everyone at our sustainability events this month!

On October 5th, the Zero Waste iCAP team met to make final edits on Campus Sustainability Celebration slides, foster a conversation on Zero Waste initiatives with the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA), and discuss potential recommendations relating to food waste at dining halls.

Meeting Minutes are attached.

Happy October, and welcome to the 3rd Annual Campus Waste Challenge! Whether this is your third year participating in this challenge or first, we are so glad you’re here. To each of you, thank you for taking the first step toward decreasing your individual waste stream by challenging yourself to be more conscious of what you throw away every day.

This year, the Campus Waste Challenge will focus on plastic reduction. The Plastic Reduction Challenge lasts four weeks, from Monday, October 3rd to Sunday, October 30th. Each day, keep track of the plastic you throw away (not reuse or recycle) using the predetermined point system (attached). The goal of the challenge is to earn as any points as possible each week. Every time you throw away a plastic item, points are subtracted from your weekly total. Environmentally friendly actions can earn you points back and are also listed on the points system. 

At the end of each week, please submit your weekly point total using the Google Form. We have created a grid (attached) as an option to keep track of your weekly waste, but you may choose any method that works for you, such as your phone or a piece of scratch paper. This week, submit the Week 1 Google Form by Monday, 10/10 at 9:00 AM.

Additionally, every Thursday of the challenge we will send a check-in email with resources to help you. Remember, refuse plastics when you can, and make sure to repurpose and recycle those you must take. Hopefully, throughout this challenge, you develop a personal habit of waste consciousness. All participants will be entered into a raffle for sustainability packs. You will earn an entry for each week you submit a Google Form.

We encourage you to engage with fellow participants on UIUC’s Sustainability forum: Waste Reduction @ Illinois Facebook. In this Facebook group we welcome you to post questions, tips, and resources to support each other during this challenge!

Please respond to this email if you have further questions and reach out to us at any time throughout the month. We would love to hear from you! We are very excited to kick off this fun, impactful challenge with you all. Remember to recommend friends, family, and colleagues to join the challenge, as well. It is never too late. 

If you’re looking for other ways to celebrate Campus Sustainability Month this October, check out the iSEE Calendar for a month filled with engaging activities!

Thank you and have fun! We will talk to you again on Thursday with the first weekly tip.

Meredith Moore, iSEE Sustainability Programs Manager

Emily Dickett and Jenna Schaefer, iSEE Sustainability Interns