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Projects Updates for Enviropures

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  1. Article Highlights Conversion of Food Waste Into Energy

    To combat the issue of food waste, U of I Housing collaborated with F&S Utilities & Energy Services, Operations, Maintenance & Alterations, and environmental compliance. The committee researched various food waste options, including composting, pulpers, and grinder systems used for anaerobic digestion -- including Grind2Energy systems.

    These operate similarly to an industrial garbage disposal. However, it uses significantly less water than the digester system, up to 90-95 percent less. Additionally, it does not send the waste directly to the sanitary sewer. The food waste is pumped into a 5000-6000 gallon tank located on the outside of the building it serves. A tanker truck empties the waste and takes it to the local sanitary district. The industrial-strength waste is processed in an anaerobic digester, where it undergoes treatment without oxygen. The methane produced is collected and used to generate electricity at the treatment plant.

    Read more about Grind2Energy use on campus through the F&S Website or the PDF in the attached files!

     

  2. 10/16 Zero Waste SWATeam Meeting

    Attached are the meeting minutes and chat from the Zero Waste SWATeam meeting on 10/16.

    Discussed were the following topics:

    Reducing Food Waste

    • Post-consumer food waste prevention
    • Post-consumer food waste recovery

    Vending Machine Alternatives to Single-use plastics

    Plastic Recovery

    Single Use Plastics

    Illini Union Shadowbox attachment

    Food Literacy Project

     

  3. Enviropure emissions information

    Good afternoon,

    Yesterday afternoon, the question of how much carbon dioxide does an Enviropure unit produce was asked.  I’ve copied the information below from their website:

    “According to the EPA and USCC, carbon dioxide emissions generated from the aerobic decomposition of food waste by systems such as the EnviroPure systems are considered to be “biogenic”. This means that our EnviroPure Systems and the carbon it returns to the environment are part of the natural carbon cycle and so it does not contribute to greenhouse gases and global warming.”

    Please let me know if anyone has any further questions about the Enviropure units.  Also, please forward this information to other members of the swat team I may be missing.

    Thank you,

    Carol

    Carol H. Strohbeck

    Assistant Director of Dining Services, Equipment & Facilities