On 6/6/2023, the ZW011 State Farm Center Recycling recommendation was transmitted to Mr. Josh Whitman and Mr. Tim Knox at the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA), with the following email. The iWG assessment is attached.

Dear Mr. Whitman and Tim,

The Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP) Working Group (iWG) recently reviewed recommendation ZW011 from the Zero Waste iCAP Team. The iWG recommends that the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics increase permanent recycling infrastructure on the upper concourse of the State Farm Center by purchasing and installing 3-stream bins that adhere to the campus standard. Additional details are provided in the attached recommendation and assessment.

The Formal iCAP Procedures include a section on campus unit responsibilities upon receipt of a recommendation, and we respectfully request your response to this recommendation by June 30. If you have any questions regarding this recommendation, we are happy to meet to discuss it.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Fraterrigo

**************************************************

Dr. JENNIFER FRATERRIGO AND

MORGAN B. WHITE
Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP)

iCAP Working Group co-chairs

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
sustainability@illinois.edu  
https://icap.sustainability.illinois.edu/

See the ZW011 State Farm Center Recycling recommendation here.

On May 5, 2023, Zero Waste iCAP Team submitted the ZW011 State Farm Center Recycling recommendation. Please see attached.

Without appropriate recycling infrastructure on the upper concourse of State Farm Center, campus is losing valuable recyclable materials sent to the landfill (particularly with recyclable items left in the arena). Additionally, the installation of permanent recycling bins on the upper concourse would facilitate the ability for fans to recycle at any athletic or entertainment event held at State Farm Center.

The purpose of this recommendation is to be a conversation-starter in regard to permanent recycling on the upper concourse. The proposed use of MAX-R bins is a suggestion, based on campus’ success with the roll-out of these bins throughout our facilities.

Suggested unit/department to address implementation: Division of Intercollegiate Athletics

Following is the response from DIA:

Jennifer,

The Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) approves the recommendation to work with Facilities and Services and the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and the Environment to implement a recycling program at football tailgate events. Assistant Athletic Director Tim Knox will be responsible for coordinating the implementation for DIA.

Josh

See the iWG assessment for ZW010 Tailgate Recycling here.

Beckman currently uses reusable trays, plates, and glasses in their cafe. They currently have a dishwasher onsite and will have a larger one in the new project (U22005 Beckman Café Renovation). They also have a stack of plastic and Styrofoam containers on the line as people move through the food ordering line, so improvements could be made here to nudge people towards the reusable options.

The Zero Waste iCAP Team submitted the attached ZW010 Tailgate Recycling recommendation to the iWG on 3/24/2023. The recommendation states:

The Zero Waste Team recommends that Facilities & Services (F&S) and the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics (DIA) work with the Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE) to implement a recycling program at tailgate events during the 2023 football season and beyond.

The following would require F&S to provide blue bags, which Athletics will distribute to tailgate participants when they are checking in by car. These bags will contain paper instructions stapled onto each blue bag. The attached paper will convey what recyclable materials can be placed in the blue bag, and will include a map with locations of “collection hubs” (location at which a F&S recycling pan is placed) – at Lot 31 and Lot 32 – so tailgaters know where to bring their filled blue bags. In addition, F&S and iSEE will work together to solicit volunteer support for the tailgate events. Volunteers will be spread across the tailgating lots to distribute more blue bags as needed and offer educational support to fans as questions about trash and recycling arise.

Following the end of the tailgating event, volunteers will assist with clean up (recyclables collection) from the Grange Grove field. The volunteers will work with DIA to ensure that F&S receives the recyclables from this clean-up session, prior to DIA’s sweep.

Additionally, the Zero Waste Team requests 1-2 iSEE tents to establish a visible presence at each “collection hub.” It is recommended that 2 volunteers will be manning each tent, where they will be collecting filled blue bags from fans, handing out more blue bags, and incentivizing/rewarding participants with free merchandise (as available).

F&S, iSEE, and DIA will communicate with Illini Union/the Bookstore regarding opportunities for partnership. Additionally, the F&S Zero Waste Coordinator (ZWC) will communicate with campus’ Coca-Cola Representative, Jake Slager, about allocating the mutual sustainability funds for tailgating merchandise. The ZWC will also work with the DIA marketing team to ensure that fans attending the game (season ticket and single ticket holders) are aware of the tailgate recycling activities happening, through their communications strategy.

Following the football event, the Zero Waste Team recommends that DIA facilitate a survey opportunity for fans, with input regarding what questions are asked from F&S and iSEE. During the November 14th, 2022 inaugural Fighting Illini, Fighting Waste basketball event, DIA surveyed fans with the following questions:

1. “Did you notice that this [basketball] game was a recycling-focused event?” YES / NO
2. “Did you recycle your bottles and/or cans at the [basketball] game?” YES / NO
3. “Do you support having more emphasis on recycling in future [basketball] games?” YES / NO

It is recommended that a similar approach is taken for tailgate recycling. Allowing fans to voice their feedback is crucial for DIA, iSEE, and F&S to improve on fan experience for future events.

After the football game, volunteers will work with DIA to sweep the stadium for leftover recyclables.

Suggested unit/department to address implementation: Facilities & Services, the Division of Intercollegiate Athletics

The PWR010 Ethics Video recommendation is supplanted by PWR014 Sustainability Ethics Training. 

See the submittal of PWR010 Ethics Video.
See the transmittal and iWG assessment of PWR010 Ethics Video. 

For future updates, see Sustainability Training Best Practices Video. 

Following review by the iCAP Working Group, the iWG recommends that the ZW007 Composting Strategies recommendation be transmitted to iSEE:

"Because these discussions are at the beginning stages in various formats and topics, the iWG recommends that iSEE collaborate with the Zero Waste iCAP Team to plan and host a discussion/symposium/workshop in FY23 to share knowledge about composting programs, efforts, and strategies for campus and the community. A review of known solutions from other places and an assessment of anticipated costs for composting strategies should be included, and include presentations from experts on best practices."

See the submittal of ZW007 Composting Strategies here.

Dr. Ehab Kamarah, interim Executive Director of F&S, responded to Dr. Jennifer Fraterrigo, iSEE Associate Director of Campus Sustainability on 5/8/22:

"Our staff will gather the information F&S has available and share it with the Zero Waste iCAP Team.  This will include the water filters that are regularly maintained on campus in state supported buildings. We do not have a lot of information about the bottle fillers without filters, so we will provide what we have. We will also have the Building Services team initiate an inventory of water fountains and filling stations throughout campus."

See transmittal and iWG assessment of ZW006 Water Filter System Tracking here. 
See submittal of ZW006 Water Filter System Tracking recommendation here. 

Dr. Madhu Khanna, interim Director of iSEE, responded to the ZW005 Water Bottle Survey recommendation with the following message:

"Thanks to the IWG and ICAP Zero Waste Team for their recommendation. It will be very informative to conduct a survey on campus bottled water use and assess areas where we can make a difference by providing water filler stations and other strategies for changing behavior. iSEE will be happy to support this effort and work with you all in developing the survey instrument, analyzing and disseminating the findings."

For future updates related to the Water Bottle Survey, see the "Water Bottle Survey" project page here. 

See transmittal and iWG assessment of ZW005 Water Bottle Survey here. 
See submittal of ZW005 Water Bottle Survey recommendation here.