The Sustainability Council met on 12-13-22 and discussed the following agenda:
The meeting minutes and slide deck are attached.
A study was conducted to analyze the impact of incorporating post-consumer pizza boxes in the recovered fiber stream. More specifically, factors such as grease and cheese were primarily observed. The summary of the findings includes the following:
To read the study in its entirety, see the attached file.
Per J.B. Bailey, the Assistant Director for Programming, the Union includes marketing on all events that the Union has water filling stations near where the event is occurring and encouraging students to bring their own bottles to fill up there. The goal is that this will allow us to reduce the amount of disposable cups we provide at our events where drinks are provided. The board has also discussed not providing plastic water bottles as give-a-ways moving forward.
Meredith Moore and Jennifer Fraterrigo met with Dr. Lisa Jackson, Director of New Student Programs within Student Affairs to discuss new student swag. The goal is to promote sustainability and reduce plastic waste. The meeting notes are attached.
iSEE and F&S met to discuss commodity recyclables at F&S and the interest in looking at getting Coke to buy our PET, the Zero Waste messaging campaign and potential collaboration with Coke on the messaging for our Use the Bin campaign. Also, Coke offers a tailgate package that may be helpful in our conversations about increasing recycling at athletic events.
36,000 bottles in one ton, 40 tons = 1.44 M bottles/year recycled by F&S Waste Management.
The attached slide show includes a section about plastic waste reduction.
From: Heaton, Emily <heaton6 at illinois.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2022 9:55 AM
To: Kidwell, Kimberlee K <kkidwell at illinois.edu>
Subject: from our meeting now - paper bottles
Hi Kim,
As we move to a circular carbon economy and consider a pulping plant in central Illinois, this paper bottle company looks interesting. Has opportunity for people to buy bottles and to start manufacturing https://paperwaterbottle.com/. Also compostable with a screw on top!
Emily
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met for their final meeting of the semester on Thursday, April 28. The team finalized drafting a recommendation on updating the Campus Administrative Manual's Waste Minimization Policy and set potential objectives for the upcoming academic year. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met for their final meeting of the semester on Thursday, April 28. The team finalized drafting a recommendation on updating the Campus Administrative Manual's Waste Minimization Policy and set potential objectives for the upcoming academic year. Meeting minutes are attached.
Meredith Moore (iSEE) and Sydney Trimble (F&S) presented at the EPA Sustainable Materials Management (SMM) Web Academy Webinar: University Best Practices in Waste Stream Management on 4-28-22. The presentation is attached.
Click here for more information.
"This webinar session will highlight best practices in university materials and waste stream management, including reduce, reuse, and recycle principles. Participants will learn about the excellent waste reduction programs at The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC), Colorado State University, and The Ohio State University. Our speakers will share proven practices that help colleges and universities minimize waste generation and promote materials reuse. Attendees will also learn about ongoing university case studies and projects involving waste characterization as well as other programs assisting campuses in achieving sustainability goals."
A team of Design for America students worked on a year-long project diving into cell phone and electronic waste. The attached poster is the culmination of their work across the '21/'22 school year. We wish the DFA student team luck in all their future endeavors.
DFA Team: Koshal Raghavarapu, Ananya Barman, Pooja Tetali, & Aashi Tyagi
To combat the growing problem of plastic waste, John Scott and his research team are exploring microplastics in landfills, rural streams, and city drinking water to "further understand where they are coming from and how they move in the environment."
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Thursday, April 14 to discuss revisions to the Campus Administration Manual's Waste Minimization Policy which the team intends to submit to the iWG. Meeting minutes and proposed revisions are attached.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Thursday, March 31 to de-brief the Plastics Reduction Strategy discussion, review committee member research on the Adopt-a-Highway/Adopt-a-Drain and Composting Committee Recommendations, and begin discussion on amending the Campus Administrative Manual's Paper Policy. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Zero Waste iCAP Team met on Thursday, March 31 to de-brief the Plastics Reduction Strategy discussion, review committee member research on the Adopt-a-Highway/Adopt-a-Drain and Composting Committee Recommendations, and begin discussion on amending the Campus Administrative Manual's Paper Policy. Meeting minutes are attached.
The Sustainability Sub-Council met on 3-30-22 in preparation of the Sustainability Council meeting. The agenda was as follows:
The meeting minutes and PowerPoint presentation are attached.
The iWG met on 2-25-22 and discussed the Energy008 and Energy009 recommendations, Trans014, and plastic reduction initiatives. Andy Stumpf and Bill Rose, the Energy iCAP Team chairs, joined the meeting to discuss the two Energy recommendations. The meeting minutes are attached.
Damien Guironnet is part of a team that is working to "develop plastic that can be recycled perpetually, reducing waste and pollution from single-use plastics." The public-private partnership is one of seven DOE-funded projects to combat plastic waste.
Below is an excel spreadsheet containing a Waste Data Template for FY21.
