The Food Science & Human Nutrition Pilot Processing Plant (FSHN-PPP) is the home of the Illinois Sustainable Food Project (ISFP), along with several classes, tours, and other student activities. A processing facility uses water in many ways, and we constantly look to improve on our utility usage/waste. One area of significant water usage is the handsinks. Typically, a handsink is not thought of as a large use of water, but in a food production facility that requires near constant washing of hands, it quickly adds up. Employees must wash hands every time they enter or leave the facility, after touching any exposed skin, when switching tasks, after moving product, after working on equipment or making changes, etc.

This team is proposing to replace the handsink with an automated system that completely washes hands in 12 seconds, using 0.6 gallons of water per wash. This will greatly reduce water usage, while reducing soap waste, and improving productivity. A study of facilities using these automated systems show a savings of 5,824 gallons of water per employee per year, with an uncalculated savings of soap and productivity. The FSHN-PPP employs 2 FT staff, 4-6 PT student staff, 6-10 grad student users for research, over 100 students in classes that meet several days a week, and hundreds of visitors each year. It is difficult to calculate total time spent by all the different groups, but is quickly apparent that there is the potential to save well into the tens of thousands of gallons of water, if not higher.