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Project Updates

  1. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hi Pete and Shawn—

    Zero waste activities this past week centered on glove recycling:

    • Morgan and I had some email about our PI and lab/room-number information-collection effort for the Division of Research Safety.
    • I replied to an inquiry from Arizona State University, seeking information about glove recycling programs at other universities such as ours.

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

  7. Illini Union dashboard

    Associated Project(s): 
    Energy Dashboard Project

    Hi Becky,

     

    As I mentioned yesterday at the Sustainability Celebration, we have developed HTML web pages for embedding into FourWinds digital signage so you can demonstrate or monitor your daily and weekly electricity usage.  Here at the physical plant building, we have them built into a frame that toggles between the two web pages.  You have to create a frame with a titel like “Electricity Usage – Illini Union”, embed the html, and then add a button to switch between the two sites.  Unfortunately, the person who did this for us has moved to another job, so I can’t help you on the FourWinds programming.  But I know that there are ways to display web pages.  Here are the links to the pages we created for the Illini Union.  We’d really like to see you guys put something like this up on your digital signage.  

     

    Day version:

    https://ednaweb.illinienergy.illinois.edu/post/IUnion/graph.html

     

    Week Version:

    https://ednaweb.illinienergy.illinois.edu/post/IUnion/graph.html?week

     

    If you would like more information, feel free to give me a call over here at F&S.

     

     

    Mike Marquissee

    Director – Budget and Planning Resources

    Utilites and Energy Services Division

    Facilities and Services

    University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

  8. Weekly update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Collection and Donation of Abandoned Bicycles

    Last week was really relaxed in the shop. I’ve been able to dedicate some time to training the student staff a little better. Having them strip and build bikes is good repetition and practice for them.

     

    Tuesday was the Bike Shipping Event, which did not go as planned. Working Bikes wasn’t able to get their big container down here so they only took 260 bikes. That was compounded by a poor showing of volunteers to help. Most of the loading was done by two Working Bikes people and myself, which was tiring. By the second half, we had 5 or 6 people to help.

     

    On Friday, Todd and I pulled about 60 bikes out of the warehouse. We should have it all cleared by end-of-week.

    I interviewed two students last week as well. I have another interview tomorrow.

     

    This week is the aforementioned job interview, as well as an iCap interview with someone from Sustainability. Mornings will be loading bikes at the warehouse and most shop hours will be spent teaching the staff more bike skills now that it’s slow.

     

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 73

    Sales: $430.25
    Memberships: 4 for $120
    Bikes (B-a-B): 2 for $40*
    Tires/tubes: 10 for $84

    *B-a-B pricing are now itemized to reflect the cost of new parts so TBP can keep better track of stock and sales of new parts. B-a-Bs aren’t cheaper, they’re just recorded as the base price only.

     

    Thanks!

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

  9. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello Pete and Shawn--

    Here are the past week's zero-waste activities:

    • I completed a survey from the University of Michigan on campus composting. There was no initial question as to whether our campus composts or not, so I filled in most of the questions with the information that we do not have a composting program at this time.
    • I met with two Business in Environmental Responsibility (BER) students to ask them if they could help us identify teaching coordinators for the labs that recycle gloves. This is part of our effort with the Division of Research Safety (DRS) to ensure that labs have adequate guidelines and training to prevent biohazards and/or dangerous chemicals from entering the recycling stream. I prepared a spreadsheet for them to enter coordinators' names and contact information as well as a model message to send to Chris Holmes in the Provost Office and to participating departments.
    • I responded to an inquiry from the Illinois Natural History Survey regarding a message to their staff to promote glove recycling. I told them it would be fine to put my name and contact information in the message and cc-ed Morgan to ensure that promotion within an already participating unit does not conflict with our commitment to DRS to refrain from recruiting new units to the program until a decision is made about having additional safety guidelines/training.
    • Replied to the iCAP User Experience Portal Questionnaire.
    • Reviewed PWR SWATeam emails and minutes.
       

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

  15. Happy Sustainability Week!!

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Sustainability Month
    Energy Conservation Incentive Program (ECIP)
    Student Sustainability Committee (SSC)
    Illini Lights Out

    Join iSEE, the Student Sustainability Committee and Facilities & Services for a "plogging" fun run/walk, a tour of Abbott Power Plant, a celebration event with organizations and RSOs that includes the Energy Conservation Incentive Program awards and updates on Illinois Climate Action Plan goals, a socially responsible investing program, and the popular Illini Lights Out energy savings event.

     

    Tony Mancuso . Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment (iSEE)

     

    Sustainability Week Events Oct. 21-27

  19. Weekly Update for Zero Waste

    Associated Project(s): 
    Achieve Zero Waste

    Hello Pete and Shawn,

    Zero-waste activity for the past week comprised

    • A phone call with Morgan to convey what I learned on Oct. 3 about the glove recycling program from Jill Ducker of VWR and Sara Portillo of Kimberly-Clark. Because F&S has not been able to provide transportation for gloves from participating departments to the trailer at PPSB, Kimberly-Clark and VWR have provided alternatives for them. Noyes/Chemistry is working directly with Kimberly-Clark through their Storeroom program; other units are purchasing UPS call tags to have gloves shipped directly from their sites to Kimberly-Clark. I learned from Morgan that these arrangements run counter to what F&S expected when $6,000 was spent to purchase the glove trailer at PPSB. I learned that the purchase was made to support an agreement that Shantanu Pai had negotiated with Kimberly-Clark to provide one free pick-up per year from PPSB.
    • An email to convey word of the agreement back to Sara, since she is new to her position and is still researching the agreements Kimberly-Clark has with different departments and campuses.
    • Emails to Sara and Jill to let them know that we want departments to bring gloves to PPSB--and that Morgan is looking into a possible option to use one of F&S's "green" trucks to transport gloves to the trailer.
    • Email and phone follow-ups with departments that are recycling gloves to learn who their PIs are and what labs/room numbers are serving as points of collection. This is the third round of effort to obtain the information for the Division of Research Safety (DRS). I sent Morgan as much information as I have been able to obtain in three rounds of contacts.
    • Updates to Morgan and the iCAP portal with the news that Donovan Lab is no longer a glove-recycling site.

    Best regards,

    Marya Ryan

  20. Weekly Update

    Associated Project(s): 
    Campus Bike Center
    Collection and Donation of Abandoned Bicycles

    All, Last week was slow, customer-wise, but busy for planning and prep. I spent most of non-open hours at the warehouse prepping bikes for the shipping event. The date for that was finalized last week as well: It will be on 10/23 starting at 9am when the 53’ trailer is due to arrive. Working Bikes will bring “several people”.

     

    I contacted the APO  service fraternity about helping with the shipping event and they expressed interest—however they cannot guarantee a designated number of volunteers, unfortunately. This week I’ll be putting the word out for volunteers on social media and TBP website.

     

    This week I will also brainstorm ideas to keep the student workers engaged and on task during the slower months as last week has already shown them to lean toward talking without working rather than talking while they work.

     

    The numbers:

    Visitors: 73
    Sales: $825.85
    Memberships: 4 for $155
    Bikes (refurb): 2 for $265
    Tire/tube: 24 for $150

     

    Thanks!

     

    • Jake Benjamin
      Campus Bike Center Manager

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