Facilities & Services Waste Management handles trash and recycling pick-up for the majority of campus facilities.  The exterior garbage and recycling dumpsters are emptied on a regular schedule, by campus drivers working for the Waste Transfer Station.  As of Fall 2014, there was no tracking for the waste volumes within individual trash or recycling dumpsters. 

This pilot program will install wireless sensors in the dumpsters for a certain area on campus.  The depth of the trash in the dumpsters will be shared online with the F&S personnel, which will allow data analysis of waste generation sites for the first time on campus at the large scale level.  The pilot area is the land bordered by Goodwin Avenue, Illinois Street, Lincoln Avenue, and Oregon Street.  This area includes 8 dumpsters. 

• Sensor website

1,075 Carbon Credits (CCs) were sold to BEF @ $6.25/CC.

This sale resulted in $6,718.75 being added to the Carbon Credit Sales Fund.

An email explaining the sale is attached below.

An email with transaction information is attached below.

Update on Dean's approval of recommendation on unification of Best Management Practices; discussion on writing Student Sustainability Committee funding proposal for nitrate monitoring

The existing Bicycle Code for the University was effective since May 1, 1989, (read the 1989 Bike Code here) although enforcement of the code has varied greatly.  The 2013 draft update of the Bike Code resulted from several conversations about bicycle enforcement and the need for better policies, beginning in the Fall of 2012 and Spring of 2013.

The updated code is more comprehensive and detailed, and is an important part of aknowledging the rights and responsibilities of cyclists on campus. The draft code was released for public comment in early September. The following timeline outlines the key dates going forward for having the new bike code to officially replace the 1989 version, before enforcement can begin. 

Timeline: 

• September, 2013: The new draft bike code is available for public comment/feedback  (submit feedback here)
• October-November, 2013: The new bike code will be finalized for adoption into the Campus Administration Manual
• September, 2013-March, 2014: Increased educational efforts will inform campus cyclists about the policy changes before enforcement begins
• Fall 2014: Enforcement of the new Bicycle Code will begin Fall 2014.

Campus Landscape Architect Brent Lewis provided the attached planting plan and the following comments on the plan, for review by Chi Omega representatives.

1. We have many trees in this very small garden, who are all fighting for water and nutrient resources here.  We have lost a few trees already and the cherries that are left don’t look as good as we would like them.  Around each tree we will just install a mulched area.  This will serve to reduce some competition from the woodland plants and the trees.  You can really notice that now as we are late summer and the geraniums that should still be up have dried out and greatly dissipated.  Adding mulch will also give the sense of some order when a maintained edge is present in the beds.  However, this will be a good area to include some early spring ephemerals like Blue Bells or Spring Beauty as they will thrive when the moisture is there, but no longer compete when the trees are out-competing for water.
2. Currently there are no shrubs in this garden.  Adding them to the plan does a few things for us. For one, it adds some structure to the garden.  With them, we will have a mid-level plant that serves to punctuate some areas, and to form a backdrop to other areas.  They will also add some winter interest to this garden, which is currently missing.  Lastly, they assist in our effort to reduce the maintenance in the garden by taking up larger amounts of space, while simultaneously keeping the weeds at bay as they shade them out.
3. Another design element that is not obvious in the current design is a return to matched plantings at the sidewalk entries.  In the new plan I am putting matching plants on either side of each walk.  This leads the eye and the brain to connect one side of the garden to the next, thus rendering it as a more cohesive whole.  Regardless of the plant used, the average person understands this and will perceive this as an intentional garden, versus the state it is in now.  
4. Adding to the above, I am also using plants along the main east-west walk that most anyone will know.  Regardless of what is planted behind them, people will see plants that they have in their yard, and are accustomed to seeing.  They may not know Baptisia or Penstemon, but they know coneflowers and hostas, which they will see first and assist them in understanding this garden as a planted space and less of a question mark (when they can’t quickly tell what is supposed to be there).

Hi Pete and Shawn,

• Morgan finalized plans for a glove recycling meeting with the Division of Research Safety to discuss whether training may be needed to prevent gloves that have been in contact with harmful chemicals going into the recycling stream. Our instructions for participating labs note that gloves that such gloves cannot be recycled, but we want to discuss whether further instruction or training should take place. The call is scheduled for Sept. 4.
• I posted glove recycling statistics that Kimberly-Clark sent us in the spring and back-dated the entry accordingly (April 10, 2018).

Best regards,

Marya Ryan

Zero Waste Coordinator

New Bike at Illinois Website Launched

Bike at Illinois is the campus community’s new, comprehensive bicycling resource, helping everyone have a safer, more sustainable, and comfortable biking experience on campus. Need to register your bike, learn bicycle rules, visit the Campus Bike Center, or volunteer for upcoming events? All that information and more is available in an easy-to-use, responsive, and accessible design.

Lily Wilcock . Facilities & Services

Campus Community Invited to iSEE Congress 2018: 'Sustainable Cities'

Join iSEE for its fifth annual Congress, featuring open discussions about the cities of now and the future. Session topics include transportation (including a keynote on autonomous vehicles!), material flows, infrastructure, urban agriculture/food security, urbanization and the environment, sustainable development and more, featuring academic experts, industry leaders, and mayors. Classes welcome!

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

Morgan met with PWR and Transportation SWATeam clerk, Becky Jonas, to review SWATeam process and discuss iCAP portal. 

Spring 2018 report submitted to SSC for the Local Grains and Locally Processed Foods for Dining Services project.

SSC hosted an info session/showcase to explain our funding options to prospective applicants.

Hi Pete and Shawn—

Last week’s zero waste activities were

• Entering my weekly updates from the past year into the iCAP portal. I had been posting specific activities to specific projects, but the new entries will show a fuller (and more centralized) history of the past year’s discussions, efforts, and challenges.
• A few emails with Morgan to try to set up a meeting regarding the glove recycling program.

Best regards,
Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

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