Wassaja Hall became the campus’ 11th facility to receive LEED® certification from the U.S. Green Building Council in February. The University of Illinois is a national leader in green building design with more than 2.4M GSF on campus.

Student Sustainability Committee and the School of Architecture worked with F&S to move the 2009 Solar Decathlon House from I Hotel grounds, where it was located for seven years. The house moved to the Energy Bioscience Research Farm on Race Street south of Windsor Road. The 695-square foot building, weighing more than 50,000 pounds, was designed by University of Illinois students and took second place in the U.S Department of Energy’s 2009 Solar Decathlon. Since then it has been used by various campus units, who study the design and construction of the building.

Content has been drafted for a PowerPoint presentation to encourage the use of separate bins for recyclables and trash. It will emphasize that separation at the point of disposal is more effective than the older system of placing all items in a single bin and will therefore help the campus meet landfill diversion targets. The presentation will be made over the summer to Campus business officers, the Staff HR Advisory Council, and student groups that can talk to other groups.

A resident of Ashton Woods reached out to discuss the potential for increased recycling at graduate student housing sites. The Zero-Waste Coordinator met with her in early May and is in the process of gathering information from Housing, F&S, and the cities.

Hi Tracy,

Last week’s zero waste activities were

• To bring the iCAP portal up to date with regard to the plans to provide glass recycling to Wounded Vets
• Discussions with Jessica Tran from Ashton Woods about recycling at graduate student housing
• Development of a presentation to encourage use of recycling bins

In the coming few days, I need to check that the information on battery recycling is up to date. I updated it in one spot on the website a while ago, but during the time I was away, it became apparent that other areas had outdated information, so I need to look through and make additional updates. 

Morgan is aware that I had intended to make headway on mapping where the outdoor bins are around campus this weekend. I will need to take that up this coming weekend instead. 

Best regards,

Marya Ryan
Zero Waste Coordinator

Morgan Johnston and Marya Ryan met with Nick Osborne at the Wounded Vets’ Center on March 23 to discuss glass recycling. Anna Barnes designed a glass recycling label for use inside the Center. Ryan is following up with CRI to discuss costs, pickup schedules, and other information. Once-per-week pickup of a 96-gallon toter service is targeted to start by mid-to-late August, when new residents move into the Center. As of mid-July, a service agreement with CRI is still to be formalized and is expected in late July.

Following the completion of iWG assessment of Water001 BIF Greywater Meter, the recommendation was transmitted to the Facilities & Services (F&S) department on July 12, 2017.

See iWG assessment of Water001 BIF Greywater Meter here. 

See SWATeam recommendation Water001 BIF Greywater Meter here.

Specific stakeholders were invited to join a workshop on July 11, 2017 for stakeholder input to the rennovation design of the Red Oak Rain Garden.

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You’re invited to a series of two facilitated meetings seeking input from stakeholders about the Red Oak Rain Garden.

Red Oak Rain Garden was installed 10 years ago as part of Tony Endress’ NRES classes. As of this year, the Extension Master Gardeners and Master Naturalists have an agreement in place with F&S Grounds to volunteer with the garden. Although the garden still performs well keeping water off of the pedestrian sidewalk, approximately 90% of the original plantings did not survive. We are working on a renovation plan that will enhance its aesthetics and multi-functionality. But, how exactly does the space function presently? What would be ideal?

This is where you come in. As either a campus neighbor, student, volunteer, and/or stormwater-related professional, we seek your input that will inform the garden plan.

Meeting 1: July 11 (Tue) 3 – 4:30 PM ACES Library, Monsanto Rm. Agenda: Provide background/history, ask questions, and present preliminary design direction options.

Meeting 2: July 20 (Thu) 3 – 4:30 PM ACES Library, Heritage Rm. Agenda: Present refined design options based on feedback from Meeting 1 and seek preferences.

IWRC intern/MLA Candidate Cameron Letterly will lead the sessions along with a facilitator to guide discussion.

There will be an opportunity to provide input online for those that cannot be present.

Please feel free to forward to invitation to others who have an interest in this garden.

Thank you,

C. Eliana Brown

33 NSRC, MC-635, 1101 W. Peabody Dr., Urbana, IL 61801  217-265-0760

Illinois Indiana Sea Grant  University of Illinois Extension  Illinois Water Resources Center

Interim Provost Wilkin, on behalf of Chancellor Jones, approved moving forward with the recommendations discussed at the March 2017 Sustainability Council meeting. See attached file.

See iWG follow-up on the March 2017 Sustainability Council meeting here.

See Transmittal of EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

See iWG Assessment for SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standard here.

See SWATeam recommendation EGen005 Rooftop Solar Standards here.

See Transmittal of EGen003 PPA term to the Sustainability Council here.

See iWG Assessment of EGen003 PPA Term here.

See SWATeam recommendation EGen003 PPA Term here.

See Transmittal of ECONS003 Conservation Budget to the Provost Office here.

See iWG Assessment of ECONS003 Conservation Budget here.

See SWATeam Recommendation of ECONS003 Conservation Budget here.

Attached is the Chancellor's reply to the ECONS003 Conservation Budget recommendation.

See Transmittal of ECONS003 Conservation Budget to the Provost Office

See iWG Assessment of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

See SWATeam Recommendation of ECONS003 Conservation Budget

Following the completion of the iWG Assessment, the EGen003 PPA Term recommendation was discussed at the Sustainability Council meeting in March 2017.  In June 2017, Provost Wilkins said, "On behalf of the Chancellor, I'm writing to convey approval of the recommendations. Please do begin encouraging action on the items mentioned. Thank you and the rest of the Council for the diligent and forward-looking thinking on these items."

Regarding the EGen003 PPA Term, the next steps are "When the next RFP for a clean energy PPA is planned, seek campus / system approval to request pricing for both a 10 year agreement and a 20 year agreement, through Prairieland Energy, Inc."

See Sustainability Council approvals here.

See transmittal of EGen003 PPA Term here. 

See iWG Assessment of EGen003 PPA Term here.

See SWATeam recommendation EGen003 PPA Term here.

For future updates on this topic, please see Power Purchase Agreements for Clean Energy.