Category: Technical Assistance

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Webinar: Electronics Recycling in Will County 2012

Join us for a webinar on Wednesday, November 28, 2012, 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM CDT. This seminar will be hosted at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) in Champaign, IL, and simultaneously broadcast online. The presentation will be archived on the ISTC web site (see http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/sustainability_seminars.cfm for more information and additional webinar archives).

 

Marta Keane, Recycling Program Specialist & Green Business Relations Coordinator for the Will County (IL) Land Use Department Resource Recovery & Energy Division, will present “Electronics Recycling in Will County 2012.” Register online for this webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/792822047.

 

Abstract: Effective January 1, 2012, Illinois banned disposal of electronics in landfills. This presentation will describe Will County’s collection efforts before the mandatory ban, the county’s Front Door Electronic Service Program (a 3-year pilot program started April 2011), and steps taken to prepare for the ban. Results of these efforts thus far will be discussed as well as some remaining issues yet to be resolved. Examples of additional sustainability programs being conducted by Will County will also be described, including: efforts that resulted in receiving the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Award in 2012; household hazardous waste service; tire collection events; book reuse & recycling events; shoe collection/textile collection; medication collection; green building improvements; and the Landfill Gas-to-Energy project.

 

SEI, the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR), and ISTC are hosting a series of seminars this fall focused on sustainable electronics research and issues. Watch the SEI calendar for upcoming seminar dates. You may contact Nancy Holm, SEI Research Coordinator, to be added to the mailing list to receive email notifications of upcoming seminars.

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2012 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards

A pair of environmental recognition programs have joined together to honor Illinois organizations that have accomplished significant achievements in protecting the environment and helping to sustain the future. Winners of the Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards and the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact Awards Program were presented during a luncheon in Oak Brook, IL.  Continue reading “2012 Illinois Governor’s Sustainability Awards”

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Science & Technology at the Market

This fall the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) at the University of Illinois will be presenting information about several of its research and outreach projects at Urbana’s Market at the Square. Topics include:
• September 22 – Waste Biomass Projects: Turning waste into energy. Come learn how ISTC researchers, Dr. Junhua Jiang (Senior Research Engineer), uses biochar – a black carbon-rich solid made from biomass – in supercapacitors. Dr. B.K. Sharma (Senior Research Engineer) and Joe Pickowitz (Environmental Engineer) will also present how they turn everyday household and restaurant waste into bio-oils/bio-lubricants and biodiesel.

• September 29 – PPCPs in the Environment: More and more we hear of various chemicals being found in our streams and rivers. ISTC researcher, Dr. Wei Zheng (Senior Research Chemist), will discuss his research on fate and transport Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in the environment.

• October 6 – Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) and the Indoor Climate Research & Training: Have you ever wondered where your discarded electronics go or just how much electronic waste the US produces each year? Visit with Joy Scrogum (Emerging Technologies Resource Specialist) who can answer these questions and others about SEI, e-waste, and responsible recycling.
Your home is your sanctuary; a place where all the worries of the world go away. Learn with Bill Rose (Senior Research Architect) and the ICRT program about way to improve your sanctuary’s performance in the areas of indoor air quality, roofing materials and attic ventilation, freezing pipe conditions, thermal performance at wall-ceiling junctions, and more.

• October 20 – Mud to Parks: Have you ever seen abandoned industrial areas that are eye sores in communities? Come learn how ISTC’s John Marlin (Research Affiliate) helped to discover how river sediments can be used to turn old industrial sites into parks.

• October 27 – Water Use and Reuse: Ever wondered how your drinking water gets cleaned? Learn how a couple of ISTC researchers, Dr. Kishore Rajagopalan (Associate Director for Applied Research) and Eric Duitsman (Chemist), clean a variety of liquid wastes with reverse osmosis membrane technology.

• November 3 – Waste to Oil: Dr. B.K. Sharma is back to demonstrate how he turns those pesky plastic grocery bags and other discarded plastic items into oil.
For more information on ISTC and/or these topics, please visit www.istc.illinois.edu or contact Elizabeth Luber at 217-333-7403 or eluber2@illinois.edu or Nancy Holm at 217-244-3330 or naholm@illinois.edu.

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Celebrate National Pollution Prevention Week 2012

Today marks the first day of National Pollution Prevention Week. Pollution Prevention Week is annually the third week of September. Pollution Prevention Week is a time when businesses, environmental groups and citizens can join forces for a common cause. By sharing information about pollution prevention, businesses can become more competitive, businesses and government can realize cost savings, and environmental quality can be enhanced.P2 Week 2012 poster

The theme for Pollution Prevention Week 2012 is “Safer Chemicals for a Safer World,” which embodies a national effort for safer alternatives to chemicals of concern. This is to ensure the safety and health of workers and communities. Using safer chemical alternatives also provides companies with a marketing edge over their competitors.

For more information on P2 Week, see the National Pollution Prevention Roundtable web site at http://www.p2.org/p2-week/. See also the US Environmental Protection Agency P2 Week page, with tips on preventing pollution at work, home, on the road, and at school, as well as information on various P2 Week activities.

Read the text of the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990 here.

For further assistance, see the Great Lakes Regional Pollution Prevention Roundtable (GLRPPR) web site (GLRPPR is a project of ISTC), or the ISTC Technical Assistance program page.

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The Printer’s National Environmental Assistance Center at ISTC

Since its inception in 1995, The Printers’ National Environmental Assistance Center (www.pneac.org), has served as a valuable and comprehensive environmental resource for the printing, publishing, and packaging industry. PNEAC is the leading web site for printers and those who assist printers interested in improving their environmental performance. The program is principally funded by U.S. EPA. The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) is the coordinating agency for PNEAC.
PNEAC is a unique and effective partnership between industry, government, and university technical assistance providers. It serves those who interact with the printing industry — one of the largest manufacturing industries in the United States, North America, and the world. The PNEAC mission is to assist regulatory agencies and technical assistance providers by delivering current, reliable environmental compliance and pollution prevention information to printers, publishers, and packagers.
The PNEAC web site has been recently redesigned and new features include compliance and technical tools and resources supporting carbon emission reduction and energy efficiency. The site offers compliance information, fact sheets, case studies, virtual printing plants, contacts, program information, print process descriptions, and training.
Debra Jacobson is an Environmental Engineer and Printing Waste Reduction Specialist, and serves as the Director of the PNEAC. She also has coordinated the Great Printers Project and the Illinois Great Printers Project. Ms. Jacobson has been involved in the printing industry for over 20 years. She provides technical assistance to printers and related businesses regarding pollution prevention opportunities and authors compliance assistance tools, including manuals, fact sheets, and other resources for the printing industry. Jacobson also serves as Regional Operations Manager in the Oak Brook office of ISTC. She is responsible for providing technical, environmental and safety compliance assistance to industrial facilities within Illinois.

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IL Sustainable Technology Centers appoints Associate Director

Luis Rodriguez has been named the Associate Director of the ETAP (Emerging Technologies and Assistance Program) team at ISTC. That program provides technical assistance to Illinois businesses for waste, water usage and energy reduction initiatives. Rodriguez formerly was Senior Director of Manufacturing at Cyberonics, a medical device company in Houston, and Director of Operations at Medtronic, Inc. at facilities in Puerto Rico, San Diego, and Minneapolis. He also formerly was Product Development Manager at General Electric Nuclear Waste Management Business in San Jose, CA. Dr. Rodriguez has a BS in Chemical Engineering from University of Puerto Rico, MS and PhD degrees in Nuclear Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, and an MBA from Santa Clara University. He and his wife Annie Rodriguez have three grandchildren and two adult children that reside in Champaign and Minneapolis. Luis enjoys daily jogging and playing chess and tennis.