Category: Zero Waste Illinois

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Small companies save big with tech advice

Technical assistance available for small, rural businesses.
Manufacturers in smaller towns and cities of Illinois can get help being more profitable and sustainable through ISTC’s Illinois Conservation of Resources and Energy (ICORE) program.

 

A model program to provide technical assistance services to underserved rural areas of Illinois has generated $24 million in savings of energy, water, and waste over its first eight years.

 

In smaller, rural communities technical assistance professionals usually have a more difficult time identifying companies that would benefit from their services. ICORE takes a grassroots approach to identify partners and stakeholders with contacts at municipalities, organizations, associations and agencies. Networking at the local level spreads the word of the potential benefits of third-party business assessments.

 

“In big urban areas it is easy enough to find companies that will benefit from sustainability improvements that will save them money,” said Mike Springman, who with fellow ISTC environmental engineer Dan Marsch, have delivered ICORE, which stands for Illinois Conservation of Resources and Energy, services from the beginning. “We wanted to find a way to share what we offer to the whole state, in particular businesses located in rural communities.”

 

ICORE offers customized assessments resulting in recommendations to conserve energy, reduce water consumption, reduce hazardous materials/wastes, reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and save money.  At two recent assessments at Illinois food companies, a range of recommendations were identified , such as improved efficiencies in compressed air, process heat, motors, lighting, water/wastewater and minimization of food waste.

 

Caseyville’s AdvancePierre Foods implemented more than half of the recommendations, some right after the site visit. “Very good information and details emerged from the audit, which we are still working on,” said Michael Doeden, plant manager of the company’s St. Clair County facility. “It is a great way to start a foundation for continuous improvement and cost savings.”

 

Upgrading old electrical equipment is saving the company $6,000 a month, Doeden said. Other ideas like metering for waste water sewage credits will be adopted down the line, he added.

 

King’s Food Products in Belleville, Ill., welcomed the assessment for third-party expertise on how to be more efficient. “The assessment … generated a list of task items we hadn’t considered,” said Stephanie Fahrner, vice president for operations. “Overall the project/participation will improve us as a company — through savings, efficiency, and employee and environmental safety.”

 

“This is a great way for your team to see ideas generated, resources available, and training provided to help continuous improvement in a manufacturing plant,” Doeden agreed. “Additionally, E3 assessments focus on economy, energy and environment … which will benefit sustainability programs, people and is a good foundation for business practices, he added.”

 

In 2009, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in partnership with five other federal agencies formed the E3 technical assistance framework (Economy, Energy, and Environment). One year later EPA started funding the ICORE approach which has taken hold and today has expanded to deliver EPA’s E3 assessments as well.

 

One way of viewing the impact of the program is as accumulated savings which continue to accrue each year. By this measure, between 2008 and 2016, ICORE assistance has made a difference in Illinois totaling approximately $24 million, 160 million gallons of water, 1.9 million therms of natural gas, 209 million kilowatt hours of electricity, 20 million pounds of waste, 433,000 pounds of hazardous waste, and 200,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions avoided.

 

For more information about ICORE/E3 assessments for your business, visit the technical assistance pages at http://istc.illinois.edu/

 

 

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Focus on Food Waste: April 28 Designated “Stop Food Waste Day”

Stop Food Waste Day logoFood service company Compass Group, along with food manufacturer Unilever, and celebrity chef Tom Colicchio, are promoting this Friday, April 28, 2017 as “Stop Food Waste Day.” The mission of the effort is, according to the Stop Food Waste Day web site, “to educate and ignite change regarding the food waste epidemic that we are currently facing.  Our goal is to draw attention to the problem as well as create and share creative and impactful solutions.  An educated consumer can have tremendous influence on how we store, farm, produce and buy our food.”

 

Compass Group chefs will be providing cooking demonstrations around the US on the day. On the event web site, the collaborative has compiled facts, food waste prevention tips, and recipes using ingredients that might otherwise be discarded, such as a gratin using cauliflower and broccoli stems, and a dish using chimichurri made from carrot tops.

 

The effort this year may well be lost in the sea of information that has emerged recently focused on food waste issues, and since April 28 is Arbor Day, it’s likely that more attention will be focused on planting trees that day than considering ways to stem the tide of food waste. Still, the web site, which provides several links to the joint NRDC and Ad Council site Savethefood.com, will provide one more source of inspiration and ideas to interested consumers beyond the day itself.

 

For more information see https://www.stopfoodwasteday.com/ and http://www.waste360.com/food-waste/compass-group-unilever-announce-food-waste-reduction-effort.

 

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Tom’s of Maine and TerraCycle Take Back Toys for Earth Month

If you’re a parent of young children like me, your house may at times resemble a toy warehouse. If you’re also keen to reuse or recycle whenever you can, the collections of old action figures, peculiar fast food kids’ meal giveaway items, or outgrown stuffed animals that linger in your yard sale “FREE” box can be a bit depressing. Some things can be difficult to donate or consign, even when they’re in good condition, and broken toys aren’t typically on the “accepted for recycling” lists of waste haulers.

 

But happy Earth Month to you! Tom’s of Maine and TerraCycle have teamed up to keep those unwanted toys out of landfill for a limited time only. Through April 30, you can print out a free shipping label to mail up to 10 pounds of unwanted toys to TerraCycle for recycling. See http://www.tomsofmaine.com/lesswaste/#recycle for details and to print your own label.

 

While the promotion page doesn’t specify what will become of your castoffs, one can assume they will be treated just as materials accepted through TerraCycle’s Toy Zero Waste Box program–which is NOT free and available year round. That program’s site says “The collected waste is mechanically and/or manually separated into fabrics, metals, fibers, and plastics. Fabrics are reused, upcycled or recycled as appropriate. Metals are melted so they may be recycled. The fibers (such as paper or wood based products) are recycled or composted. The plastics undergo extrusion and pelletization to be molded into new recycled plastic products.” If you’re wondering whether they really do want your child’s old water gun, check out their list of accepted materials on that program’s page as well.

 

If you have only a few items to dispose of, and they’re in good working order, remember that reuse should always be explored before recycling, to make the most of the human and natural resources already invested in a product’s manufacture. Members of the Champaign-Urbana community can check out the non-comprehensive list of local organizations and businesses which accept items for reuse or resale beginning on page 2 of our fact sheet “Reducing & Recycling Waste: University of IL & Champaign-Urbana” for ideas.

Box filled and surrounded by toys such as stuffed animals, balls, and plastic cars. Tom's of Maine logo in upper right.

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Focus on Food Waste: Report Shows Fighting Food Waste Saves Money at Business, Municipal, & National Levels

A report prepared by researchers from the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the UK non-profit waste reduction organization WRAP, called The Business Case for Reducing Food Loss and Waste, was released last month by Champions 12.3. Champions 12.3  is “a coalition of executives from governments, businesses, international organizations, research institutions, farmer groups, and civil society dedicated to inspiring ambition, mobilizing action, and accelerating progress toward achieving SDG Target 12.3 by 2030.”

SDG logo

If you’re unfamiliar, “SDGs” are the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, a group of 17 goals and associated targets outlined in Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, aka United Nations Resolution A/RES/70/1 adopted 9/15/15. The goals went into effect in 2016, and build upon the UN’s Millenium Development Goals (MDGs). They call on all nations to end poverty in all forms by promoting individual well-being while also protecting our shared environment. The goals aren’t legally binding, but nations are expected to devise implementation frameworks and regularly report on their progress toward the goals. Goal number 12 specifically deals with “Responsible Consumption & Production,” and Target 12.3 states “By 2030, halve per capita global food waste at the retail and consumer levels and reduce food losses along production and supply chains, including post-harvest losses.” Hence the name of Champions 12.3–this group is focused on halving per capita global food waste by 2030.

 

In preparing The Business Case report, WRI and WRAP reviewed 1,200 business sites across 700 companies representing a range of sectors in 17 countries. They also looked at data from 2007-2012 for the United Kingdom specifically, and at 2012 data for West London. Thus, they considered “financial impacts of historical food loss and waste reduction efforts conducted by a country, a city, and numerous companies.” Their results revealed “the financial benefits of taking action often significantly outweighed the costs.” From the report:

  • For businesses: “We found that 99 percent of the sites earned a positive return on investment. The median benefit-cost ratio—where half of the sites achieved a higher ratio while half achieved a lower ratio—was 14:1. In other words, half of the business sites earned greater than a 14-fold financial return on investment. Thus, for every $1 (or other relevant currency) invested in food loss and waste reduction, the median company site realized a $14 return. Company sites with the highest returns tended to be restaurants. Hotels, food service companies, and food retailers tended to have ratios between 5:1 and 10:1.”
  • For the UK: “In 2007, the country launched a nationwide initiative to reduce household food waste. By 2012, it had achieved an astounding 21 percent reduction in household food waste relative to 2007 levels. The ratio of purely financial benefits to financial costs attributable to the UK initiative was more than 250:1 (250 to 1), a very substantial return on investment.”
  • For West London: “In 2012–13, six West London boroughs implemented an initiative to reduce household food waste. The initiative resulted in a 15 percent reduction, with a benefit-cost ratio of 8:1 when considering just the financial savings to the borough councils. In other words, for every £1 invested in the effort, £8 was saved. The benefit-cost ratio was even higher, 92:1, when the financial benefits to households located in the boroughs were included.”

Moreover, their interviews with more than two dozen government and business leaders indicate that there are a number of strategic yet non-financial motivators for reducing food loss and waste, including food security, waste regulations, environmental sustainability, stakeholder relationships, and ethical responsibility.

 

In light of these results, Champions 12.3 encourages governments and companies to “target, measure, and act” to realize the business case for themselves by:

  • setting a target for reducing food loss and waste aligned with SDG Target 12.3
  • measure their food loss and waste to understand the amount of waste generated, where it happens, and why, and then to monitor their reduction progress over time
  • implement practices, programs, and policies that reduce food loss and waste (proven approaches are showcased in the Business Case report)

Is your organization ready to “target, measure, and act” to fight food waste and realize substantial returns on your waste reduction investments? If you need assistance with assessing your waste generation (food or otherwise) and identifying and implementing reduction opportunities, contact the ISTC Technical Assistance Program’s Zero Waste unit.

 

sustainable development goal number 12 icon

 

 

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Another Way to Recycle EPS: Dart Container Offers Foam Recycling Drop-off

Expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam, designated by the #6 resin code and commonly referred to by a brand name “Styrofoam” (much the same way facial tissues and bandages have become synonymous with one brand), is one of those materials that gives consumers who like to recycle fits. Many recycling programs don’t accept it. That’s not because it can’t be recycled; it’s that collecting and transporting the lightweight foam for recycling typically doesn’t make economic sense. You’re talking about shipping something that contains a lot of air when you need to consider fuel and other transportation related costs. It’s only when EPS foam is “densified”–processed to remove the air and reduce the foam’s volume, typically through crushing and compacting–that it becomes a commodity that is economically viable to transport.

 

Those of us who work or study on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus are fortunate to be able to recycle EPS packaging materials thanks to the campus Styrecycle program. Our campus partnered with the local recycler, Community Resource Incorporated (CRI), to purchase a densifier to transform all the foam coolers from labs and packing peanuts and cushioning from shipments received by departments into dense blocks to be sent off for use in new products.  ISTC is one of the collection points for this program. 

 

Hooray for having some of the EPS in our community diverted from the landfill! But, what about foam from non-university, residential sources? What about foam cups and other food packaging, which are not accepted even as part of Styrecycle on campus, but widely used by restaurants and retailers throughout the area?

 

Thankfully, Dart Container Corporation, which has a plant in Urbana, operates foam recycling programs throughout the US, and has recently added the Urbana location to its list of drop-off centers. Read the full announcement about the Urbana drop-off (along with new drop-offs in OK and ID) at https://www.dartcontainer.com/media/4099/final_new-drop-off-release_tradepubs.pdf. The Urbana drop-off, at 1505 East Main Street, is publicly accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and accepts “a wide variety of recyclable foam including foam cups, foam egg cartons, foam meat trays, foam ice chests, and foam packaging which is frequently used to protect fragile materials like TVs during shipping.” The foam can be recycled into products like “picture frames, baseboards, and crown molding.” Interested residents should collect their foam in clear or translucent bags, rinse or wipe foodservice containers to remove food or drink residue, and be sure to remove contaminants like straws, tape, or other non-foam materials.

 

Note that Dart does NOT accept foam packaging peanuts.  The campus Styrecycle program does accept them from campus sources, but cautions that individuals be sure to distinguish those from cornstarch-based peanuts, which dissolve in water and are NOT accepted through Styrecycle. Residents of the Champaign-Urbana area that wish to recycle those can take them to the UPS stores in town or Mail & Parcel Plus (see Urbana’s “Where Do I Recycle It?” guide for addresses). Of course, you can always save some of them for reuse in packages you plan to send as well.

 

There are Dart foam recycling drop-offs in Chicago and suburbs as well, for UI staff and students based at UIC or those who return to the Chicago area during intersessions. Type in a location at https://www.dartcontainer.com/environment/ps-foam-recycling/ to find the nearest option.

 

art container logo

 

 

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State Electronics Challenge Recognizes Illinois Sustainable Technology Center as a 2016 Gold Award Winner

The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) has received a Gold Award for its achievements in the State Electronics Challenge–a comprehensive nationwide environmental sustainability initiative that currently reaches more than 223,000 employees in 39 states. ISTC was recognized for its accomplishments in green purchasing, energy conservation, and responsible recycling of electronic office equipment in 2016.

 

“The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center is truly an outstanding example of a commitment to environmental leadership,” commented Lynn Rubinstein, State Electronics Challenge Program Manager. “This is the third year in a row that ISTC has earned a Gold Award.” She added that “ISTC is one of only 17 organizations nationally being recognized this year and the only one in Illinois.”

 

“We’re really pleased to have received this recognition, and value our participation in this program,” said Joy Scrogum, ISTC Sustainability Specialist and coordinator for its Sustainable Electronics Initiative and Illini Gadget Garage projects. “The guidance and resources available through the State Electronics Challenge (SEC) were very helpful in creating ISTC’s policy on purchasing, use, and disposal of IT equipment. They also create a useful framework for discussing operational changes in terms of these lifecycle phases for electronics with ISTC’s own technical assistance clients. Even though public entities and non-profits are the types of organizations which may participate in the SEC, I often refer other types of organizations to the Program Requirements Checklist for a simple guide to best practices.”

 

As a result of its environmental initiatives, in 2016 ISTC saved enough energy to power 42 households per year, avoided greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to removing 68 cars from the road per year, as well as avoiding the generation of 37 pounds of hazardous waste.

 

The State Electronics Challenge offers its participants annual opportunities to document their achievements and receive recognition for those accomplishments.  In 2016, the reported actions of 31 participants in green purchasing of electronic office equipment, power management, and responsible reuse and recycling:

  • Prevented the release of almost 219,198 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. This reduction in greenhouse gases is equivalent to the annual emissions from 171,006 passenger cars.
  • Saved enough energy to supply 13,722 homes per year
  • Avoided the disposal of hazardous waste equivalent to the weight of 2,120 refrigerators
  • Avoided the disposal of solid waste – garbage – equivalent to the amount generated by 1,007 households/year.

A full list of winners and their environmental accomplishments can be found on the State Electronics Challenge website (www.stateelectronicschallenge.net).

 

“The State Electronics Challenge provides state, tribal, regional and local agencies, as well as schools, colleges and universities and non-profit organizations with a great opportunity to integrate concepts of sustainability and waste reduction into their operations,” added Ms. Rubinstein.  “It’s inspiring to see programs such as this one developed and implemented at ISTC to ensure that the highest environmental practices are met through the lifecycle of office equipment.”

 

The State Electronics Challenge awards were made possible through donations from Samsung and the R2/RIOS Program.

 

About the State Electronics Challenge

The State Electronics Challenge assists state, regional, tribal, and local governments to reduce the environmental impact of their office equipment.  It annually recognizes the accomplishments of Partner organizations. The Challenge is administered by the Northeast Recycling Council (www.nerc.org). Currently, 167 state, tribal, regional, colleges, schools, universities, and local government agencies, and non-profit organizations, representing more than 223,000 employees, have joined the SEC as Partners.  For more information on the SEC, including a list of current Partner organizations, visit www.stateelectronicschallenge.net.

 

About the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC)

As a division of the Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) helps organizations and citizens implement sustainable solutions to environmental and economic challenges. ISTC’s mission is to encourage and assist citizens, businesses, and government agencies to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and reduce waste to protect human health and the environment of Illinois and beyond. ISTC integrates applied research, technical assistance, and information services to advance efforts on a wide variety of sustainability issues and promote sustainable economic development.
photo of SEC plaque made of circuit boards

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Registration Open for Champaign Co. Electronics Recycling Event

Event details

Champaign County has scheduled a free county electronics collection event for Saturday, May 20, 2017 from 8 AM to noon at Parkland College. Sixteen local governments are participating in the May 2017 event: Bondville, Broadlands, Champaign, Gifford, Homer, Ivesdale, Ludlow, Mahomet, Ogden, Royal, Sadorus, St. Joseph, Savoy, Thomasboro, Urbana, & Unincorporated Champaign County. (Communities NOT participating include: Allerton, Fisher, Foosland, Longview, Pesotum, Philo, Rantoul, Sidney, & Tolono.) A list of accepted and non-accepted items is available at http://champaignil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/Flyer-of-accepted-items-for-5-20-17-event.pdf.  There will be a 2 TV limit for participants; all sizes, types, & models of TVs will be accepted. There will be a 10-item total limit for participants.

 

Registration is required to participate, and registration is open today. Interested residents of participating communities must sign up for a 15-minute time slot at http://ecycle.simplybook.me/sheduler/manage/event/1/unit/1.

 

Other options

Registration for these collection events has been used in recent years to minimize the long waits in lines that were common in the past. Of course, another great way to avoid the lines is to make use of the many local businesses that accept electronics for recycling year round. These are also good to keep in mind if you can’t make it to the upcoming event. See the Champaign County Electronics Recycling Guide at http://champaignil.gov/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/GUIDE-FOR-RESIDENTS-1-9-17-1.pdf for a list of businesses, items they accept, and contact information (it’s always a good idea to call ahead to ensure that policy has not changed before you make the effort to take items to a location). Be advised, however, that if you have televisions to recycle, the county collection event is your only option for recycling these devices currently. Televisions are one of 17 devices which are banned from landfills in Illinois. See the Illinois EPA web site for further information on the landfill ban: http://www.epa.illinois.gov/topics/waste-management/electronics-recycling/index.

 

If you have an electronic device that still functions, consider donating it for reuse. Reusing items is a “higher order” waste management strategy than recycling, because you’re making the most of the natural and human resources that were already invested in an item’s manufacture. Recycling itself requires energy, labor, etc., so while it’s a better option than sending something to landfill (especially in this instance where law restricts sending certain items to landfill), reuse is an even better option. Check out some suggestions for local organizations that may accept items for donation in our fact sheet on waste reduction and recycling in our community at http://www.istc.illinois.edu/info/library_docs/TN/reducing-recycling-UI-Champaign-Urbana.pdf.  If you have an item that isn’t functioning properly and you’re wiling to try some “do-it-together” troubleshooting and repair to return it to working order for yourself or someone else, check out the Illini Gadget Garage. Our student staff and volunteers are here to help you, and you’ll love the sense of accomplishment you get when you’re able to make your gadget work again!

chasing arrows recycling symbol

 

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Focus on Food Waste: Federal Bill Could Expand Food Donation

In August of 2016, the ISTC blog featured information on an Illinois law geared toward increasing the donation of unused food from schools and other public agencies. That legislation addressed widespread confusion about protection from liability under the federal Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act (aka the Emerson Act), which went into effect in 1996. Now federal legislation has been introduced to amend the Emerson Act in ways that will also hopefully encourage food donation.

 

In February US Representatives Marcia L. Fudge (D-OH), Dan Newhouse (R-WA), Chellie Pingree (D-ME), and James P. McGovern (D-MA) introduced HR 952, The Food Donation Act of 2017. The goals of this proposed legislation are to clarify and expand liability protections offered under the Emerson Act to better align with the current food recovery landscape. As outlined on Representative Fudge’s web site, HR 952 would:

  • Designate the USDA as the executive agency in charge of implementing, interpreting, and promoting awareness of the Emerson Act. Congress had never assigned the Emerson Act to a particular federal agency for enforcement.
  • Protect donations made directly from donors to needy individuals. This provision is limited to food service establishments and retail stores, and these entities must comply with food service requirements like training and inspections. This particular update of the Emerson Act is important to ensure the timely use of perishable items. Currently the Emerson Act limits protections to food provided to social service agencies (e.g. food banks or soup kitchens).
  • Amend the Emerson Act to state that donors retain liability protection if the recipient pays a Good Samaritan Reduce Price for food, or the cost of simply handling, administering, and distributing food. This provision would, for example, extend liability protections to non-profit grocery stores that sell surplus food at reduced prices (e.g. Daily Table in Dorchester, MA)
  • Amend the Emerson Act to cover foods that comply or are reconditioned to comply with safety ­related federal, state, and local labeling standards. In this way, donations of food that was mislabeled in a way unrelated to safety would be protected, to help keep such items out of the waste stream.
  • Allow for donation for safe “past-dated” food. In this way items that are beyond a listed “Sell By” date, but which are still perfectly safe to eat, could be covered under liability protections. As noted on the ISTC blog earlier this week, industry is working to change the way it labels food to minimize consumer confusion, and elimination of “sell by” dates that really don’t reflect food safety are part of the proposed changes. But until labeling changes have been widely adopted, this provision could help reduce unnecessary food waste. The text of HR 952 directs that “Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Health and Human Services, issue regulations with respect to the safety and safety-related labeling standards of apparently wholesome food and an apparently fit grocery product under section 22 of the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 (42 U.S.C. 1791).”

If passed this legislation could provide another important step toward the national goal to reduce food waste by half by the year 2030, in alignment with Target 12.3 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

 

For further information, see the press release on HR 952 on Representative Fudge’s web site, updates on the bill (including its text) on Congress.gov, and the Food Donation Act of 2017 fact sheet.

 

Image of the Food Donation Act of 2017 fact sheet

 

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Illini Gadget Garage Serves as Drop-off for Single-use Batteries, CDs, and DVDs

The Illini Gadget Garage (IGG), a collaborative electronics repair center on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus, is providing some unique recycling services for the community. First of all, IGG has become a drop-off collection point for single-use batteries, having already filled one of the “iRecycle” 55 lb. capacity battery collection buckets available from Battery Solutions, a R2/RIOS certified recycler. Another collection bucket is on its way, and the IGG crew look forward to receiving a “Confirmation of Reclamation” letter from Battery Solutions, which will confirm receipt of the materials for recycling and indicate the number of pounds of different types of batteries, by chemistry, were present in the collection bucket. Illini Gadget Garage project coordinator Joy Scrogum purchased the collection buckets using funds donated to the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center’s Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI). UI Facilities and Services (F&S) had previously purchased these collection bins for ISTC and other departments on campus, but that arrangement ended when cuts were necessary due to state budget issues. Using SEI donations seemed like a great way to help continue convenient battery recycling for the campus community. (Note that the free Call2Recycle rechargeable battery recycling program is still coordinated by F&S, and the ISTC building at 1 Hazelwood Drive in Champaign is still one of four drop-off locations for rechargeable batteries on campus.)

 

In addition, the IGG is accepting personally-owned CDs, DVDs and their cases. Locally, the IDEA Store has accepted these for resale and reuse in art and educational projects, but knowing that they are frequently inundated with various types of materials, it was decided to try to find an outlet that would recycle these items (in fact CD and DVD cases are currently on the IDEA Store’s “we don’t need more right now” list). At present, not a lot of material in this stream has been collected, but when a fair amount is available, they will be shipped to the CD Recycling Center of America. It should be noted that CDs and DVDs used to store information for University business should NOT be dropped off at the IGG–those should be provided to departmental IT staff for proper data destruction and recycling via the University’s contracted electronics recycler. The IGG collection is for your personally owned but unwanted music, movies, old copies of outdated software, etc.

 

Please also note that the IGG does NOT accept electronic devices for recycling. University-owned electronics should be disposed of via the campus surplus system. UI students, staff, faculty, and other community members should consult the Champaign County Electronics Recycling Guide for a list of local businesses that will accept their personally-owned electronics for recycling.

 

If you’re happy to have these services available through the IGG, consider making a small donation to the SEI Various Donors Fund to support this and other outreach efforts of SEI. The UI Foundation will send you an acknowledgement of your donation for tax purposes.

 

UI departments or units that produce a large amount of waste single-use batteries, may wish to obtain their own battery recycling bucket through Battery Solutions or another company. Battery recycling can earn an office points in the campus Certified Green Office program.

 

Questions about the IGG recycling programs or suggestions for other services you would like to see offered via the IGG can be addressed to illinigadgetgarage@gmail.com.

 

Note that links and mentions of businesses are included for informational purposes only and should not be construed as endorsements by the IGG, associated departments, or the University of Illinois.

chasing arrows recycling symbol

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Focus on Food Waste: Changes to Product Labels May Help Reduce Waste

In a previous post (Focus on Food Waste: Product Label Date Dilemma), I wrote about the lack of consistency and clarity surrounding date labels placed on food products, and how the resulting confusion among consumers contributes to foods being thrown out unnecessarily. Consumers often misinterpret labels with “Sell By,” “Best if Used By,” or “Expires on” dates. This factor in food waste generation may be greatly reduced in the near future, thanks to the efforts of two influential food industry organizations.

 

The Grocery Manufacturers Association and the Food Marketing Institute are advising members to stop using many of these date labels, which typically have much more to do with peak product quality than food safety. Because these organizations collectively include most major food manufacturers and retailers, the impact of this guidance could be significant. They’re asking members to stop using “Sell By” or “Expires on” labels, and use only a “Best if used by” label on most foods to indicate a date beyond which peak quality has passed but food is still safe to eat, or a “Use by” date on products that may genuinely become less safe to eat with age. The groups are encouraging members to begin phasing in this common labeling practice with “widespread adoption urged by the summer of 2018.” This action seems to have been spurred by USDA guidance at the end of 2016, which recommended a universal “Best if Used By” label on food products to minimize consumer confusion.

 

For more information, see the GMA press release, “Grocery Industry Launches New Initiative to Reduce Consumer Confusion on Product Date Labels.” See also “The Dating Game: How Confusing Food Date Labels Lead to Food Waste in America,” a 2013 report from the Natural Resources Defense Council and the Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic which first shown a national spotlight on this issue.

Cover of NRDC "Dating Game" report