New case study: Replacing Solvent with Aqueous Detergent at a Small Metal Fabricator

ISTC’s technical assistance engineers worked with a small metal fabricating company to change from a solvent based parts cleaning process to a water-based alternative.

 

The change resulted in the elimination of 29 drums of solvent (1,600 gallons); reduced VOC and greenhouse gas emissions; and annual cost savings of $5,000 with a one year payback. It also reduces employee exposure to hazardous materials and cleans the parts more effectively.

 

Read the entire case study here.

Obama Bans Microbeads

tooth paste being squeezed out onto a tooth brush. the tooth paste has red microbeads in the white paste.On January 4, 2016, President Obama signed into law a bill that bans production and sale of microbeads in certain products. This national law comes only a year and a half after Illinois became the first state to ban the manufacture and sale of products containing microbeads in June 2014 (Public Act 098-0638). Microbeads are small bits of plastic added to soaps, creams, and even toothpaste for aesthetics and abrasion. These are the important dates for the “Microbead-Free Water Act of 2015”:

  • July 2017 – manufacture of rinse-off cosmetics containing microbeads is banned
  • July 2018 – manufacture of over-the-counter drugs with microbeads is banned and selling rinse-off cosmetics with microbeads is banned
  • July 2019 – selling over-the-counter drugs with microbeads is banned

Continue reading “Obama Bans Microbeads”

8 Easy Sustainable New Year’s Resolutions

Happy New Year 2016 over colored fireworks

 

Aah….the New Year’s resolution. Whether it was exercising, dieting, crafting, getting out doors, or cleaning more frequently, it always seems that life took over and I was back to doing the bare minimum just to make it through the week. So when I decided to write a blog on sustainable New Year’s resolutions, I thought, “Oh boy!” there are so many great sustainable things to do like growing your own food in your back yard with your own compost or installing renewable energy sources on your property to get totally off the grid. But then I had to stop myself because here I was again setting New Year’s resolutions that were too ambitious for my current life style. So let’s start with the basics. Here are eight easy sustainable New Year’s resolutions that just about anyone could incorporate into their daily routine. Don’t worry about them all; just pick your favorite one and give it a try this year!

10 different colored and shaped reusable beverage containers

  1. Reusable beverage containers – Many places have rewards programs when you buy their reusable beverage containers and they often come in stylish patterns that can set you apart from the average mobile drinker. In addition, reusable water bottles come in all sizes, shapes, and styles these days and a one-time investment in a reusable water bottle can provide you with free water for the rest of your life because nearly every place has a drinking fountain or sink where water bottles can be filled. (And by the way, there are more safety regulations on tap water than bottled water, making it a better choice in most instances as well as saving money.)
  2. Eating in season – We all have to go to the store to get food (unless we have a large garden) but instead of just getting the usual stuff, think about what food is in season and was grown locally. By shopping for in season and local produced food, you can make a big dent in your carbon footprint because the food wasn’t shipped from all over the world.
  3. multi colored reusable bags. one is open and four are folded on top of the open bagReusable shopping bags – Avoid having to choose between paper or plastic and which one might be better for carrying different items vs. their environmental impact by investing in reusable shopping bags. Usually they fold up into small bundles and can be left in the car so you will never forget them when you are at the store.
  4. Drive less – In the city, many have embraced public transportation as a great way to move around quickly and avoid pollution from driving their own vehicles. But that often doesn’t work for most small cities and rural communities. Consider working from home and/or teleconferencing a couple days a week if your work allows. Or check with people in your neighborhood or at your work to see if you can set up a carpool. Also, combining errands by location and day can reduce your carbon footprint and time spent driving around town.
  5. Sustainable laundry – Some articles of clothing don’t need to be washed as often as we might think. For example, a student-professor team at the University of Alberta found that new jeans could be worn and not washed for 15 months without affecting a person’s health (see article on not washing jeans). In addition, consider the natural drying power of a clothes line either in the back yard, basement, or spare room to avoid using electrical or gas power for drying.
  6. Reduce, reuse, recycle – Reducing waste is the number one way to be more sustainable and have a zero waste life style. If you buy individual servings, consider buying a bulk container to reduce packaging or think of another use for the individual serving containers. If you find that you aren’t using something as much as you have in the past, think about cutting that item off your shopping list.
  7. Donate Don't Dump - the word donate and the word dump are spelled out using donatable items like computer keybord, mirror, clock, cloths, dishes, toys, lamps, umbrellas, and musical instramentsDonating old stuff – With the New Year comes Spring Cleaning. Don’t just toss out all that junk and old clothes; many reuse stores such as Goodwill or Habitat for Humanity will take all sorts of items from small appliances, furniture, silverware, to clothes, decorations, and games. This way you can keep stuff out of the landfill and get a tax benefit and/or the pleasure of giving items which others can use!
  8. Energy efficiency – Throw on an extra sweater this winter and keep the thermostat down to reduce energy consumption and save money on your bill! Also, when a light bulb burns out, try replacing it with an LED bulb. The LEDs are a little pricier but they last longer and use so much less energy than conventional bulbs that the investment is worth it in the end. LEDs have conventional watt bulb comparisons on their box as well as a cool-warm light emission rating, so if you like the warm glow of traditional bulbs you can get the same look with an LED.

 

For the more ambitious sustainability enthusiast or if you just want to check out some cool stuff:

 

Sources & Ideas

 

Companies and products mentioned in this blog are not an endorsement but merely discussed as an example.

Ten: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Video

30thBlogThing10Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 10: Mark Ryan After leading the assembly in “Happy Birthday” to ISTC, Ryan shared a brief survey of the history of “sustainability in the modern context.” In 1980, sustainable development was called a global priority in “World Conservation Strategy” published by the International Union for of Conservation of Nature.

 

The United Nation’s Bruntland Commission defined it in 1987: “Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

 

But sustainability in the sense of natural resources goes back thousands of years to so many cultures across the globe that Ryan said he was comfortable labeling it a “universal truth.”

 

For examples in ancient times he cited, “Deuteronomy’s” caution not to kill female birds with young, forest management practiced in the Han Dynasty, and the Roman latifundium which managed the production of wood and other crops. Ryan noted that when Rome fell, and latifundia disappeared, so did many of the forests in Italy and France.

 

Ryan continued to offer examples of preserving resources for future use through the centuries, right up to the establishment of the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center in 1985.

 

ALL VIDEOS and other ISTC 30th Anniversary information is available at this ISTC web page.

Nine: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Celebration Videos

30thBlogThing2Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 9: State Senator Scott Bennett’s presentation gave insights on how policies work their way through the state legislature. For 10 years politics, policy and science questions surrounded a proposal to store PCBs and manufactured gas plant waste in a DeWitt County landfill positioned over the Mohamet Aquifer.

 

He has been active in promoting legislation to protect the aquifer, which is a critical source of drinking water for a large region of central Illinois. Another pending bill to protect the state’s natural infrastructure is a comprehensive program to monitor the quality of air, water, and land resources. Also, a proposed law would allow cities to collect fees from power plants to prepare for the costs of environmental cleanup when the plant eventually closes down.

 

NEXT UP: Mark Ryan, PRI executive director, “A Brief History of Sustainability.”

 

Eight: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing9Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 8: Jerri-Anne Garl represented the federal Environmental Protection Agency during the ISTC Anniversary Celebration. Since EPA’s pollution prevention program started in the early 1990s, ISTC “has been one of our most effective and innovative partners,” Garl said. “ISTC itself has served as a model for other state programs.” She outlined successes of ISTC programs in assisting local communities and small companies, as well as major manufacturers, save money, water, energy, and make their operations more environmentally friendly.

 

Garl reviewed federal priorities for the EPA: 1) making a visible difference in communities; addressing climate change and improving air quality; launching a new era of state, tribal and local partnerships; and embracing EPA as a high performing organization. She added that the agency has set three emphasis areas for its work: climate change, food manufacturing, and hazardous materials mitigation.

 

“We believe that the ISTC is really well-positioned with the tools, experience, connections and the innovative spirit, to be a central partner in this effort.

 

NEXT UP: Scott Bennett, Illinois Senate (52 Dist. D), “Protecting Our Environment.”

Seven: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing8Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 7: Kevin Greene’s career in the environmental arena spans almost 30 years, including nearly 20 years at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. During the early days of the pollution prevention movement, he viewed the reaction against environmental contamination from several perspectives — as an environmental issues consultant, lobbyist, and regulator.

 

He noted that during the 1970s there was a wave of federal environmental laws which represented a change in the environmental community from public activists for change working from outside institutions to working inside them. Early regulations were also aimed at dealing with managing pollution after it was created.

 

A second wave of community activism developed in the 1980s over concern about how effectively industrial by-products were being handled, and their potential health impacts, he said. “Specialists or technocrats” continued to be “at the table” in seeking waste management solutions, but public activists were growing less trusting, he recalled.

 

Activists’ focus shifted away from calls for regulations that manage pollutants to local level activism to halt proposed storage/disposal facilities.  Increasingly the questions became “why is waste being generated in the first place” and the response shifted to getting critical information about pending waste projects to affected communities.

 

NEXT UP: Jerri-Anne Garl, U.S. EPA, “Working with ISTC on Pollution Prevention: Past Accomplishments and Future Opportunities from a Federal Perspective.”

Six: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing6Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

 

VIDEO 6: Timothy Lindsey As long-time head of technical assistance at the Center, Timothy Lindsey, helped pioneer more effective technical assistance efforts by applying the principals of innovation diffusion. He recalled he and his colleagues at the Center were frustrated when they made recommendations that would clearly save money and trim waste, yet often they were not adopted.

 

As part of his doctoral studies, Lindsey began to apply the ideas of Everett M. Rogers in his book “Diffusion of Innovation.” Innovations are initially perceived as uncertain and even risky, Lindsey said. They must be demonstrated in the context of the scale and type of the existing process. Innovations are most likely to be shared among trusted peers and the process can be slow.

 

Lindsey explained that sustainability in an innovative way of doing business, similar to innovations like the assembly line or electronic commerce. Following innovations in sustainable business, he said,  financial performance, environmental performance and social performance must be considered over the long term.

 

Now Global Director of Sustainable Development at Caterpillar Inc., Lindsey has applied principles of innovation diffusion to the multi-national manufacturer. Sustainability has long been important at Caterpillar, he said. But 2104 was a formative year at the company when sustainability became more than just an important thing they do. “Sustainability became an important part of who we are,” as one of the corporation’s core value, he said.

 

NEXT UP: Kevin Greene, “Pollution Prevention: Looking Back Towards the Future.”

Last Minute Holiday Gifts That Foster Sustainability

Bentley Snowflake11.jpgAlthough some winter holidays, like Hannukah, have already come and gone, over the next few days, there will likely be many people scrambling to find last minute gifts for friends and family. If you’ve waited until the last minute, or have had a hard time thinking of what to give someone on your list who has all they need, this list of “gifts for the greater good” might be just what you need. Note that links and companies mentioned in this post are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as endorsements by ISTC or the University of Illinois.

 

It’s always a great gift idea to make a donation in honor of a loved one to an organization that has meaning to them. There are many organizations that allow you to make a donation toward something which will help lift other people out of hunger and poverty, and thus foster the social and economic aspects of sustainability. Heifer International is one of the more visible of such organizations. Heifer conducts projects in countries throughout the world–including the U.S. in areas of low income. See http://www.heifer.org/ending-hunger/our-work/index.html for their complete list of projects. Their gift catalog allows you to provide a donation that will help wherever it is needed the most, or to foster specific projects. For example, you might fund, or help fund, provision of a goat to a family in need, which will help provide them with milk and cheese for their own consumption, and for sale to raise funds for food, shelter, and education that might not otherwise be affordable. Besides livestock-related donations, you might support the empowerment of women, sustainable farming, or the provision of basic needs (e.g. clean water). When you make a donation, you have the opportunity to send a gift card, via traditional or e-mail, to someone in whose honor you are making the donation. Such gifts raise awareness of important environmental and societal issues, and avoid potential problems that giving “stuff” that might entail (e.g. the wrong size, a duplicate of something already owned, etc.). Plus, it’s unique–how often are honeybees provided to someone in your honor? For more expensive options in their catalog, you can opt to fund a share of an item rather than the entire thing. Similar organizations, like Action Against Hunger, work to provide nutrition, food security, clean water and sanitation, and emergency response in various parts of the world. Though they don’t have the “card” set-up that Heifer does, you can check a box on their donation form to make it in someone’s honor, providing their email address so they can be notified of the gesture. You’ll find that many charities have similar provisions, so think about what cause would resonate most with your intended recipient. Perhaps they’d prefer to see hunger fought in their own community–check out Feeding America’s Find a Food Bank tool or Ample Harvest’s Find a Food Pantry tool to locate an organization closer to your recipient. America’s Charities provides an online search tool that allows you to find organizations focused on various causes throughout the United States.

 

If you’d like to have something to hand to your recipient, there are companies that provide useful items while putting a portion of their proceeds toward projects for the greater good. Check out Mitscoots Socks, for example. For every warm pair of socks or gloves, hat or scarf you buy, they give an equivalent item to someone in need (similar to TOMS shoes). Mitscoots also fosters sustainability by employing people transitioning out of homelessness. Another option is LifeStraw. This company makes a variety of filters, for individual, family, or community use, which remove virtually all the microbiological contaminants from water which make it unsafe to drink. These filters could be great to have on hand in case of emergency, or for camping or hiking. A portion of the proceeds from sales goes toward the purchase of LifeStraw Community purifiers which are distributed to schools in developing communities. So by giving someone you know a tool to ensure they’ll have clean water in an emergency, you’re helping ensure a child has access to clean water too.

 

Finally, you could give a gift of experience by making a commitment to your recipient that the two of you will do something together to make the world a little better for everyone. Perhaps you can volunteer together at a soup kitchen, or you could clean up litter in an area you both enjoy. If you both enjoy knitting, commit to spending time together to make items for those in need (see http://www.lionbrand.com/charityConnection.html to find a charity to which your items could be donated). Whatever your shared interest, you’ll enjoy time spent together while helping out in some small way.

 

These are just a few ideas to inspire you. ISTC wishes you and yours a happy holiday season.

Five: 10 Days of ISTC; Anniversary Presentation Videos

30thBlogThing7Videos of presentations at ISTC’s anniversary event provide a fascinating look at problems of pollution contamination in Illinois and how the Center contributed to the clean up. Links to the videos will be made available over the next two weeks as they become available.

ISTC Looks Back, and to the Future During Anniversary

VIDEO 5: Jeff Levengood, spoke about the strong collaboration between ISTC and the other four state surveys during its history. The diverse expertise of the scientists at the Prairie Research Institute’s four other surveys — spanning water, geology, natural history, and archaeology — enabled them to examining complex, place-based, legacy environmental contamination and degradation issues.

 

The work resulted in research reports published by the center, but also in refereed journal articles. He said this work helped communities around Illinois in managing their contamination problems but the collaborations also made significant contributions to the knowledge base in the field.

 

At Lake Calumet, Waukegan Harbor, Lake DePue and other post-industrial natural habitats, the surveys studied exposure and uptake of pollution by wildlife. They tracked changes in habits including nesting, foraging, reproduction in the birds, fish and the greater ecosystem. The information helped lead to innovative restoration projects at compromised sites in the state.

 

“I think we have to be proud,” Levengood said, “anybody that was involved in those early studies, because we really kind of kicked this off and helped to show what could be, what was possible.”

 

He quoted Nicole Kamins Barker, who worked on the Lake Calumet restoration as part of the Chicago Department of Environment, who said “The Surveys’ involvement took our work in the Calumet region to a new level of effectiveness by merging the latest scientific research with natural resource planning and management.”

 

NEXT UP: Timothy Lindsey, “Incorporating Innovation into Pollution Prevention and Sustainability.”