ISTC Technical Assistance Program assists U. of I. campus with waste characterization study

ISTC and F&S staff sorting waste samples.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U. of I.) Facilities & Services (F&S) Waste Management department recently released the results of a campus building waste characterization and opportunity assessment conducted with assistance from the ISTC Technical Assistance Program (TAP). This project was the latest example of collaboration between the two units on reducing waste and improving sustainable materials management on campus since the development of the original Illinois Climate Action Plan (iCAP).

Beginning in 2014, shortly after the inception of its Zero Waste Illinois program, TAP conducted its first university campus waste audit in the form of a two-phase project for U. of I., examining the types and amounts of waste generated in eight campus buildings, as well as the availability and location of waste and recycling collection bins. That study also included a survey of building occupants to gauge knowledge of current programs, gaps in service, and overall satisfaction with the campus recycling program. With this data, TAP made recommendations for waste reduction and diversion at the campus and individual building levels. The TAP zero waste team went on to conduct similar waste characterization studies for other institutes of higher learning, industrial clients, local governments, small businesses, and school districts in Illinois and beyond, as well as contributing to statewide systemic change through efforts like the Farm to Food Bank feasibility study and pilot projects. In 2019, TAP assessed indoor solid waste and recycling collection infrastructure for U. of I., leading to the initial deployment of branded three-bin collection stations for waste and recyclables in high-traffic campus locations. F&S continues to deploy those newer three-bin stations as funding permits, as part of ongoing progress toward iCAP zero waste goals.

In the fall of 2021, TAP, F&S, and other campus stakeholders began discussion of a new round of campus building waste audits. Plans were paused until after the hiring of Daphne Hulse, the first full-time U. of I. Zero Waste Coordinator, in fall 2022, to ensure the availability of dedicated staff to address waste audit results and recommendations. A spring 2023 grant from the U. of I. Student Sustainability Committee (SSC) supplemented available F&S funds to secure TAP services for waste audits of eight high-usage facilities in October 2023.  

Due to the size and volume of waste and recycling generated on campus, sorting all material was not feasible. Thus, TAP and F&S used an “activity zone” approach, developed by the TAP zero waste team after their work on the previous U. of I. campus audits. This involved selecting a representative set of buildings classified according to their main functions and services. Waste audit data from those representative buildings was used to formulate recommendations for waste reduction and improving the quantity and quality of collected recyclables. Those recommendations for improvement can then be applied to other buildings that fall within the same activity zone categorization. For this waste audit, activity zones and their respective buildings included:  

  • Academic: Business Instructional Facility (BIF) & Campus Instructional Facility (CIF)
  • Academic + Laboratory: Roger Adams Laboratory (RAL) & Noyes Laboratory
  • Multi-Activity: Illini Union & Activities & Recreation Center (ARC)
  • Student Living: Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls & Allen Residence Hall

TAP conducted walkthroughs of study buildings to assess current conditions and infrastructure, discuss waste and recycling challenges and successes with facility managers and other key personnel, and determine the best method for sample collection during the waste audits. The audits involved the collection of samples from trash (landfill-bound) and recycling streams from each of the selected buildings, which were then hand-sorted by TAP staff and volunteers into pre-determined categories defined in conjunction with F&S waste management staff. Following the waste audits, TAP held four focus group sessions (one per activity zone) to obtain input from campus community members (including students, faculty, and staff). Stakeholder engagement helped to gauge expectations, barriers, and sources of confusion, as well as garner suggestions for ways to reduce waste and improve collection of recyclables for the buildings included in the study. An online form was made available for submission of written feedback from those unable to attend focus group sessions and to allow session participants to submit any additional comments and suggestions. 

In addition to presenting methodologies and findings, the audit report outlines current waste and recycling management practices across campus and within the examined activity zones. This includes detailed descriptions of bin liner color-coding standards and the rationale behind them, procedures at the campus Waste Transfer Station (WTS), process flow diagrams, and a list of processors and destinations for the major categories of collected recyclables. The goal was to create a document that could support F&S’s efforts to educate and engage the campus community in improved waste management and the creation of a zero-waste culture. 

There are long-standing misconceptions about campus waste management practices according to Joy Scrogum, an Assistant Research Scientist with ISTC’s TAP and a member of the campus Zero Waste iCAP team. “When I was an Illinois undergraduate, I would hear people say it didn’t matter if you accidentally put recyclables in campus trash bins because everything would be sorted at the campus Waste Transfer Station. That was frankly decades ago, and I still hear people make that incorrect assertion. Although the U. of I. is an innovative research institution, our Waste Transfer Station is low-tech, with a small crew that hand sorts only a fraction of the materials collected. There’s no cutting-edge equipment using lasers or air currents to extract recyclables, just humans pulling items from certain colored bags that are emptied onto a conveyor belt. It would be physically impossible to hand sort all the waste generated on campus, and most people aren’t even aware of the fact that different colored bin liners are meant to signify different actions at the transfer station. The contents of black bags, for example, aren’t emptied for a hand sort, because that color is supposed to signify waste collected from restrooms or laboratories.” 

Graphic from the audit report illustrating the campus bin liner color-coding standard.

The study uncovered a lack of awareness, confusion, and/or inconsistent compliance regarding the bin liner color-coding standard, suggesting that improved communication and efforts to ease supply chain barriers could result in increased capture of recyclable materials. Observations during building walkthroughs and feedback compiled from stakeholder engagement indicated that greater consistency in collection bin style and signage, along with improvements in communication of proper waste management and recycling procedures to students, faculty, and staff could result in improved collection and reduced contamination of recyclable materials. 

Key findings from the analysis include: 

  • 34 percent of campus waste reviewed was avoidable 
  • 23 percent of all landfill materials were some form of paper towels
  • Recyclable materials made up 13 percent of the total waste stream
  • 17 percent of waste was compostable
  • 18 percent of recyclables were contaminated and therefore unsalvageable
  • Liquids contributed to contaminating 5 percent of all the recycling items sorted
Disposable single-use items, such as these beverage cups, are examples of potentially avoidable waste.

TAP made 39 recommendations for waste reduction and improved management grouped into seven themes (education & outreach, infrastructure, policy, programming, purchasing, research, and retail). Many of the suggestions encourage colleges and departments to look upstream at the source of waste generation to proactively reduce the amount of waste that ends up in landfills.

F&S Zero Waste Coordinator Daphne Hulse said, “ISTC’s important and updated insight gives us the ability to turn their work into meaningful results that have an impact across campus. To accomplish our goals, we need to keep looking at how we can all continue to make progress by taking all available actions to properly reduce, reuse, and recycle where we study, work, recreate, and live.” 

A more detailed summary of study findings, along with the full report and executive summary for download, are available on the F&S website at https://fs.illinois.edu/campus-building-waste-characterization-opportunity-assessment/.

Daphne Hulse will also discuss the audit results, the details of campus waste and recycling management, and ongoing zero waste initiatives in an ISTC Sustainability Seminar presentation entitled, “Landfills Are Organized Littering: How the University of Illinois Is Moving Toward Zero Waste.” This hybrid presentation (with in-person and online attendance options), is scheduled for September 11 from 2-3 PM. Learn more and register at https://calendars.illinois.edu/detail/6229/33493027. ISTC Sustainability Seminars are recorded with archives available online within a few weeks of the seminar’s completion. 

Holiday gifts with sustainability in mind

Alma mater and block-I shaped cookies on a plate among other cookies
Illinois-themed Alma Mater and Block I holiday cookies. Credit: UI Public Affairs, Fred Zwicky.

Whichever winter holiday(s) you observe, odds are ‘tis the season for gift giving. Even if you don’t observe any of the major winter holidays, you’ll surely think about gifts at some point in the near future to celebrate a special occasion. If you’d like to align your gifts with sustainable values, the following ideas and resources might be helpful. Please note that links and companies mentioned in this post are for informational purposes only, and should not be construed as endorsements by ISTC, the Prairie Research Institute, or the University of Illinois.

Give an Experience

Many of us are fortunate enough to have plenty of “stuff” already, and if that’s the case for your intended recipient, consider an alternative to giving them more material goods. Experiences can often be more meaningful and personalized than physical gifts and presenting them can be an opportunity to start a conversation about consumption and its impacts on resource use, though one should not equate gifting experiences with avoiding consumption. Experiences still involve the use of material goods and consumption of resources; e.g., cooking someone their favorite dinner still requires the use of cookware, energy, and ingredients that themselves require natural resources to grow, raise, or manufacture. However, some gifted experiences may use items or resources that you or your recipient already own or would consume regardless of the special occasion. Continuing the previous example, you’re not likely to buy new pots or appliances to cook dinner, and since your recipient would need to eat anyway, there would always be impacts associated with the ingredients for the meal. Of course, other experiences may involve situations outside normal day-to-day circumstances that necessitate the use of resources (e.g., fuel for travel) we would not otherwise consume. Taking a spouse on a dream vacation or treating your best friend to a concert performance by their favorite band are examples. In such instances, it’s important to remember that giving an experience is less about avoiding resource use than shifting human attitudes and focus. The goal when gifting an experience is not to completely avoid consumption–we all consume resources as part of being alive. Rather, giving an experience shifts the focus away from material items as ends in themselves toward human interactions and the associated memories that will endure longer than most physical gifts possibly could. Memories are durable gifts! As a person who cares about sustainability, you can still try to incorporate responsible consumption into the equation if possible—perhaps by using local, sustainably harvested ingredients for the special dinner you’re preparing, buying carbon off-sets for the travel to that dream destination, or taking public transportation to the concert. The key is sharing or fostering experiences fulfills the human need for authentic connection rather than human desires for material goods, and reinforces the idea that relationships matter more than stuff. Valuing relationships between living things (in this case between people) is essential to thinking about ecosystems and the mindset that humans are a part of, rather than apart from, the rest of the natural world. Valuing relationships/connections can build a foundation for more sustainable behavior.

Give to Charity

Another option is to make a donation in honor of your loved one to a charitable organization that resonates with their interests and values. If you aren’t already aware of a specific group dear to their heart, you can search Charity Navigator at https://www.charitynavigator.org/ to find organizations by cause. The results display ratings, if Charity Navigator has adequate information to calculate one, based on “the cost-effectiveness and overall health of a charity’s programs, including measures of stability, efficiency, and sustainability.” You can filter the results by ratings, different aspects of performance (called “Beacons” on the site), state, organization size, and other factors. For example, I entered the term “sustainability” into the site’s search bar with the state filter “IL.” Charity Navigator also produces curated lists of charities, including “Where to Give Now,” “Popular Charities,” and “Best Charities.” As examples, check out the List of Best Women’s Charities, the “Where to Give Now” list for the Hawaii Wildfires, the List of Most Popular Charities. You can of course always enter keywords into Google or another search engine, but you might appreciate having Charity Navigator do some of the virtual “leg work” for you and having their expert analysis.

Note that your donation need not be monetary—you could donate your time or skills through volunteering. You might use your social media experience to help with promotion and online engagement for the literacy program for which your wife works, for example. You might even combine supporting a good cause important to your loved one with gifting an experience. For example, you might arrange to volunteer with an animal-loving friend at the local Humane Society shelter or pick up litter with your dad at his favorite nature preserve.

Give Gifts that Foster Reuse and Waste Reduction

Maybe you want to give your favorite waste reduction wonk items to help them get closer to the ideal of zero generation, but all you can think of are reusable coffee cups and cloth grocery bags which you know they already own. Here are some ideas and lists from which to draw inspiration.

Give Gifts that Reduce Dependence on Fossil Fuels

Friends don’t let friends rack up avoidable greenhouse gas emissions. Consult the following guides for some quick tips.

Give Gifts Free of PFAS

According to PFAS Central, a project of the Green Science Policy Institute, “PFAS, sometimes referred to as PFCs or highly fluorinated chemicals, are used in many consumer products and industrial applications because of their oil-, stain-, and water-repellent properties. Examples of chemicals in this class include PFOA, PFOS, and more than 3000 related compounds. The most studied of these substances is a chemical called PFOA, which is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, decreased fertility, and thyroid problems and decreased immune response to vaccines in children. The most studied of these substances is a chemical called PFOA, which is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, decreased fertility, and thyroid problems and decreased immune response to vaccines in children.” PFAS persist in the environment and pollute even the most remote places. Check out ISTC’s information and work on PFAS. This recent video from Bloomberg tells the fascinating story of how one woman uncovered how PFAS pollution became prevalent in her area.

So, these substances are clearly bad news for human and environmental health, but they’re in lots of consumer products—how can you help friends and family avoid exposure? Check out https://pfascentral.org/pfas-free-products/ for a list of PFAS-free outdoor gear, apparel, shoes, personal care products, baby gear, furniture, food ware, carpets and rugs, textiles, and home maintenance products.

Illinois Farm to Food Bank Feasibility Study report now available online

Cover page of Farm to Food Bank report

As reported in previous posts, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center Technical Assistance Program (TAP) has been collaborating with Feeding Illinois, the Illinois Farm Bureau, the Illinois Specialty Growers Association, and other stakeholders to explore ways to reduce food waste from farms while also recovering nutritious fresh foods to increase the state’s food supply and help citizens facing food insecurity.

Recently, project partners released the initial feasibility study report from the first year of this project, entitled Exploring the Development of an Illinois Farm to Food Bank Program. The report is available in IDEALS, the University of Illinois’ institutional repository.

Through interviews, surveys, focus groups, and pilot projects it became clear that a Farm to Food Bank program would be welcomed by both the farming and food banking communities in Illinois. Such programs are defined in the Code of Federal Regulations [at 7 CFR 251.10(j)] as “the harvesting, processing, packaging, or transportation of unharvested, unprocessed, or unpackaged commodities donated by agricultural producers, processors, or distributors for use by Emergency Feeding Organizations (EFOs)” – i.e., hunger relief agencies. Several such programs exist throughout the United States, though not in every state (for examples, see the “Lessons from Other Farm to Food Bank Programs” section of this report). While commonly referred to as Farm to Food Bank, these programs can also operate as Farm to Food Pantry programs.

While this is an ongoing research project, this report serves to demonstrate research efforts undertaken from December 2020 – February 2022 that have led to this conclusion along with identifying strengths, weaknesses, threats, opportunities, and recommendations for a statewide Farm to Food Bank program.

Recommendations for 2022 and beyond include the following:

Three essential aspects of a farm to food bank program1. A Farm to Food Bank program should have three primary goals:
➢ Support farmers by providing a secondary market for off-grade and  surplus products.
➢ Increase access to local, nutritious foods.
➢ Reduce food waste/surplus on farms and associated energy and resources.

2. Equity must be an essential part of the program.
3. Seek out partnerships with existing aggregation and processing centers.
4. Seek out partnerships with new food pantries.
5. Make Feeding Illinois and their member food banks a staple at ag-focused and food access events.
6. Increase communication between food banks.
7. Ensure buy-in from food banks and food pantries.
8. Improve capacity and resources at the food pantries.
9. Connect a Farm to Food Bank program with existing
technology platforms.
10. Diversify funding sources. Develop an advocacy plan to pursue public and private support.
11. Establish an advisory board to guide the actions of the Farm to Food Bank program.
12. Develop guidance and educational programs for farmers.
13. Measure success by more than just pounds of donated food.
14. Hire a dedicated employee to manage the Farm to Food Bank program.
15. Adapt the program as needed.
16. Continue piloting Farm to Food Bank strategies around the state.

While these recommendations can serve to guide Farm to Food Bank efforts, further research is needed to uncover opportunities and test collection and distribution strategies. ISTC and Feeding Illinois will collaborate to continue this research for the remainder of 2022 into 2023. The project team will continue outreach and engagement efforts to both increase participation and gather feedback on the program. They will also continue to work with Rendleman Orchards, which participated in the first pilot project of the study, as well as conducting additional pilot projects. In the coming year, ISTC and Feeding Illinois will also work with farmers markets around the state to test aggregation strategies.

Read more about this project on the “Project Descriptions” section of the TAP website.

Glass Recycling Foundation partners with Corona on glass recycling pilot project

Corona Protect Our Beaches and Glass Recycling Foundation logo

In a recent webinar hosted by the Illinois Recycling Association/Illinois Recycling Foundation (IRA/IRF), Scott Defife, President, Glass Packaging Institute and Glass Recycling Foundation (GRF), and Jeff Lang of Legacy Marketing described the Corona Protect Our Beaches program currently being deployed throughout Chicagoland.

According to GRF, more than 28 million glass bottles and jars end up in landfills each year, despite the fact that glass is endlessly recyclable. Recycling glass can protect the environment, economy, and sustainable manufacturing by capturing materials for reuse and keeping them out of landfills, as well as preventing litter from polluting the ocean and beaches.

To improve glass diversion from landfills and educate the public about the importance of glass recycling, Constellation Brands and its popular beer brand, Corona, have teamed up with GRF for a glass recycling initiative as part of the Corona Protect Our Beaches campaign.

This pilot program involves glass bottle recycling at Chicago-based bars and restaurants. Participating locations will separate their glass bottles into a separate bulk bin for pick up, starting in late June 2021. The GRF pays a hauler for the pick-ups; there is no cost to the participating locations. Any glass bottle, not just Corona-branded bottles, can be recycled, and no color sorting of bottles is required (as noted during the webinar Q&A).  Additionally, a small amount of incidental contamination (e.g. napkins or straws) is acceptable. This creates a simple system for the participating pilot locations.

The glass recycling pilot will be paired with special events including an interactive experience that sheds light on the need for glass recycling and helps “crush the problem.” At these events, empty bottles will be turned into a sand-like powder using a grinding machine that allows members of the public to watch the process, thus capturing their attention and imagination. Event attendees learn about the program and the call to action, “#DontTrashGlass.” Select consumers will be able to feed empty bottles into the grinding machine. Events will also feature a sand art station for attendees to enjoy as they learn about the benefits of recycling glass. According to Defife and Lang, the grinding machine is actually relatively quiet; the generators used to power the machine at these events is louder than the machine itself. The sand-like substance fits well with the theme of Corona’s Protect Our Beaches campaign and brand identity. GRF recognizes that there are many ways to use recycled glass and beach restoration is one of them; in addition, bottles can become new bottles, fiberglass, construction aggregate, sandblasting, and more.

Corona glass recycling event

Over the course of nine weeks this summer, the grinding machine will tour ten different wholesalers and corresponding accounts. The complete list of grinding events is available at https://protectbeaches.com/events/. Events kick off on June 25 at two locations in St. Charles, IL, and one in West Chicago.

During the webinar, it was noted that additional restaurants and bars can be added to the pilot in the Chicagoland area by contacting Defife or Lang (their email addresses are provided at the end of the webinar recording). Also, the collaborative team is trying to figure out what it would cost to continue the recycling program beyond the pilot period. A similar pilot is taking place in Phoenix, AZ, in partnership with Glass King. At the end of the pilot the total tonnage of glass recycled will be measured to illustrate diversion impacts. Participating locations will also learn valuable information about the nature of their waste streams from those measurements.

Learn More

Links, company, and brand names are provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as endorsements by ISTC or the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Focus on Food Waste: Donations Encouraged by New IL Law

The latest edition of the Illinois Environmental Council newsletter contained good news for those concerned with food waste reduction in K-12 schools and public agencies:

 

HB5530 was signed on July 15 and is immediately effective. This law prohibits schools and public agencies from signing contracts that restrict unused food from being donated to food pantries or soup kitchens.” (emphasis added)

 

Photo from USDA
Photo from USDA.

 

As mentioned in a previous post, federal law, in the form of the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act, protects citizens, businesses, and institutions from liability when food items are donated in good faith. Despite the existence of this law, there is widespread lack of understanding related to the legality and liability associated with food donation, and it is not uncommon to encounter people who work with food who genuinely believe that food donation should thus be avoided.

 

Indeed, in a report from the Illinois Radio Network, Jen Walling, Executive Director of the Illinois Environmental Council, expressed surprise that public entities in Illinois would require encouragement to donate unused food to food banks, pantries or shelters. But her own interactions with food service workers illustrated a belief among them that food donation was “banned.”  Some of this confusion may stem from language in contracts with food service providers at the school or district level. So the new state legislation clarifies the legality of food donation, and encourages it, by preventing schools and public agencies from signing contracts with such restrictive language. This legislation touches upon economic, social, and environmental aspects of sustainability by helping schools and agencies divert waste from landfill and thus save money in terms of waste hauling, by helping provide nutrition to community members struggling with food insecurity, and through avoidance of wasting resources embedded in the production of food, such as water and energy.

 

To learn more about food donation in schools, view the video and slides from the “Food Donation for Schools” webinar on ISTC’s Green Lunchroom Challenge web site, available at https://www.greenlunchroom.org/archivedWebinars.cfm. See also the presentation on “Using Zero Percent to Donate Surplus Food” from Raj Karmani, available at https://www.greenlunchroom.org/kickoffMaterials.cfm. The Green Lunchroom Challenge activity on establishing a food donation policy has some useful links to help find food banks and pantries in your area. For more ideas on how to reduce and prevent food waste at your school or organization, see https://www.greenlunchroom.org/activities.cfm.

Four Ways ISTC Can Help Your Organization Zero-In on Zero Waste

This article was written by Shantanu Pai  for Linked In Pulse.

 

Zero Waste Illinois logo

For over three decades, the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center’s (ISTC) staff of engineers and scientists have provided a variety of cost-effective, sustainable material management services.

 

ISTC has enabled organizations to improve their environmental footprint and achieve zero waste at every step in their operations by being a resource for innovative management and reuse of materials. We conduct waste audits, assist with materials management planning, supply chain optimization, and stakeholder engagement. These services are part of a subset of our technical assistance program which we refer to as Zero Waste Illinois. The technical assistance program is part of ISTC’s mission to help the citizens, businesses, governments, and organizations of Illinois conserve natural resources, prevent pollution, and reduce waste to promote improved human and environmental health. Here are the ways we can help your organization be part of Zero Waste Illinois.

 

Comprehensive Waste Audits

ISTC staff design and help implement site specific waste audits ranging in scope from individual buildings to large communities. By analyzing both material inputs and outputs within a facility, we identify more opportunities to help organizations achieve zero waste.

 

For example, as the result of a waste audit at a mid-sized manufacturing plant in Wheaton, IL, our team was able to make six recommendations which have been implemented. Through our work and a truly energetic internal staff, that facility has achieved 44% reduction of material use through process modifications—”up-stream” changes that make the entire operation more efficient over the long-term, and a new landfill diversion rate of 62%.

Photo of ISTC staff sorting waste

 

Enhanced Materials Management Planning

We help clients identify gaps in, and opportunities to improve, existing waste management processes. Additionally, we can offer solutions for site-specific constraints that prevent greater waste diversion.

 

For example, ISTC has been working with the Forest Preserve of Cook County, the nation’s largest forest preserve district with over 69,000 acres, to create a materials management plan for the entire district. Our efforts have resulted in increased recycling opportunities for District users, novel waste contract language and zero waste guides for event planners and the general public, in English, Spanish and Polish!

Bins at a zero waste event

 

Composting/Anaerobic Digestion Assistance

We conduct business outreach and research to support food waste reduction and diversion efforts. We assist clients with setting up successful compost programs by conducting waste stream assessments, designing signage, and training employees. We are currently researching a growing number of food scrap technology options, including aerobic and anaerobic digestion, and in-vessel composting.

 

Stakeholder Engagement

By partnering with employees, students, and communities, we can help you improve existing waste reduction programs through education and training. We provide advice on communication strategies that lead to lasting behavior change.

 

We recently worked with the University of Illinois, Urbana campus, on multiple recycling and waste reduction initiatives. In the fall of 2014 ISTC managed the Zero Waste football game at Memorial Stadium. With the help of over 150 volunteers and various departments on campus we were able to divert over nine tons of material to composting and recycling facilities.

 

We also assisted in rolling out a campaign to increase recycling at the Quad through improved signage, location assessments, and directed data collection.

 

Begin Your Journey to Zero Waste

Learn more about how our team of professionals might help your organization approach zero waste by visiting our web site to view our recent success stories. Then, sign up for a free site visit. There is no obligation on your part to work with us beyond the free initial visit, and that first conversation may reveal opportunities to achieve greater sustainability within your organization.

 

Have questions? Contact us at istc-zerowaste@illinois.edu.

 

Shantanu Pai is an Assistant Sustainability Researcher at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center with a BS from University of Wisconsin—Stevens Point in Waste and Soil Resources. His research interests include fate and transport of waste materials through market driven initiatives; the role of affluence and directed public policy in solid waste management; and solid waste industry in the developing world.

 

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.”