Illinois Sustainable Technology Center - University of Illinois
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Trilateral Partnership: Zomba, Malawi -- Urbana, U.S. -- Haizhu District, Guangzhou, China
5.15.13
Contact: Wei Zheng at weizheng@illinois.edu
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Abstract: Project: Compost and Waste Management The Zomba-Urbana-Haizhu district trilateral partnership will focus on a waste management project. In Zomba, the partnership will restore the sewer lines and sewer plant, construct new communal refuse bankers, and procure small, waste transport vehicles and tools for composting. Zomba will also hold community sensitization and clean city campaigns to encourage better waste management in the community. Included in the project are professional waste management training exchanges between the three cities' city waste management offices, private trash haulers, and professors, and a mayor and business delegation exchange. Currently, the district government of Haizhu District, Guangzhou is still in the process of approving this project; however members of the Haizhu District community, including a professor at Sun Yat-sen University, will be involved
Federal Agencies Seek Input to Update Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan
5.13.13
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Abstract: The federal agencies and departments of the Great Lakes Interagency Task Force today announced opportunities for the public to provide input to a planned update of the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Action Plan.
Position Announcement: ISTC Director
5.8.13
Contact: Susan Key at susankey@illinois.edu
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Abstract: ISTC is now accepting applications for a Director to lead the Center in the execution of its mission and in maintaining and enhancing its tradition of excellence.
Nominations sought for Illinois Recycling Association Awards
4.1.13
Contact: Ann Linenfelser, Awards Chairman at aelinenfelser@co.madison.il.us
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Abstract: Applications are available on the IRA website for the Illinois Recycling Association Annual EXCELLENCE IN RECYCLING Awards. Nominations are accepted from any current IRA member in good standing. Persons/groups can be nominated by another person or by self-nomination. The awards will be presented at the Illinois Recycling Association's Annual Meeting, held during the annual conference at the Bloomington-Normal Marriott Hotel and Conference Center on Tuesday, June 4, 2013 during the luncheon. Deadline for award consideration is April 12, 2013.
ISTC now accepting applications for 2013 Illinois Governor 's Sustainability Awards
3.27.13
Contact: Debra Jacobson at djacobso@illinois.edu
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Abstract: The deadline for application submittal is May 31, 2013 at 5:00 p.m. Applications will only be accepted electronically. The award ceremony will be held this fall in Peoria, and once again ISTC will also host the Illinois Campus Sustainability Compact Awards Program in conjunction with the Governor's Sustainability Awards program.
Bill would repeal ban on e-waste
3.21.13
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Abstract: A bill currently before the Senate Judiciary Committee would repeal a two-year-old ban on electronic waste in state landfills. Proponents of the bill say counties are having a difficult time managing "e-waste" - computers, monitors, televisions and other electronics - because it has to be handled and processed differently than other refuse. Opponents of the repeal say the ban might not work perfectly but the state should not allow the dangerous materials back in its landfills.
Wastewater Could Be Used in Cellulosic Ethanol Production
3.21.13
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Abstract: Treated wastewater effluent could be a viable alternative to potable freshwater for cellulosic ethanol production, according to a study by the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The study, "Use of Treated Effluent Water in Cellulosic Ethanol Production," was funded in part by the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center.
ISRI Welcomes Release of ITC Study on Electronics Reuse
3.21.13
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Abstract: The Institute of Scrap Recycling Industries Inc. (ISRI), Washington, D.C., has welcomed what it describes as the "first comprehensive study on the scope of the used electronic products (UEP) market and the destinations of exported UEPs," with the recent release of the U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) report "Used Electronic Products: An Examination of U.S. Exports." Completed at the request of U.S. Trade Representative, Ambassador Ron Kirk, the report is based on data collected through a nationwide survey of 5,200 refurbishers, recyclers, brokers, information technology asset managers and other UEP handlers. he report looks at electronic equipment and component parts of these used products in 2011. The ITC report reveals that in 2011, U.S. collectors and processors reported $20.6 billion in sales of UEPs, of which 7 percent ($1.45 billion) were exports. Domestically, refurbished UEPs made up the bulk of sales ($15 billion) with commodity-grade scrap produced from the disassembling/recycling of UEPs accounting for $4.3 billion in sales. Exports accounted for $1 billion in sales of refurbished UEPs and $439 million in recycled material. According to the study, despite longstanding anecdotal accounts to the contrary, 88 percent of all UEPs exported as repaired/refurbished are sent "tested and working." Only a small share of U.S. exports, less than 1 percent (0.8 percent), is sent overseas for disposal.
Unwanted Electronic Gear Rising in Toxic Piles
3.21.13
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Abstract: As recently as a few years ago, broken monitors and televisions like those piled in a warehouse near Fresno, CA, were being recycled profitably. The big, glassy funnels inside these machines -- known as cathode ray tubes, or CRTs -- were melted down and turned into new ones. But flat-screen technology has made those monitors and televisions obsolete, decimating the demand for the recycled tube glass used in them and creating what industry experts call a "glass tsunami" as stockpiles of the useless material accumulate across the country. The predicament has highlighted how small changes in the marketplace can suddenly transform a product into a liability and demonstrates the difficulties that federal and state environmental regulators face in keeping up with these rapid shifts.
Plastic pollution not just a problem in oceans, but in Great Lakes
3.20.13
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Abstract: Scientists have conducted extensive research on the plastic-filled gyres of the ocean. This past summer, however, researchers decided to look inland for the first time and measure plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. Some of the groups' water samples had concentrations of plastic greater than those found anywhere else. The study has resulted in several other projects. Chemistry professor Dr. Sherri Mason discusses the plastic pollution in the basin.