| Overall Rating | Gold - expired |
|---|---|
| Overall Score | 66.93 |
| Liaison | Meredith Moore |
| Submission Date | May 16, 2017 |
| Executive Letter | Download |
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
IN-27: Innovation D
| Status | Score | Responsible Party |
|---|---|---|
|
1.00 / 1.00 |
Micah
Kenfield Sustainability Coordinator Institute for Sustainability, Energy, and Environment |
Name or title of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome:
A brief description of the innovative policy, practice, program, or outcome that outlines how credit criteria are met and any positive measurable outcomes associated with the innovation:
Description: Expanded polystyrene (EPS), better known as Styrofoam is notoriously hard to recycle — not because it is difficult to process into new products, but because it weighs next-to-nothing. With a large volume and low density, a semi-load of Styrofoam fetches a low price — often less than the cost for the fuel and driver’s pay — thus making recycling the product not economical. The Illinois campus solution is to collect and densify EPS, getting more of it into the truck to make a recycling trip more profitable. Student workers collect expanded and extruded polystyrene (EPS) waste from campus laboratories, then partner Community Resource, Inc. (CRI) processes it into dense blocks of plastic and ships it to a plant that will turn it into new products. All profits from the sale of dense EPS are retained by CRI in compensation for housing and operating the Styrofoam densifying equipment.
Outcomes: The University of Illinois campus now features nine collection points at campus buildings for EPS. In 2016, more than 364 pounds had been collected.
Which of the following impact areas does the innovation most closely relate to? (select up to three):
A letter of affirmation from an individual with relevant expertise or a press release or publication featuring the innovation :
The website URL where information about the programs or initiatives is available:
Additional documentation to support the submission:
Data source(s) and notes about the submission:
The information presented here is self-reported. While AASHE staff review portions of all STARS reports and institutions are welcome to seek additional forms of review, the data in STARS reports are not verified by AASHE. If you believe any of this information is erroneous or inconsistent with credit criteria, please review the process for inquiring about the information reported by an institution or simply email your inquiry to stars@aashe.org.