| There is a new, simpler waste-sorting system in the Dugout this year.
What’s changed? We are still composting food scraps, but can no longer accept soiled plates and other compostable materials together with food scraps due to a change in the disposal system. The good news is that it’s easier to know what goes in each waste bin: Food Waste (food only),Recycling (same as across campus), and Trash (anything that is soiled or is not food waste or recyclable). Not sure where to toss your waste? When in doubt, throw it out (in TRASH) to avoid accidentally contaminating the Food Waste and Recycling bins. |
Category Archives: IWU in Action
Good to Go Commuter Challenge
The Good To Go Commuter Challenge is back!
May 16 – 22
Register and join the Illinois Wesleyan University group
Once registered, log in and record your daily commutes. Eligible modes include: biking, walking, taking the bus, telecommuting, and carpooling. It is easy and quick to find transit schedules, walking & biking routes, and find/create carpooling opportunities. Prizes will be awarded to the individual, the team and the employer with the most participation.
Illinois Environmental Council Lobby Day
A group of Illinois Wesleyan students went to Springfield on April 7 to lobby on environmental issues as a part of the Illinois Environmental Council Lobby Day.
The effort was organized by Cameron McKee ’17, a double major in environmental studies and psychology who is an intern at the Illinois Environmental Council.
While in Springfield, the students met with Illinois Senator Bill Brady ’83 (who posed with the group).
Printer Cartridge Recycling
The Wellness Office is partnering with Printing Services and the Sierra Student Coalition on campus to provide a centralized printer ink/toner cartridge recycling program through TerraCycle.
This program is an international upcycling and recycling company that collects difficult-to-recycle packaging and products and repurposes the material into affordable, innovative products. See more information.
As part of our campus mission toward sustainability, Printing Services (located on Franklin Street past TKE and toward BroMenn) has agreed to sign up for a printer cartridge collection brigade. This means that, if you or anyone you know drops off an accepted printer cartridge, Printing Services will collect, save and ship these to TerraCycle where they will be reused and repurposed. Additionally, IWU gets points for making donations, and these points can then be used toward charitable contributions.
So, check out this list of accepted donations and, if you or anyone you know are about to toss out a dried-up cartridge, bring it down to Printing Services, open all school year, and help out the environment!
National Bike Challenge 2015
May – September
Sign up and join Illinois Wesleyan University’s team! If you sign up for the IWU team (by selecting Illinois Wesleyan University as your workplace) and accumulate 100 points between May 1st and the end of the day on May 15th, you are eligible to win free prizes–like free bike tune-ups donated by the three local bike shops – Bloomington Cycle & Fitness, Vitesse Cycle, and Wilson’s Cycle! Students who accumulate 100 points by that same time are also eligible to win one of five Bike BloNo memberships, which includes a free T-shirt and discounted registration at Bike BloNo events. The event goes all the way through September, though, so don’t stop peddling after IWU’s contest is over!
Points are accumulated by riding a bike. Every mile you ride counts as one point, and every day you ride at least one mile counts as 20 points. So, in theory, you can reach that 100-point threshold by riding one mile a day for five days, or four five-mile days, or three 15-mile days, or two 30-mile days, or one 80-mile day. Just about everyone can find a way to make it happen!
Last year, McLean County came in sixth in the country, per capita! Help us build on that and make it an ever bigger success!
April 22 is Earth Day
First celebrated in 1970, Earth Day is now coordinated globally by the Earth Day Network, whose year-round mission is to broaden, diversify and activate the environmental movement worldwide.
In light of Earth Day and its commitment to sustainability, Student Senate arranged to have trees planted on the Eckley Quad and organized a tree planting picnic on April 19. Rain moved the picnic indoors, but the picnic menu was catered in the Joslin Atrium – burgers, hot dogs, chips, brownies, lemonade, and potato salad.
Environmentally Friendly Snow and Ice Removal
The salt products used for ice and snow removal on campus property are coated with a corn-based product. This increases the residual effectiveness of the product, resulting in a reduced need to reapply and, therefore, less product use. Salt is bought in bulk, resulting in the reduction of packaging waste to be disposed of, and a smaller environmental footprint.
Read more campus efforts in the Report on Sustainability at Illinois Wesleyan University.
Access to Bus Transportation
The Sierra Student Coalition and GREENetwork have been investigating the feasibility of universal access to bus transportation for IWU students, a sustainable alternative to car-based transportation. This was also the topic of an Environmental Studies Senior Seminar paper written by Liz Kuehn ’14. Her work is posted on Digital Commons.
Clean Water
Illinois Wesleyan students in the Environmental Studies course, War on Cancer: Does Environment Matter? prepared an informational video, War on Cancer: Drink Up, Drink Safe, with tips for fellow students.
Energy Efficient Lighting in the Shirk Center
With Donnocker Innovation grant funding, the University has installed new energy-efficient T5 fixtures replacing the original metal halide bay fixtures in the Shirk Center Performance Gym, Practice Gym and Activity Center.
It is conservatively estimated that these fixtures will produce $6,800 in annual electrical savings.
T5 fixtures have a nearly 10-year life expectancy while the previously existing metal halide fixtures have a four-year life expectancy, which will save the University approximately $5,500 over the next 10 years.
In addition, the metal halide lamps run about 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit, adding to the cooling load of the building. T5’s run only about 200 degrees Fahrenheit by comparison, potentially saving the University about $1,700 annually in cooling costs.
Read other highlights of campus initiatives in the 2014 Sustainability Report.