April 18, 2014

Noon-1pm, Science Hall Rm. 140

About the Presenters:

Campus Energy Project: The Fundamentals of Energy Used by the University of Wisconsin-Madison — Eleanor Bloom

Eleanor Bloom

Do you wonder where UW-Madison gets its energy? UW-Madison’s annual campus energy consumption is approximately 1.2 trillion kWh annually. The UW Office of Sustainability is researching the sources and application of energy on campus. Campus heating and cooling is provided through networked campus heating plants. Natural gas is purchased from Madison Gas & Electric and burned at the heating plants to produce steam and chilled water for heating and cooling campus buildings. Most of UW–Madison’s electricity is purchased directly from MG&E and sourced from coal. Some of MG&E’s electricity is sourced from renewables such as wind energy. UW-Madison also purchases wind energy as Renewable Energy Certificates. Other on-campus renewable energy sources include photovoltaics, solar thermal panels and geoexchange systems.

Exchange Network for Expanded Polystyrene Bio-Shipping Containters — P3 Team (Emily Baumann, Katelyn Budke, Jared Ottoman, & Jenna Walsh)

People, Prosperity, and the Planet (P3) is a student design competition for sustainability in which students submit grant proposals for sustainable solutions to everyday problems. A UW–Madison P3 Team - Styrocycleteam (Emily Baumann, Katelyn Budke, Jared Ottmann, Jenna Walsh) is exploring the feasibility of a collection and re-use program for Styrofoam bio-shipping containers sent to campus labs. They are working with campus facilities, building managers and local biotech companies to assess possible links between suppliers and users in the Madison area. With the support of the WE CONSERVE program, the team is collecting Styrofoam shipping materials for recycling and reuse.problems. A UW–Madison team (Emily Baumann, Katelyn Budke, Jared Ottmann, Jenna Walsh) is exploring the feasibility of a collection and re-use program for Styrofoam bio-shipping containers sent to campus labs. They are working with campus facilities, building managers and local biotech companies to assess possible links between suppliers and users in the Madison area. With the support of the WE CONSERVE program, the team is collecting Styrofoam shipping materials for recycling and reuse.

Battery Recycling at UW-Madison — Luke VandenLangenberg

WE CONSERVE started collecting materials from clothes to Luke VandenLangenbergelectronics at College library in 2010. A collection station was also added to the new Union South after construction finished in 2011. Since 2011, 13 more collection stations or towers were added to buildings around campus. WE CONSERVE interns empty these bins and get the materials to the right place to be either reused or recycled. One of the most collected items are batteries. These batteries have a specific output. Over the time collecting the batteries, the process of recycling them has been streamlined and improved. The findings of the process have produced interesting results.