Remember that Tuesday, March 18th is Ecyclemania on the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus. From 2-6 pm, you can drop off electronics (anything with a plug or that runs on batteries) at 3 locations, free of charge:
All e-waste collected will be recycled by a vendor that is R2 and E-steward certified. Weight of the material collected will be reported as part of the national Recyclemania competition. See Recyclemania.org for more information.
Remember, this is for personal electronics only. NO UNIVERSITY-OWNED ELECTRONICS ACCEPTED.
In an effort to reduce traffic congestion that is sometimes created by such an event, volunteers will help pick material using bicycles and carts (E-cyclers). Buildings participating in the event can begin collecting e-waste on the morning of March 18th. The E-cyclers will pick up that material and transport it to one of the collection sites. E-waste that is too heavy to transport by cart should be delivered to the ISTC vehicle drop-off.
If you have questions about the event, please contact Bart Bartels at bbartel@illinois.edu or 217-244-7572.
For more information on campus electronics recycling procedures, you can view a recording of the last UI Sustainable Electronics Campus Consortium meeting (2/19/14), and associated documents at http://www.sustainelectronics.illinois.edu/services/campusconsortium.cfm. The documents listed include a PDF of slides highlighting community recycling resources for personally-owned electronics.
Note that if you are unable to participate in the Ecyclemania collection, Champaign County will also be hosting a free residential electronics collection event on April 12 from 8AM-noon at Parkland College. For more information, call 217-328-3313.
The next University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign sustainable electronics campus consortium meeting will be Wednesday, February 19, from 1-2 pm in the Stephen J. Warner Conference Room at ISTC. See http://www.istc.illinois.edu/about/visitor_information.cfm for visitor information.
This meeting is focused on operations. Are you unsure of how to handle the disposal of University-owned electronics? Jeff Weaver, of University Property Accounting and Reporting, will outline the campus procedures for proper end-of-life management of electronic devices. Bart Bartels of Facilities and Services will discuss an upcoming e-waste collection event for the campus community for non-University owned devices. Information on other community electronics recycling opportunities will also be provided to raise awareness among faculty, staff and students on how to handle their personal electronics. With the time remaining, we can discuss opportunities to improve policies and diversion rates to guide future operations-related activities of this consortium.
If you are unable to attend the meeting in person, it will also be broadcast via GoToWebinar. You may register for the webinar at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/660159455. Feel free to share this link with other interested parties.
During the Spring 2014 semester, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign students will have the opportunity to take a special topics course related to sustainable electronics.
The class introduces the environmental and social impacts associated with technology at each stage of the product life cycle (design, manufacture, consumption, and disposal/recovery). Electronic products will be used as a case study and provide the framework for discussion of complex legal, economic, social, and environmental considerations.
Planned outcomes are to provide students with:
training in the sort of “systems thinking” required to recognize and address potential environmental and social impacts associated with technologies they use and develop.
an introduction to the concept of the product life cycle and life cycle analysis
an opportunity to hear from experts in the fields of sustainable electronic product development, electronics recycling and end-of-life management
an appreciation for the perspectives of various stakeholders
an appreciation for the complexity and breadth of issues surrounding electronics
the inspiration to apply concepts of sustainable product design, use, and end-of-life management in their personal lives and careers.
Students will complete weekly assignments, typically involving responses to required reading material. A brief mid-term paper and a final project will also be required.
Day & location: Mondays, 10:00-11:50 a.m., Room 1302, Thomas M. Siebel Center for Computer Science
To register, UIUC students should look in the online course catalog under ENG 498 or TE 498, Special Topics. For more information, contact Joy Scrogum at jscrogum@illinois.edu.
See the previous post for the press release announcing the winners of the 2013 International Sustainable Electronics Competition, including project descriptions. The winning videos are featured on the competition web site and the SEI YouTube Channel. For your convenience, see the embedded player below. Congratulations to the winners and to all this year’s participants. You are all winners for considering the environmental and social impacts of electronic devices and for considering possible solutions to green various aspects of their product life cycles. Keep monitoring the competition and SEI web sites for information on future competitions or similar educational initiatives.
One Hazelwood Drive, Champaign, IL 61820 University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joy Scrogum, Co-coordinator, Sustainable Electronics Initiative, ISTC, Champaign IL (217) 333-8948
NINE STUDENTS HONORED FOR FRESH IDEAS IN SUSTAINABLE ELECTRONICS
International Sustainable Electronics Competition Awards 2013 Winners
CHAMPAIGN, IL – (Dec. 6, 2013) Old smart phones don’t have to be doomed to silence in a drawer or a landfill. According to two winners of the 2013 International Sustainable Electronics Competition the phones can keep track of your cattle, or be tiled together to form large-scale electronic displays.
The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) at ISTC has held the annual competition since 2009 to prompt dialogue about the environmental and social impacts of electronics and to contribute to the body of knowledge that advances the practice of environmentally responsible product design, manufacture, use, and disposal for electronics. The competition is open to college and university students and recent graduates.
The winners in the Product Category (items intended for sale) were:
E-waste Meets Farming, smart phones remanufactured as cow collars (Platinum, $3,000) Michael Van Dord, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia;
Mion, a multi-purpose dynamo lighting system (Gold, $2,000) Mikenna Tansley, Jiayi Li, Fren Mah, Russell Davidson, and Kapil Vachhar from the University of Alberta, Canada;
Cellscreen, a large scale display system made from old phone displays (Silver, $1,000) Sam Johnston, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, Australia.
One platinum level ($3,000) winner was named in the Non-product Category (concepts valuable for artistic, educational, policy, or similar content):
ENERGENCIA, an educational program based on a children’s game kit encouraging the use of recycled materials and renewable energy concepts by Stephanie Vázquez and Pedro Baños of Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Puebla, Mexico.
“The world must find ways to end the tide of e-waste in the environment,” said Craig Boswell, U of I graduate and president of HOBI International, an ISO 14001 certified electronics recycling and asset management company. “This competition, and these brilliant young winners, help us advance the dialog about environmentally responsible product design, manufacture, use, and disposal of electronics,” he added.
Boswell was one of an expert panel of six judges consisting of industry professionals, recycling experts, and the competition founder, William Bullock, professor of Industrial Design, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. The cash prizes were funded by donations from Arrow Electronics, Professional Field Services, and ISTC.
Other jurors were: Jason Linnell, executive director, National Center of Electronics Recycling; Bill Olson, director, Office of Sustainability and Stewardship, Motorola Mobility, LLC; Lynn Rubinstein, executive director, Northeast Recycling Council; and Kyle Wiens, CEO, iFixt and Dozuki.
Joe Verrengia, director of Corporate Social Responsibility for Arrow Electronics, participated in the ceremony, noting “We understand more than ever now that the end of life of all of those electronics is often very short. We need to come up with something better to deal with that. Competitions and incubators can develop those ideas that hopefully help the world, help Arrow, and maybe be a source of really smart new workers in the future.”
See below for a more complete description of the winners and their entries.
Product Category
Platinum ($3,000): E-waste Meets Farming. This project tackles e-waste through the reuse of discarded but internally (circuit board and CPU) functioning smart phones in the manufacture of cow collars. A cow collar is a device worn by cattle on dairy farms which can store information about the individual animal wearing it. It can also send that information to a central hub to be backed up, and communicate with machinery on the farm so that the cow is fed correctly and milked for the correct amount of time, etc. Cow collars can warn farmers of sickness or other health concerns for individual animals by monitoring activity and conditions through the inclusion of a GPS and accelerometers. The advantage of reusing smart phones in cow collars is that all the necessary components are assembled in a very compact and highly functional way. The phone has GPS, accelerometers, wireless technology, printed circuit boards, and software compatibility. Furthermore phones damaged beyond the point of being internally functional can also be used for the manufacture of cow collars, by being recycled via normal streams. The resulting materials, such as plastics, can be used in the construction of casing and external collar components. This concept was submitted by an undergraduate in product design engineering, Michael Van Dord, from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.
Gold ($2,000): Mion. Mion is a multi-purpose, dynamo-powered bike light for people living in disadvantaged communities. Their lack of an adequate source of lighting makes it difficult to perform evening tasks, including children’s studies, resulting in a significant barrier to human development. Mion is designed with consideration for the people living in these communities and who are lacking traditional furniture. Its organic form provides multiple lighting angles when placed on a flat surface, one focused and one ambient. This allows for optimal lighting, giving the user an option between more open or focused coverage. Mion uses the energy provided by a dynamo: a small motor that generates electricity using the propulsion of a bicycle wheel. The dynamo uses rotating coils of wire and magnetic fields to convert mechanical rotation into a pulsing direct electric current through Michael Faraday’s law of induction. In the long term, a dynamo is both cheaper and more ecological than a battery-powered system. When Mion is clamped onto the bike frame, it uses a direct energy source from the dynamo, charging its reserve AA batteries while also having the ability to provide light during the evening hours. Its detachable clamp allows the user to bring the lighting fixture wherever needed. In addition, the reserve, rechargeable AA batteries, may be removed and used within other products. These batteries become a significant object in themselves as the lack of reliable electricity can lead to other issues with day-to-day activities. Each part of Mion is made from recycled electronic waste. The internal components of the light and dynamo are repurposed parts from old electronics such as desktop computers, cameras, and cell phones (including LEDs, magnets, copper wire, and gears in the dynamo). Both the housing unit for the light and the dynamo casing are made of recycled plastics which can be reclaimed from electronic devices. Mion was submitted by a group of design students (Mikenna Tansley, Jiayi Li, Fren Mah, Russell Davidson, and Kapil Vachhar) from the University of Alberta in Canada.
Silver ($1,000): Cellscreen. The Cellscreen is a large-scale, coarse display intended to function as an advertisement or public display. The Cellscreen itself can be thought of as a tile which forms the base unit from which many different configurations can be made. Each tile is comprised of disused cell phone displays which form the display matrix. The premise is that a run of tiles can be produced from one set of screens at a time due to the large volume of cell phones that are disposed of. For example, there might be a range of tiles comprised entirely of iPhone 3g screens. Grouping screens by type is intended to circumvent any issues that might arise from display quality when mixing and matching screens from different manufactures and for compatibility. Cellscreen tiles comprised from older devices, such as early color screens, might be well suited to large scale advertising whereas those from newer devices with high pixel density and touch functions might be suited to other applications, such as information kiosks. Cellscreen is targeted toward manufacturers and suppliers of cell phones encouraging them to reclaim their obsolete products for reuse in a new product. Cellscreen was submitted by Sam Johnston, an undergraduate in product design from Swinburne University of Technology in Australia.
Non-Product Category
Platinum ($3,000): ENERGENCIA. ENERGENCIA is an educational program based on a game kit in which children can build their own toys using recyclable materials, reusable electronic devices, and renewable energy concepts to create projects that can move, turn lights on, etc. These projects employ reusable, reclaimed electronic components like small engines supplied in the game kit. The other recyclable materials like cardboard, cans, and plastic bottles can be obtained by children themselves to complete a project. Through the projects made possible by the game kit children learn about alternative energy sources and develop environmental awareness and positive environmental behaviors. The students who submitted this concept developed theories related to the ideal age range of children for which this kit would be effective, and they investigated these ideas through a hands-on workshop for children conducted in cooperation with teachers from schools at the American School of Puebla. This concept was submitted by undergraduates Stephanie Vázquez and Pedro Baños of Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey Campus Puebla in Mexico.
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The Prairie Research Institute at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the home of the State Scientific Surveys: Illinois Natural History Survey, Illinois State Archaeological Survey, Illinois State Geological Survey, Illinois State Water Survey, and Illinois Sustainable Technology Center. For over 160 years the Surveys have applied cutting-edge science and expertise to keep Illinois’ economy, environment and people prosperous and secure. www.prairie.illinois.edu
The Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) was established in 1985 and joined the Prairie Research Institute with the other surveys in 2008. Its mission is to encourage and assist citizens, businesses, and government agencies to prevent pollution, conserve natural resources, and reduce waste to protect human health and the environment of Illinois and beyond. www.istc.illinois.edu
Another year of the International Sustainable Electronics Competition (formerly the International E-waste Design Competition) has passed, and the jurors have completed their evaluations of this year’s entries. This year’s winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC), the host agency for the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), on December 5, 2013 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. CST. Brief descriptions of the winning projects will be given and the associated project videos will be shown. Cash prizes will awarded to winning teams in two categories: Product and Non-Product.
SEI wishes to thank all of the students who participated. All of the participants are winners in the sense that they are actively thinking about ways to solve real world problems and foster a more sustainable system for the design, production, use, and management of electronic devices. It is always inspiring to see students from around the world applying their ingenuity to issues that affect the global community.
This year’s winning videos will be posted to the competition web site after the ceremony, and will also be feature on the SEI YouTube channel.
“P3” is the US Environmental Protection Agency’s “People, Prosperity, and Planet Student Design Competition for Sustainability.” As stated on the program website, this is “a unique college competition for designing solutions for a sustainable future. P3 offers students quality hands-on experience that brings their classroom learning to life. The competition has two phases. For the first phase of the competition, teams are awarded a $15,000 grant to develop their idea. They bring the design in April to the National Sustainable Design Expo in Washington, DC to compete for the P3 Award and a grant of $90,000 to take their design to real world application.” Teams are meant to be interdisciplinary and composed of undergraduates and/or graduates, and the main goals of the program are to engage future scientists and members of industry in innovation for sustainability, while fostering the demonstration and development of sustainable technologies.
The current solicitation closes December 17, 2013. EPA anticipates funding approximately 40 grants for Phase I under this RFA. The projected EPA award amount for each Phase I grant is up to $15,000 for its one year duration. The current Request for Applications is available here, and guidance on how to apply is available at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/p3/apply/index.html. Application materials and a list of EPA contacts are available at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2014/2014_p3.html#Materials.
As Dr. Zhao pointed out in his presentation on the Purdue LCD monitor recycling project, there is great potential for more P3 teams to focus on sustainable electronics issues. In fact, if you read the current P3 Request for Applications closely, a list of research areas is listed and applications are expected to address one or more of these areas. See Part E under Section I: Funding Opportunity Description at http://www.epa.gov/ncer/rfa/2014/2014_p3.html#Synopsis. One of these areas is “Materials and Chemicals” and examples of areas of interest listed within this overall research area include “Projects that may reduce electronics waste or promote substitution and/or recovery of rare earth rare earth elements,” “Less toxic flame retardants,” and in general the redesign of products to use less resources in production and consumption, use more environmentally benign materials, etc. So there is a current desire from the EPA to see applications focusing on more sustainable electronic product design, manufacture, consumption, and end-of-life management. Faculty researchers and students interested in these issues should consider applying for the current P3 Awards cycle, or planning to submit applications in future cycles.
If you apply and receive an award, tell us about your project in the “Comments” section of this post. SEI would love to follow your progress.
The Sustainable Electronics Initiative at the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center is pleased to announce that registration is open for the 2013 International Sustainable Electronics Competition. Participants will explore ideas to address the social and environmental impacts of electronics, and contribute to the body of knowledge that advances the practice of environmentally responsible product design for current and future technology products. Entries can be made in one of two categories—“Product” and “Non-product”–with criteria that incorporate the ideas of reuse and prevention throughout. This allows for students of all disciplines to participate in ways to reduce the generation of electronic waste and extend electronic product life cycles.
Teamwork across disciplines, backgrounds, and ages is encouraged. One entry per person or team (5 person maximum) is allowed. The competition is open to current college and university students as well as recent graduates from universities around the world. Registration is free. Expert jurors award cash prizes to the top three projects in each category. The submission deadline is November 1, 2013 at 4:59 Central time. Winners will be announced on December 5th.
Entries must include an original video composition uploaded to YouTube, along with supporting materials uploaded to the registration page of the competition web site. See the competition web site, www.ewaste.illinois.edu for details on registration requirements.
This post was written by ISTC staff member Kirsten Walker.
The International Sustainable Electronics Competition is delighted to welcome UIUC Industrial Design Professor and Product Interaction Research Laboratory (PIRL) Director William Bullock back to the competition in his new role as juror. Professor Bullock was the founder of the original competition in 2009 on the University of Illinois campus. He has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in product design and development for over a decade and recently developed the first course at UIUC on sustainable product design. He collaborated with engineering colleagues to develop a course on the topic of electronic waste (e-waste) and organized the annual international electronic waste (e-waste) design competition, which is now known as the International Sustainable Electronics Competition. His career spans three decades as an academician, administrator and practitioner, and includes the direction and advancement of industrial design programs at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, The Georgia Institute of Technology, and Auburn University. He is an active Fellow in the Industrial Designers Society of America, and a National Association of Schools of Art and Design accreditation evaluator. Bill has served several terms on the IDSA National Education Council and is current Chair of its SAGE section and Vice Chair of the Design Foundation.
PIRL links education and research design in the classroom where advanced students from engineering, design and marketing collaborate to conduct product development studies for industry. As an affiliate faculty member with the Illinois Sustainable Technology Center (ISTC) his current research focuses on design for the environment and development of sustainable product designs. At ISTC he has helped build the Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI), which is dedicated to the development and implementation of a more sustainable system for designing, producing, reusing, remanufacturing, and recycling electronic devices.
We feel that Professor Bullock will add a unique perspective to this year’s competition as someone who has special ties to the competition and appreciates the growth and direction it’s taken since it’s inception.
The 2013 International Sustainable Electronics Competition will begin in just one month (registration opens September 1 and closes November 1, 2013). In addition to the new categories, an additional new feature has been added for the benefit of this year’s participants. Entrants who submit a concept for a product or business may receive feedback on their idea from experts at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Technology Entrepreneur Center (TEC).
Part of the College of Engineering, the mission of TEC is to “provide students and faculty with the skills, resources and experiences necessary to become successful innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders who tackle grand challenges and change the world.” TEC offers courses, certificate programs, workshops, venture and product competitions, and other curricular and extra-curricular events to inspire and guide students through the processes of technology innovation and market adoption.
Feedback for International Sustainable Electronics Competition participants will be in the form of comments and possibly contacts or resources for further exploration by the participants as they see fit. Comments may discuss the feasibility of the concept, marketability, potential barriers to success, and areas for further development and research if the entrant(s) wishes to pursue their idea as a money-making venture. Please note TEC will NOT be helping individuals transfer their concepts to the marketplace, but merely providing some advice to those who may wish to pursue such a venture on their own after participation in this competition.
Participants who wish to have their entries reviewed by TEC staff must indicate this on their online submission forms, by checking the appropriate box. Only those entries that have indicated this as part of the submission form will be reviewed by TEC. Note that feedback from TEC may not be appropriate for all entries, since not every concept submitted will be for a new product or business venture. Feedback will be sent via email to the address (es) supplied on the online submission form. Because such review will take time, responses may not be sent until after the competition winners have been announced (in early December).
The Sustainable Electronics Initiative (SEI) is pleased to offer this opportunity for critique to participants. Juror comments (minus any identifying information) may also be provided to participants to help them evaluate what worked or didn’t work in their concepts. It has often been the case that attendees at the competition awards ceremonies have wished aloud that they could purchase a proposed product or service. We hope that this option inspires participants to seriously consider careers developing innovative, sustainable solutions to environmental and social issues related to technology. Our thanks to TEC, and in particular Dr. Brian Lilly and Jennifer Bechtel, for their support of this collaboration.
