Illinois Institute of Technology
How an asset based approach to food waste could benefit both IIT and the local community
2023
Systems Design
About
Undertaken as part of a class on Methods of Community Development taught by Prof. Maura Shea at the Institute of Design.
This project is an exercise in combining systems mapping with asset based community development. IIT houses and feeds thousands of students, and as a result, generates a large amount of food waste. Through 4 maps, this projects looks at how small shifts in procurement of food, and handling of food waste, can affect not just activities on campus, but have an impact on larger systems in Chicago and Illinois.
Initial Research
Initial research included collaboratively co-creating systems maps with stakeholders from Illinois Tech. This helped us better understand the different stakeholders within the system, the stocks and flows, and the power dynamics. It also helped us identify unused or underutilized assets within the system. The stakeholders we worked with included:
Jason Minter: Manager - IIT Idea Shop
Alicia Bunton: Assistant VP, Community Affairs - IIT
Ramon Ramirez: Sustainability Manager - IIT
Rodger Cooley: Executive Director of the Chicago Food Policy Action Council
Bo Rodda: Director - IPRO
Bruce Watts: VP of Facilities and Public Safety - IIT
Niharika Hanglem: Program Director - IPRO
Katie Stetz: Vice Provost Student Affairs
Steven Goodwin - Regional District Manager, Chartwells
Mindy Pugh: University Archivist - IIT
Meeting Ramon Ramirez and touring the UFarm
Co-creating systems maps with Rodger Cooley and Bo Rodda
Preliminary Systems Map
Co-Creating Systems Maps with Katie Stetz and Steven Goodwin
Co-Creating Systems Maps with Katie Stetz and Steven Goodwin
Co-Creating Systems Maps with Katie Stetz and Steven Goodwin
Co-Creating Systems Maps with Katie Stetz and Steven Goodwin
Assets and Stakeholders
Map 01
What is our (IIT’s) current relationship with Food and Food Waste?
How does this connect us to the larger community?
Material Flow:
Contracts are negotiated between IIT (Facilities and Student affairs) and Chartwells + LRS (Lakeshore Recycling Services). Chartwells then negotiates contracts with vendors, food suppliers and hires workers from the Union.
Food from Farms (both local and from out of state) gets delivered to Chartwells and to Local Vendors. Local vendors deliver (Semi-Cooked) Food to Chartwells.
Food is cooked and sold by Chartwells through the Dining Hall, Retail Outlets, Catering and Vending Machines. Food waste is generated both during preparation and processing, and by students and staff after eating.
Unsold food is recovered by IIT's chapter of the Food Recovery Network and donated to St. James Food Pantry.
Waste is collected by IIT's Facilities department, and sent through LRS to a transfer facility. The waste is then separated and sent to composting, recycling or to a landfill.
Barriers to Change
Food waste isn’t segregated at source, making it difficult to send to compost.
Many projects such as the composter are disused due to lack of maintenance, lack of an owner etc.
The U-farm currently can’t supply food to Chartwells.
Lack of visibility and feedback on the waste management, composting and recycling efforts doesn’t encourage further efforts
Map 02
What if we were to re-activate the assets that we already have?
What if we were to build connections with those that have the capabilities that we seek?
How would this affect the system?
A Kanban style system is used to list out and address projects that need volunteers to get up and running. Different departments and colleges can add to the list, or take over projects, and volunteers from Elevate can sign up for causes they care about.
Installing organic waste bins across campus increases segregation at source. This segregation means that a greater quantity of food waste can be composted instead of being sent to landfill.
Refurbishing the existing composter enables on-site composting of food waste. The compost generated can be used at the U-farm.
IFSH (IIT's Institute for Food Safety and Health) and Chartwells work to certify the U-Farm. This enables food grown on campus to be sold in the dining hall.
A Kanban style system is used to list projects that need volunteers to get up and running. Different departments can add to the list, and volunteers can sign up for causes they care about.
Installing organic waste bins across campus increases segregation at source. This segregation means that a greater quantity of food waste can be composted instead of being sent to landfill.
Refurbishing the existing composter enables on-site composting of food waste. The compost generated can be used at the U-farm.
IFSH (IIT's Institute for Food Safety and Health) and Chartwells work to certify the U-Farm. This enables food grown on campus to be sold in the dining hall.
Map 03
What if we were to view this waste as an asset,
something that has value that we can utilize?
What would we need to do to fully activate this asset?
How would this affect the system?
Standardizing food packaging makes segregation, disposal and composting easier. Using compostable containers allows for more of the waste to be composted. Standardizing food packaging makes segregation, disposal and composting easier. Using compostable containers allows for more of the waste to be composted.
With the help of Green Era, and the knowledge from colleges on campus a digester is installed on campus. This allows us to perform anerobic digestion on-site which increases the capacity for composting on site. The digester also produces natural gas which can be used for cooking and heating or by the Co-Gen Plant.
Segregation at source allows for a number of changes to be made with regards to waste. What can’t be composted on site, can be sent to Green Era or to a community composting facility.
Visible on-site composting, as well as communication of the impact of this, encourages further segregation and student involvement in IIT's sustainability efforts.
Standardizing food packaging makes segregation, disposal and composting easier. Using compostable containers allows for more of the waste to be composted.
Using the knowledge from colleges on campus a digester which allows for anerobic digestion on-site, increases the capacity for composting and produces natural gas for cooking or heating.
Visible on-site composting, as well as communication of the impact of this, encourages further segregation and student involvement in IIT's sustainability efforts.
Map 04
How can we re-think our relationship with the community, especially with regards to food waste?
What if IIT became an asset to the larger community? A place where “waste” is sent, but converted to something of value.
How would this affect the system?
As IIT's on-site composting efforts increase, compost can be sent not just to the U-Farm, but to local farms and community gardens.
Joining the City of Chicago's list of designated community composting sites allows IIT to accept waste from the broader community in exchange for compost. Less food waste is sent to landfill, not just from IIT but from the community as a whole.
As IIT's on-site composting efforts increase, compost can be sent not just to the U-Farm, but to local farms and community gardens.
Joining the City of Chicago's list of designated community composting sites allows IIT to accept waste from the broader community in exchange for compost.
Presenting to Stakeholders
The goal of these maps is to show stakeholders how small shifts in IIIT can have a large impact on the systems we use day to day. The assets we need to make these shifts can be found on the campus and within our own community, but to make these shifts requires a change in mindset, combined with a coordinated effort to activate these assets.
