A New Life for Old Cardboard
Below is a report from Plant Chicago intern Tyler on our ongoing project to convert our old gas-powered chipper/shredder to electric, and...
Jun 12, 2018
Kratky Method pt 2
Part 2: Electricity and Cost In part 1, we investigated the growth response of oak leaf lettuce in two methods of nutrient delivery:...
May 29, 2018
Reducing, Re-purposing, & Recycling Junk Mail
Blog post by Tom Straus, 2017-18 Plant Chicago Intern With over 20 businesses currently located at The Plant and a host of previous...
Apr 25, 2018
Would you wear a mushroom shirt?
This spring/summer Plant Chicago is hosting artist and mycologist Xiili Bassett, assisting in her newest project titled hyphaenate....
Apr 14, 2018
An Ecosystem Built on Used Cooking Oil: Loyola’s Biodiesel Lab
Post by Zach Waickman, Biodiesel Lab Manager at Loyola University’s Institute of Environmental Sustainability. This post is Part 1 of a...
Mar 14, 2018
Kratky Method Testing Part 1
During December and January of 2017-2018 Plant Chicago experimented with a different method of feeding our plants called the Kratky...
Feb 22, 2018
Systems Thinking for Sustainability: BarnRaise 2017
Blog Post by Andre Nogueira (PhD Candidate, Illinois Institute of Technology, Institute of Design). This post is about BarnRaise 2017, a...
Feb 13, 2018
Decision making for the Circular Economy: Life Cycle Assessment
Post by Shauhrat Chopra (Assistant Professor, City University of Hong Kong, formerly a Post-Doctoral Researcher at University of Illinois...
Feb 12, 2018
Thinking Circular, with Chemistry
Post by John Mulrow, Civil Engineering PhD Candidate at University of Illinois at Chicago. This post describes a chemistry...
Jan 17, 2018
What Does it Mean to “Scale” Reuse?
What does it mean to “scale” reuse? What are the metrics for success? These were two questions posed to a group of building material...
Jan 5, 2018
Designing for Circular Economy Practices at the Market
Post by Tom Straus, Plant Chicago Intern During the Summer of 2017 I began an internship with Plant Chicago. One of my responsibilities...
Nov 8, 2017
Measuring Food, Energy and Water Flows at The Plant
Article by Eva Chancé, French National Institute for Agricultural Research (INRA) (This research was led by Eva in partnership with Plant...
Oct 26, 2017
Summer of the Circular Economy
Post written by Tyler Washington, Plant Chicago 2017 Summer Market Intern Tyler and Market Manager Liz conducting a waste audit after...
Oct 12, 2017
How to Transition Chicago to a Circular Economy
Article by Jaycie Weathers and Dr. Nancy E. Landrum, at Loyola University Chicago, summarizing circular economy research, conducted in...
Aug 23, 2017
Algae Investigations Pt.1 – Carbon Dioxide
INTRODUCTION During the winter/spring of 2017, Plant Chicago Technology Coordinator Eric Weber and Plant Chicago intern Caitlin Hall...
Aug 18, 2017
How Business Incubation Can Facilitate Symbiosis
Research led by Dr. Weslynne Ashton, IIT Stuart School of Business, in partnership with Plant Chicago. — While The Plant is not set up as...
Jul 31, 2017
Material Flow Analysis (Part 2)
Studying urban food systems: results of the material flow study Plant Chicago’s mission is to develop circular economies, but that term...
Apr 18, 2017
Spent Grains in Mushroom Growing
Spent brewer’s grain offers a tantalizing opportunity for developing circular economies. It has all sorts of uses after the brewing...
Jan 24, 2017
Bio-bricks from Spent Grain – Pt. 1
A cornerstone of the circular economy at The Plant is the diversion and use of the spent grain from Whiner Beer Co. brewery. It is the...
Oct 12, 2016
Material Flow Analysis (Part 1)
Studying urban food systems : material flows in the industrial symbiosis systems at “The Plant” This summer, Eva Chancé (France – Food...
Jul 21, 2016