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Exploring Mycorrhizal Fungi

Aug 8, 2019

Exploring Mycorrhizal Fungi

This summer, two of Plant Chicago’s interns are working on a project that can potentially benefit all farmers and gardeners in Chicago, especially those in areas with an industrial past. The topic of study is a special kind of fungus that lives in our soil, and creates special relationships with the plants growing around it. Keep reading to find out how this works, and what they dig up! Introduction to: (Arbuscular) Mycorrhizal Fungi in South Side soils AK Miller & Tyler Boga

A first look at SCOBY textiles

Mar 9, 2019

A first look at SCOBY textiles

Introducing Plant Chicago’s newest intern, Eva Durance, who is experimenting with SCOBYs as a means of textile production. For this project we’re partnering with fellow The Plant tenant Matt Lancor of Kombuchade, who is graciously lending us equipment, starter cultures, and technical support. I am a student at Columbia College Chicago majoring in Fashion Studies with a concentration in Fashion Merchandising and minoring in Environmental Studies. While searching through possib

Local Circular Economy Principles

Dec 19, 2018

Local Circular Economy Principles

With our focus on local, Plant Chicago thinks about circular economies from a unique angle. In 2017, Plant Chicago hosted a portion of the CE 100 meeting with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in Chicago. We held a working group with CE 100 members and small business owners at The Plant to explore core principles of local circular systems. A mentioned in previous posts, there is no universally established definition of what a circular economy is and most of the conversation is f

What I Learned from Standing Next to a Trash Bin

Jul 5, 2018

What I Learned from Standing Next to a Trash Bin

By Dana Greene, Materials Management Intern As an intern with Plant Chicago, I have been able to work on a variety of unique projects project related to materials management. For some, “materials management” is just a polite way to talk about trash. For others, it’s a way to change the way we think about “trash” not as a waste, but as an opportunity. Project #1: Sorting through some trash This past spring, I was fortunate enough to be able to work alongside Professor Weslynne

Plant Chicago Summer Interns

Jul 3, 2018

Plant Chicago Summer Interns

Help us welcome our new Plant Chicago summer interns! We are excited to have such a diverse group of college and high school students conducting circular economy research projects and working with businesses inside The Plant. Alina is a native Chicagoan from the southwest side. She is a rising third year at the University of Chicago where she plans to double major in public policy and comparative race and ethnic studies. Her interests lie in bringing education and the necessa

Decision making for the Circular Economy: Life Cycle Assessment

Feb 12, 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 Chicago) and Weslynne Ashton (Associate Professor, Illinois Institute of Technology Stuart School of Business). Here, Shauhrat and Weslynne present a Life-Cycle Assessments of bread baking, considering wood versus Plant Chicago biobricks as fuel. In a facility-scale industrial symbiosis system like The Plant, the ideal is for one business t

What Does it Mean to “Scale” Reuse?

Jan 6, 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 reuse experts as part of the Wa$ted Market Convenings, organized by non-profit Archeworks and circular economy organizer Nicolette Stosur-Bassett. The seminar on Scale was held at Great Lakes Yard (pictured above!). I sat on the panel, not as a reuse expert but as an academic thinking about how the reuse, recycling and circular economy efforts c

Measuring Food, Energy and Water Flows at The Plant

Oct 26, 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 Chicago and Research Steering Committee members from Illinois Institute of Technology and University of Illinois Chicago) In this paper entitled “The Plant – an experiment in urban food sustainability” and published recently in the journal Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, we present the concept of urban food production and oppor

How to Transition Chicago to a Circular Economy

Aug 24, 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 partnership with Plant Chicago. — This research project reviewed the current state of nations, states, municipalities, and organizations in their transition toward a circular economy. Through this review, we identified the top four approaches used around the world to transition toward a circular economy model: (1) stricter regulations on was