IWRC Environmental Intern, Kendall Lienemann, continues her quest for a sustainable tomorrow. In part 3 of her The New Fashion Police blog, she set out to ask UNI students about their knowledge of fashion waste. Watch her video as she wanders through campus asking the questions, "Do you know anything about clothing waste?"

This illuminating video provides insights from students into the future of fashion sustainability. Read on to discover the noble journey toward a greener campus community.

For any group of students, there will be challenges and barriers to overcome as they pursue their tomorrow, but they also have the ability to make an impact for a better tomorrow. In my blog, The New Fashion Police: Fashion as Waste, I discussed my interest in starting or hosting a clothing closet or mini thrift store for the campus community to participate in and donate to. My first step was to engage with campus staff and community members to flesh out this idea.

Five students have left their mark at UNI’s Iowa Waste Reduction Center (IWRC)  this summer, working across various internal and community-based projects. Paige German, Kendall Lienmann, Makayla Gasper, Eliana Hornbuckle, and Haley Christoffer may be from different universities, but they now have something in common: they all built a better Iowa through their work for the IWRC.

“Fashion is the armor to survive everyday life." - Bill Cunningham 

IWRC Environmental Intern, Kendall Lienemann's passion for fashion and experience with waste reduction efforts spurred her to explore her role in addressing the fashion waste issue in her college community. Follow her journey. 

https://www.iastate.edu/For over five years, the mission of the Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s (IWRC) Iowa Green Brewery Certification (IGBC) program at the University of Northern Iowa (UNI) has been to assist breweries in, and recognize them for, implementing practices and strategies that minimize their overall environmental impact. As of today, over 30 breweries in Iowa have been awarded a level of certification by the IWRC, but the latest brewery they have worked with isn’t really a brewery at all, it’s Iowa State University (ISU).

Nashville, TN was the place to be on May 7-10, 2023 for the Craft Brewer's Conference & Brew Expo America.

http://www.greeneducationfoundation.org/greenweek.htmlSaturday, April 1, 2023 began the start of Earth month and the Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s (IWRC) calendar filled up quickly. As an organization who is devoted to helping small businesses reduce waste, it is important that we lead by example and do our small part to help the environment.

Energy efficiency is vital to Iowa’s energy management plan and it reduces the amount of energy consumed. For a business, that means a decrease in energy generated environmental impact and a significant reduction in business energy costs. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center’s (IWRC) Iowa Energy Efficiency Program for Rural Small Businesses is designed to assist small businesses seeking to reduce their energy consumption and improve their bottom line. 

Five years ago this November, the idea for the Iowa Green Brewery Project (IGBC) had just begun developing. The Iowa Waste Reduction Center was looking to continue providing free environmental assistance to Iowa businesses, but on a more specific level. The craft beer industry was a natural fit. Resource intensive, rapidly expanding statewide, and industry interest in environmental stewardship, the IGBC started to gain traction.

On September 26, the Iowa Waste Reduction Center  (IWRC) was awarded a $76,300 Solid Waste Management Grant to fund the Community Gardens and Farmers Market Compost and Donation Project.