EPA’s 5th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo

EPA Green Expo Winners image
photo: EPA

The next generation of eco-design is coming together in Washington DC this weekend for the 5th Annual EPA National Sustainable Design Expo. The expo will draw more than 40 college teams from all over the country to showcase the future of sustainable technology and will feature exhibits like generation of ethanol from coffee production wastewater and entrenching small glass spheres in house paint to deflect heat in the summer.

The EPA is holding its 5th Annual National Sustainable Design Expo on April 18 to 20, 2009. The event serves to display the best in green design technology found on college campuses across the country. Student teams will address sustainability issues including alternative energy technologies, collection, purification, and distribution of water, agricultural practices to reduce pesticide run-off, and new technologies for green buildings. Student teams will compete for an additional $75,000 in funding to move their design forward if chosen.

The event will run Saturday, April 18 from 12:00 pm to 5:00 pm, Sunday, April 19 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Monday, April 20 from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm on the National Mall between Constitution and Independence Avenues.

Last year's winners from Drexel University built a reactor that produces biodiesel more efficiently. Another winning team from Loyola constructed a lab to produce biodiesel from vegetable oil waste from the cafeteria. Other winning ideas included technology to help Bangladesh reduce the amount of arsenic in drinking water and constructing an efficient means of producing plastic from wastewater.

More on the EPA:
EPA Grants Millions for Green Wastewater Projects
EPA Plan For Animal-Friendly Chemical Toxicity Testing - At Taxpayer Expense?
It's On! EPA Objects to Permits For Three More Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining Operations