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November/December

2009

Green Bulletin
Upcoming Environmental Events

This newsletter was created by SCARCE and
funded by the DuPage County Board

Robert Schillerstrom, Chairman

DuPage County Environmental Committee Members:

Jeff Redick, Chairman -- Linda Kurzawa -- Michael McMahon
Debra Olson -- Rita Gonzalez -- Anthony Michelassi _________________________________________________________________________

COMPOSTING SEMINAR - NOVEMBER 19TH

Food Scrap Composting Seminar

Crowne Plaza
1250 Roosevelt Road,
Glen Ellyn

Registration 8:30 am

Seminar 9:00 am -4:00 pm

Waste Industry, Composting Facilities & Government Agencies are Invited to Attend

water drop

Food Scrap Composting Seminar
Thursday, November 19, 2009

SCARCE, in partnership with the Illinois Recycling Association, is hosting a Food Scrap Composting Seminar. Topics include:

Brief Overview of SB99 Legislation
Permitting Processes
Regulatory Concerns
Chicago Pilot Programs
Details of Proposed Pilot Projects
National Food Scrap Programs
Successful Municipal Compost Programs
Successful business Compost Collection and Use
Science of Composting
Overview of SB 1932 Legislation
Markets for Composted Soil Amendment
Potential Funding Sources

Register at Illinois Recycling Association website, www.illinoisrecycles.org, or click on
the Composting Seminar Registration link.
$45 registration fee (includes coffee and lunch)
Group discounts available

Funding provided by the Illinois Department of
Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO)

ELECTRONICS RECYCLING COLLECTION
PROGRAMS ENDING SOON

Mark Your Calendars!

Electronics Recycling Programs
ending December 31, 2009

November 14

Addison Twnshp, Public Works, 411 W Potter, Wood Dale, 8am-Noon

November 21 & December 19

Downers Grove Twnshp, Public Works Bld, 318 E Quincy, 8am-Noon

December 5

Bloomingdale Twnshp, Annex Bldg, 123 N Rosedale Rd, 8am-Noon
Wheaton, Wheaton Public Works, W Liberty, 9am-Noon

Monday - Friday (call to verify last date for drop-off)

Hanover Park, Public Works Facility, 2121 W. Lake St., 8am-4pm, 630-372-4200
Glendale Heights, Public Works Facility 1635 Glen Ellyn Rd, 9am-3pm, 630-462-7418

1st & 3rd Monday (until 12/21)

Wood Dale, 269 W. Irving Park Rd., Noon-3pm

ACCEPTED ITEMS:
TVs, VCRs, DVD players, cameras, computers/laptops, copiers, cords, discs, electric typewriters, fax/adding machines, hard drives, keyboards, mice, monitors, PDAs, printers, scanners, small kitchen appliances, radios, speakers, stereos, telephones, zip drives.

Click on DPC Electronic Recycling for more details

Do you need information other RECYCLING? Go to:

DuPage County Recycling Guide and Recycling Services.

SCARCE HOLIDAY OPEN HOUSE & GARAGE SALE

November
14
AND
December 1 & 5

799
Roosevelt
Bldg 2, Suite 108
Glen Ellyn Rd

Everyone is invited to SCARCE for our Holiday Open House. Come tour our facility and see the Rescue Programs in operations, while enjoying some light refreshments and holiday cheer. For those wanting to start their holiday shopping early, there will many great inexpensive gifts and stocking stuffers at the Garage Sale. All proceeds from the Garage Sale will support the SCARCE Rescue Programs.

Garage Sale Items Include: water drop

- green gifts
- cookbooks
- CDs
- home decor items
- children's books
- craft supplies
- brand new office organizers
- kitchen gadgets
- candles & candle holders

Dates for Open House & Garage Sale:
Saturday, Nov 14th, 9 am - noon
Tuesday, Dec 1st, 9 am - 7 pm
Saturday, Dec. 5th, 9 am - noon

SCHAUMBURG ENVIRONMENTAL FAIR

November 14

Prairie Ctr for the Arts
201 Schaumburg Ct

9:30 am - 3:30 pm

Enjoy the educational benefits of expert speakers on fascinating eco-subjects such as green building, rising sea levels, green jobs, and how prescription drugs affect the water supply. Visit the unique displays, pick up literature on environmental topics, and chat with representatives from local environmental groups. Go to fair flyer for more information.

IT'S OUR EARTH SUPPORTS SCARCE

Nov 21 &
Dec 12

127 N.
Main St. Wheaton

10 am - 5 pm

630-668-3800

It's Our Earth, Eco-Boutique store in Wheaton, is donating 10% of proceeds from sales to SCARCE Rescue Programs on
Saturday Nov. 21st and Saturday Dec.12th.
Stop by for your holiday shopping and buy the coolest green gifts.

Jewelry made from recycled glass
Organic Cotton T-shirts
Messenger Bags made from burlap Coffee bags
Vintage & Re-purposed clothing
Notebooks with record album covers
Vinyl Record Chip Bowls
So Many Green Gifts!

FREE EPA WEBINAR:
CREATING BETTER ENVIRONMENTS INSIDE & OUT

December 3

2 - 3:00 pm

Indoor airPLUS - Creating Better Environments Inside and Out

In this training session, attendees will learn about EPA's new Indoor
air PLUS program, which helps builders design homes with indoor air
quality in mind. Attendees also will learn the value proposition for
improved indoor air quality in new home construction and view the
various marketing and technical resources available to program partners.

Who should attend? Anyone involved in the construction of new homes or
who has an interest in indoor air quality, including homebuilders, real
estate agents, home energy raters, manufacturers, architects,
consultants, subcontractors, government officials and health-based
organizations.

Register early: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/624265424

HAPPY GREEN HOLIDAYS TO YOU!

Going GREEN for the Holidays -
It's Easier than You Think!

The holidays can be such a crazy time of year with everyone running to and fro trying to find the perfect "everything" for the people they care about. It is the perfect time to remember to care about the environment as well.

Here are some simple tips to give a thoughtful gift and Potted Christmas Tree w LED lites

reduce your impact on the environment - every little bit makes a difference:

If you must have a real tree, make it a live one that can be re-planted when you are finished.
Bring your own reusable bags as you do your shopping - it saves oil.
If you need new Christmas lights, buy LED bulbs - they are safer because they stay cool and use far less energy!
Use Alternative Forms of Wrapping Paper (i.e.: reusable bags, the comics, a pretty scarf, a tea/bath/kitchen towel that can be part of the gift, creative wraps - see right) Regular wrapping paper is NOT recyclable.
Use last year's Christmas cards as Gift Tags
Try to buy gifts with as little packaging as possible - packaging is just wasted natural resources
Avoid using paper/styrofoam plates - reusable dinnerware or bio-degradable/compostable plates (if you have a compost pile) are best

Consider giving a gift that keeps the spirit of the season all year - in someone else's name:

donate to a charity (SCARCE is a good charity!)
adopt an animal at the zoo
plant a tree(s)

Give a gift with an Environmental Purpose that they will really use:

Eco-friendly clothing/accessories made from sustainable or re-purposed materials
funky, cool reusable bags & totes
Reusable, BPA-free water bottles (stainless steel & aluminum are best)
Low flow shower head
CFLs or LED light bulbs
Shower/water filters which remove harmful substances
buy items coming from fair trade sources who offer fair wages to third world countries & include a little tag explaining

For other eco-friendly gift ideas, check out the SCARCE Green Product Guide

RECYCLE # 6 POLYSTYRENE IN NORTH AURORA

Dart Container Corporation

315 Evergreen Drive, North Aurora
(south of I-88 and west of Rt. 31)

24 hour drop off - bins are outside

Hate seeing styrofoam coffee cups going to landfills? What about your foam packaging around the new laptop you just bought? Most residential curbside recycling programs do not allow #6 polystyrene, so now you can recycle foam at Dart Container Corp in North Aurora. This recycling plant now has a new machine that grinds the foam into small pieces and compresses it into a 20 pound block. The recycled plastic foam is used to make sun visors, rulers, egg cartons, lumber and other products.

Be aware of the following guidelines before dropping off # 6 polystyrene:

items must be relatively clean, so wipe clean your foam food packaging
separate packaging foam from food-service foam - there are different bins for each
only drop off food-service or packaging foam - no fire-retardant insulation or roofing materials
no packaging peanuts
to recycle foam, you must drop off to this location in Aurora -- it is not a part of your home/residential curbside services

KUDOS TO BUSINESSES MAKING A DIFFERENCE!

Businesses, Organizations & Communities Around DuPage County Doing Their Part to Be GREEN

The Village of Lombard began a program which reimburses residents up to $80 for privately purchased compost bins to emphasize the fact that food scraps are resources. A similar rain barrel program is also in place and has helped fund 170 rain barrels covering nearly 1% of Lombard households.

A BIG "Thank You" to Elmhurst College for hosting the "Go Green!" panel discussion which examined simple ways to make your life more ecologically friendly.

Thanks to DuPage County for sponsoring Free Electronics Collections, Document Shredding and/or Medication Collection (also sponsored by IEPA) in 2009!

We would like to acknowledge all of the towns who participated in these programs: