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Go Green Greater La Grange Monthly Update:
July 2025
"Recycle the present, save the future." ~Anonymous
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Tip of the Month:
Bringing your own reusable container to a restaurant for leftovers is a good way to reduce waste, and many restaurants are accommodating to the practice.
Learn how here!
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President's Note:
I hope you all have been having an enjoyable kick off to your summer and finding safe and conscientious ways to beat this heat. According to the University of Utah,
"if everyone in the U.S. [adjusted] their thermostat by 1°F, it could save 7.2 teragrams of carbon emissions, which is comparable to the amount of carbon released by 1.4 million people in a year!"
We are getting excited for our Second Annual Sustainable Summer Expo. We will be welcoming back many familiar faces along with some new participants. Thank you to Plymouth Place Senior Living for sharing their space for this event. Keep an eye out for our special edition newsletter highlighting the participating organizations and the invaluable work they do right here in our community.
Again, a big thank you to Patrick Paige, Lyons Township High School's Pollinator Club representative. He shared his in depth knowledge on many of the plants available to protect our pollinator's vital ecosystem. We truly appreciate his time and insight. We would also like to thank the Thomas Ford Memorial Library for hosting this event and the Village of Western Springs for sharing more information about their village's plan to make gardening for our pollinators more accessible to its residents.
Happy summer everyone, stay cool!
Alexandria Zuck
Board President
Go Green Greater LaGrange
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The Environmental Impact of Food Packaging
From plastics in our waterways to the toxic byproducts of manufacturing, the environmental impact of food packaging is enormous.
Modern food packaging provides a way to make food safe, reliable, shelf-stable and clean. Unfortunately, most food packaging is designed to be single use and is not recycled. 1 Instead, packaging is thrown away and often litters our waterways. Because so much food packaging (especially plastic) has ended up in waterways, the United Nations has declared the plastic pollution of oceans “a planetary crisis.” This is a problem not only for humanity, but for all aquatic life. There are other environmental impacts from food packaging as well, including to our air and soil.
While it may be hard to find unpackaged food, opportunities to choose packaging that is less harmful to animals, people and the environment do exist.
Click here to learn more!
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Community Spotlight Series: | |
Saving Earth’s Resources One Event at a Time
SCARCE is an environmental education nonprofit celebrating 35 years this August. How will they celebrate? With a zero-waste soiree of course! SCARCE founder Kay McKeen champions conservation and is always looking for ways to educate others through new programs and initiatives.
SCARCE’s Green Your Gig initiative promotes reuse by offering party and event supplies for a flat fee in an effort to reduce the reliance on disposable place settings. Not only is it economically beneficial, it is a healthier solution for people and the planet. Conserving our natural resources is a top priority at SCARCE. It is their mission to make it easy for others to do their part.
| | For events from large to small, SCARCE has a wide assortment of dishes, flatware, napkins, and serving platters to suit a variety of occasions. Multiple cornhole games are available to entertain guests as well. SCARCE receives donations from individuals, companies, and schools. As a result, they get some really interesting stuff like oversized ribbon-cutting scissors and a sleigh for your holiday-themed event. Looking for a particular item? Just ask! They may just have it. Visit https://www.scarce.org/green-your-gig/ for more information. | | | | |
Please feel free to email directly at gogreenlagrange1@gmail.com if you have any additional questions.
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2025 Upcoming Meeting Dates:
-Board Meeting: Thursday July 17th, 2025 7:00PM (La Grange Public Library)
-Board Meeting: Thursday October 16th, 2025 7:00PM (La Grange Park Public Library)
2025 Collection and Program Dates:
-2nd Annual Sustainable Summer Expo: August 2nd, 2025 (Plymouth Place Senior Living)
-Fall Native Plant Sale: September 20, 2025 (Memorial Park Pavilion)
-Community Jigsaw Puzzle Share: September (La Grange Public Library)
-Fall Clothing and Textile Take-Back: October 19th, 2025 (St. Michael's Lutheran)
-Fall Electronics Recycling: (TBD)
-Boot and Shoe Share: November 22, 2025 (La Grange Public Library)
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Crafters for Climate:
Let's "make-it" happen!
Makers, we are looking for ideas about what our next workshop should be.
If you are a maker and would like to share your craft please reach out to us directly at GoGreenLaGrange1@gmail.com.
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Know your impact:
Use this interactive calculator to
learn your carbon footprint and actions you can take to reduce it.
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Thanks to the Inflation Reduction Act Democrats in Congress passed last year, there are new energy cost-saving benefits available right now, including:
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30% back for the cost of many clean energy upgrades to your home, including solar panels, water heaters, and battery storage, no matter the price.
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Up to $1,200 to add insulation, install new exterior windows and doors, or other improvements that increase the energy efficiency of your home.
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Up to $2,000 for a new heat pump (which can provide efficient air conditioning and heating) as well as a heat-pump water heater.
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30% off the cost of installing a new electric vehicle charger if you live in a rural or underserved community.
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Go Green LaGrange had the pleasure of listening to this Webinar hosted by the Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability on Recycling guidelines in Cook County. We hope to share it with any interested participants. Click here if you are interested in hearing more!
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Looking to continue cleaning out your home or business in an environmentally conscious manner? Consider this:
Center for Hard to Recycle Materials
Cook County has partnered with South Suburban College to create the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials (CHaRM Center). This is a permanent recycling drop-off facility available to Cook County residents that helps divert millions of pounds of waste and other hard-to-recycle items from regional landfills and water systems. More information about materials accepted at the CHaRM Center can be found below.
This project is being supported, in whole or in part, by federal award number ALN 21.027 awarded to Cook County by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
Location
15800 State St., South Holland, IL 60473. The drop-off site is located on north side of campus in the overflow parking lot. Enter at traffic signal on State Street.
Hours
- Every Tuesday: 7 a.m. - noon
- Every Thursday: 2 p.m. – 7 p.m.
- 2nd Saturday every month: 9 a.m. – 3 p.m. (TVs accepted during Saturday hours only)
Click here for a more comprehensive list of accepted materials!
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Interested in how to turn your parkway into a gardening opportunity!
Two experienced native plant gardeners will give you a virtual guided tour of their stunning parkway gardens and share tips, challenges and successes in turning this challenging area into habitat.Go Green LaGrange had the pleasure of listening to this Webinar hosted by the West Cook Wild Ones. We hope to share it with any interested participants. Click here if you are interested in hearing more!
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Green Infrastructure and Flood Mitigation
“We will have a bigger impact if we think systemically,” Frisbie explains in her one-on-one interview with WBEZ’s Sasha-Ann Simons this week. Spearheading the Greater Chicago Watershed Alliance, Friends and Watershed Alliance members, are pushing for substantial shifts in watershed governance and infrastructural development and maintenance.
The use of nature-based green infrastructure leverages the inherent intelligence and resiliency of nature to develop future-focused strategies for just and sustainable living. Developing tactics for educating local leaders, planning and policy experts, and the public, the Watershed Alliance urges that we think with nature, rather than against it.
Click here to learn more!
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Interested in learning more about Composting?
Don't worry if you missed it you can still click here to learn more!
Join Mark Teegen, owner of IFSCC member organization Teegen Compost, and learn about his community garden and backyard compost services. Mark takes trimmings from gardens and shreds them to return the material to an available bin onsite which completes the composting process locally. Mark will highlight the benefits and circularity of a typical compost season for residents and community gardeners, Teegen Compost Style!
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Save the Monarchs, Heres How:
The International Union for Conservation of Nature has added migratory monarch butterflies to their list of Threatened Species. This means Monarch butterflies are now in danger of extinction. In fact, 99.9% of the Western monarch butterfly population has disappeared since 1980.
We all can help by planting milkweed which is the monarch caterpillar's only source of food. And since Fall is the best time to plant milkweed, hurry and visit mwrd.org/save-monarchs to take the pledge to receive free milkweed seeds to help save monarchs.
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How to Donate
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Donate cash or checks at our in-person events.
- Mail checks to:
Go Green LaGrange,
PO Box 11
La Grange, IL 60525
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If you are interested in volunteering with us please check out our sign-up genius here or on our webpage at GoGreenLaGrange.org or email us directly at gogreenlagrange1@gmail.com
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