In this newsletter
  • Soil, Food Water, and Composting Summit - highlights and next steps
  • How to join the largest coalition of Food Scrap composters in the state
  • New We Compost restaurant map; where to dine in 2018
  • EPA Environmental Education (EE) Grants
  • Upcoming Events
  • National Spotlight

Soil, Food, Water, and Composting Summit
What you may have missed, what we learned, and next steps!
State Representative Carol Sente welcomed over 175 attendees to the Illinois Soil, Food, Water and Composting Summit on November 3, 2017. Attendees were invited to broaden their perspectives and look for opportunities to collaborate across fields of work. Representative Sente encouraged attendees to “Let go of your assumptions about who should be in the conversation...We cannot afford not working together any longer.”

Thirty-four experts shared their knowledge and worked with attendees to identify opportunities to collaborate across areas of focus. While the link between composting and soil may be well known, attendees learned about the role composting plays in protecting water quality and mitigating flooding. People working on food recovery to feed others learned about opportunities to collaborate with those working on food scrap composting. And opportunities for continued collaboration after the Summit were identified, like the Chicago Area Wasted Food Solutions Group.
IDEA CHALLENGE : Congratulations to the winner of the Summit Idea Challenge. Nine projects were presented that proposed collaboration across two or more of the Summit topic areas. Attendees voted and the winner was Carol Hays’ idea to Engage Students in a Process to Increase Local Foods Sourcing, Waste Reduction, and Composting by Illinois Schools.
ATTENDEE RESPONSE : 100% of those surveyed said they learned something at the Summit. Quotes from Summit attendees included:

“I think the most valuable aspects [of the Summit] were the breakout sessions. Each topic had experts in the field, which was helpful to understanding the topic as a whole.”

“The summit left me really inspired and I'm excited to know that there are so many people in the Chicagoland area who are passionate about this issue and are working to make a real, lasting change.”
NEXT STEPS : We invite you to continue the conversations and collaboration that were part of the Summit and to recognize the benefits of working together to impact Illinois soil, food, water and compost. We will continue to work to engage attendees in projects that include these collaborations.

Check out the presentations from the Summit here
Become a 2018 member of the IFSC!
Join or renew today to get the most our of your membership!

Join fellow industry stakeholders and have fun while advancing composting for your organization, agency, business, local municipality, or wherever you send and get your compost from! Help us make Illinois a leader in the composting revolution that is crossing the nation!

Benefits include:
  • Monthly IFSC meetings, and subcommittee participation
  • Access to a network of experts and key stakeholders in the waste, recycling and composting industries, advocates, and leaders from municipalities, governmental agencies, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations
  • Updates on the latest in compost legislation
  • Listing on our website member page
  • Promotional support of member events and initiatives
  • Complimentary BioCycle subscription
  • Access to a digital library of resources, toolkits, white papers 

Visit our Membership page to JOIN!
What else do members get from their IFSC involvement?

"I have made very important (and very nice) contacts since joining the organization. I have been able to climb a learning curve more quickly with benefit of the relationships, the experience of the people I have met and now collaborate with, and have been able to better and more immediately immerse myself in an area which was new to me not that long before joining the IFSC. I hope and believe that by working as part of this team I am going to help my business succeed earlier and better than if I were trying to make an impact upon the general sector/agenda in our region alone." 

Benjamin Krumstok, Founder
Composting Partners

Visit our Membership page to JOIN!
Step inside and visit a We Compost Restaurant!
Did you know, January and February are the slowest months for most restaurants? Show you care about businesses that compost by dining at our We Compost Partner Restaurants! Click on the map to find a restaurant near you! Share a photo of yourself dining to Illinoiscomposts@gmail.com and we will post your photo on social media!

To learn more about the free We Compost recognition program, visit our page here or email us at Illinoiscomposts@gmail.com to suggest a restaurant, business, organization, or institution that composts!
Environmental Education (EE) Grants
EPA is pleased to announce that up to $3 million in funding for locally-focused environmental education grants is available under the 2018 EE Local Grant Program . EPA will award three to four grants in each of EPA’s ten Regions, for no less than $50,000 and no more than $100,000 each, for a total of 30-35 grants nationwide. Proposals are due March 15, 2018. The Requests for Proposals are posted on  www.grants.gov.
 
In addition to other environmental topics, the 2018 EE Local Grant Program includes support for projects that reflect the intersection of environmental issues and agricultural best-practices, conservation of natural resources,  food waste management , and natural disaster preparedness.
 
Funded projects will increase public awareness of those topics and help participants to develop the skills needed to make informed decisions. A Request for Proposals (also called a Solicitation Notice) containing details has been issued by each of the ten EPA Regions. The deadline for submission is March 15 th , 2018.
Upcoming Events
  • February 13th: IFSC Communications and Outreach Committee Meeting 9am conference call. Contact Stephanie Katsarsos, steph@brightbeat.com, to join the committee or for information on attending a meeting.
  • February 14: Getting to the Heart of Better Soil Through Composting 8:30-11:30am at Cantigny Park - This free composting forum will teach the how and why of compost use from soil quality for turf and landscape management. Register here. View the agenda here.
  • February 16th: IFSC We Compost Committee Meeting 12pm conference call. Contact Mary Beth Schaye for call-in information: mbschaye@collectiveresource.us
  • February 20th: IFSC Market Development Committee Meeting 9am conference call. All are welcome to join! Email Benjamin Krumstok for call-in info: benjamin@compostingpartners.com  
  • February 20th: IFSC Membership Committee Meeting 1pm conference call. Call in: 630-762-2351, no passcode needed.
  • February 27th: IFSC Social Media and Website Committee Meeting 10am conference call. Contact Joy Scrogum, jscrogum@illinois.edu, to join this committee or for information on participating in a meeting
  • March 2nd -22nd: One Earth Film Festival various times in several locations throughout the Chicagoland area, including collar counties. Visit their website for more information: oneearthfilmfest.org
National Spotlight
Residential Food Waste Collection Access In The U.S. -...

Survey of residential food waste collection programs across the country from June to November 2017 identified 148 curbside collection programs. Illinois ties 4th nationally for the highest number of communities with access to curbside composting!

Read more
www.biocycle.net
Thank You Sustaining Partners!
Platinum Sustaining Partner
Gold Sustaining Partners
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Illinois Food Scrap Coalition