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Environmental Sustainability Committee reports curbside composting, textile recycling and Arbor Day seedlings
Summary
The Lake Forest Environmental Sustainability Committee updated council on curbside compost participation, a new orange-bag recycling program for hard-to-recycle plastics, SWALCO partnership and Arbor Day seedling distribution.
The City of Lake Forest's Environmental Sustainability Committee delivered a routine progress report on April 21 outlining recent and planned city sustainability efforts, including curbside composting, a new program for hard-to-recycle plastics and Arbor Day seedling distribution.
Alderman T. Novak, speaking for the committee, said the city has partnered with Waste Not for curbside compost collection; as of January Waste Not reported 228 residential participants and six commercial customers, and the program has diverted about 59,174 pounds of compostable material. Novak said the quantity diverted was "the equivalent of offsetting 157,785 miles of driving or 7,088 gallons of gas." He also said the Lake Forest Public Library will highlight home composting during International Compost Week, May 4'10.
Novak described a newly added "hefty orange bag" recycling program available at Sunset Foods and Jewel for non-recyclable plastics; filled bags can be deposited at the city Compost Center for processing into construction materials. The city is also working with SWALCO and has added waste-collection schedules and recycling education to the Recycle Coach app. Novak said staff are pursuing a 24/7 textile recycling bin in town and that Lake Forest ranked seventh in Lake County in 2023 for textile collections with more than 20,000 pounds diverted.
"We're also prioritizing our partnership with SWALCO, the solid waste agency of Lake County and emphasizing the accessibility of programs available to our residents," Novak said.
Novak reminded residents that Arbor Day seedlings (hackberry, red maple and Norway spruce) will be available at City Hall, West Park, South Park, Northcroft Park and Everett School parking lot while supplies last; he encouraged residents to take seedlings to support Lake Forest's Tree City USA designation.
The committee said it is evaluating additional measures such as bottle-filling stations at parks and reviewing landscaping policies for noise and emissions. No council action was required on the report.
Less critical details: staff said a household chemical waste collection event is planned with SWALCO in September, and the city added curbside-collection information to the Recycle Coach app.
