Elgin Sustainability Commission May 2024 Meeting: An Eco Casserole of Conversations

The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, May 14th at the Edward Schock Centre of Elgin. (Spoiler alert . . . the meeting was adjourned at 7:28pm and Erik came to this episode in a great mood.)
   
The commission meeting contained lots of discussion on a variety of different topics. There was no action, but lots of talk. So, Tia & Erik used one of their podcast games to summarize all the chatter. The following is a laundry list of topics you will hear discussed in this episode:

• Elgin Earth Summit
• Elgin Climate Resiliency Plan consultant
• New Sustainability Coordinator hire
• Waster Hauler request for proposals
• EV readiness program
• Elgin Farmers Market
• Kimball Street dam removal recommendation
• Promotion of city's tree program
• Sustainability Grant Program -- Shark Tank concept
• Turf Reduction pilot program proposal
• Vine weeds murdering native plants at East Side Neighborhood Garden

As per Tia & Erik's tradition, they did a deep-dive on one of the topics. This month they talked about the organization "Blacks In Green," which was a participant in this year's Elgin Earth Summit. While the discussion revolved around "environmental justice" (EJ) and how many EJ neighborhoods exist in Elgin, the essence of the conversation was focused on the organization's interesting "Sustainable Square Mile" they have created.

Blacks In Green has a great website filled with lots of resources and tools. We echo commission chairperson Tom Armstrong and strongly encourage you to check it out at https://www.blacksingreen.org/resources.
   
A special thank you to the Elgin Sustainability Commission for providing a word casserole for all of our listeners this month. Please tune in next month to see if they can serve some dessert.
 
Since the May 14th commission meeting and the publication of this episode, city of Elgin published the Request for Proposals (RFP) for Waste Recyclable Yard Waste and Organics Collection. There are exhibits associated with this proposal. If you are interested in reading that RFP, you can find it here:  https://elginil.gov/bids.aspx?bidID=1859.
     
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