In a 2017 study over 30% of the contents of an Evanston trash cart were found to be organic materials that could have been composted. In the past few years, we've gotten better, by reducing our food waste and by composting in our own backyards and via the City and Collective Resource.
This is a great interview regarding the connection between increased "circularity" and reducing greenhouse gases.
Collective Resource Compost is Evanston's partner in composting. CR operates drop-off sites, and offers home pickup as a subscription service. They can compost more than you might imagine.
The City of Evanston offers single-family residences composting two ways. A year-round commercial subscription with Collective Resource or a seasonal (April-October) program integrated with City yard waste carts. We have prepared a comparison.
Interested in composting your food scraps at home, but don’t know where to start?Use this tool to help you decide!
Useful tips on how to reduce the amount of food you waste, prepared by Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability.
A helpful guide to Indoor Composting produced by Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability. With diagrams and photos to show you how to do it.
A helpful guide to outdoor composting put together by the Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability. Lots of good information!
Updated May 2024, this is a material-by-material guide for how & where to handle waste — from everyday plastics and metals to unusual and hard to recycle items. Please submit corrections or additions to our Beyond Waste team.
The Department of Public Works hosts up to date info on waste pickup, composting, and recycling online. If you want an overview of city-provided and partner services, this is the most up to date and accurate information available.
The Compost Manufacturing Alliance sets standards for what can be composted in various facilities. Evanston's Collective Resource Composting now accepts only products that are certified for Windrow Composting (known as CMA-W).
Notes from our first community workshop on March 19, 2023 at Rebuilding Exchange.
This is the presentation given at the outset of the Waste Less Workshop. It contains some background as well as the questions we used to structure our conversations in the workshop. Put in full screen mode if you want to see the animations correctly.
Una guía útil sobre cómo reducir la cantidad de comida que desperdicias. Preparado por el Departamento de Medio Ambiente y Sostenibilidad del Condado de Cook.
22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year, and just over half of that ends up in Lake Michigan. Help end that by supporting a bill in the Illinois Legislature to ban styrofoam foodware.
Many local organizations and programs that reduce waste welcome volunteers, including Evanston Repair Café, The Rebuilding Exchange, Evanston School Children's Clothing Association, The WasteShed, and The Recyclery.
Although Climate Action Evanston is a volunteer organization, we have expenses. Increasing our revenues allows us to budget to do more. If you wish you can target donations to a specific program or programs.
We are looking for people to lead an initiative to bring (and return) reusable bags at Farmer's Markets in Evanston this season. Volunteer to staff a table and drum up support, so we can reduce plastic waste and encourage.
