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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRECYCLING & WASTE COMMITTEE - 10/12/2022 - Village Sustainability ReportRECYCLING COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES Trustee Conference Room 10/ 12/2022 3:30 PM Present: Trustee Pat Feichter, Chairman Trustee Chris Prochno Trustee Jeff Franke Staff: Maggie Jablonski, Deputy Village Manager Paola Garcia, Administrative Intern Chairman Feichter called the meeting to order at 3:30 p.m. Village Sustainability Report M. Jablonski explained that Village staff have made additions to the draft Village Sustainability Report since the spring, when that the Recycling Committee first reviewed the draft. M. Jablonski stated that Village staff is seeking approval for publication of the Village Sustainability Report and when approved, will put together a communications campaign to promote the Village's current sustainability efforts. Committee members asked if the additions to the draft report include recommendations for action. M. Jablonski clarified that the Village Sustainability Report is a summary of current Village activities and programs, and does not include any action items. The consensus of the Committee was to approve publication of the Village Sustainability Report. Village Sustainability Action Plan M. Jablonski explained that Village staff have formed an internal Sustainability Team to explore a variety of potential sustainable actions to develop a draft Sustainability Action Plan for presentation to the Recycling Committee. She stated that the plan is intended to provide a range of options for the Village to expand its sustainability efforts. Some of the ideas are small and easy to implement, and others may not be immediately feasible. M Jablonski stated that she was requesting input from the Committee on three ideas that staff has started researching. . Recycling Cart Tagging Program M. Jablonski explained that a few nearby communities have piloted educational recycling cart tagging programs. She explained that the pilots included staff from the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County and the participating community selecting a small area of the community to inspect recycling carts for compliance and provide direct feedback to residents. Chairman Feichter stated he believes a recycling cart tagging program would be a good method to educate people on the proper way to recycle. The Committee discussed that there may be some resistance to the program because some residents may consider it intrusive or embarrassing. M. Jablonski stated that the Village's previous municipal waste hauler wanted to implement a similar program, which would have included compliance in the form of refusing to empty contaminated recycling carts. She stated that if the Village were to pilot a cart tagging program, it would be implemented from an educational, rather than a compliance perspective. Trustee Prochno asked where the tags would be displayed. M. Jablonski stated that the tags would be attached to recycling carts. Trustee Prochno expressed concern about the visibility of these tags to others and asked if the feedback could be provided somewhere less visible, like in a letter. M. Jablonski stated that if the Committee is open to the idea, staff can review feedback from other communities' pilot programs, and look into options for providing feedback. Committee members stated that residents should be informed of the program before it begins. M. Jablonski stated that there would be clear communication to affected residents explaining the program before it began. The consensus of the Committee was that they would be receptive to considering a recycling cart tagging program as part of the draft action plan. Community Garden M. Jablonski explained that staff is also exploring the concept of a community garden with rentable plots residents can use to grow individual gardens. Many other nearby communities offer this, typically through the park district. She stated that the plots offer an opportunity for gardening to residents without suitable yard space, such as residents in multi -family buildings. M. Jablonski stated that a potential community garden would most likely be in partnership with the Elk Grove Park District. She also explained that the level of involvement from municipal organizations varies, some provide no resources beyond the land while some provide water, mowing, and tilling of the land. Trustee Prochno and Trustee Franke noted that there used to be a community garden in the Village run by the Park District, but did not remember why it shut down. M. Jablonski advised that staff would look into why this garden was discontinued to anticipate the recurrence of any issue or objection from the Park District's previous program. The consensus of the Committee was that they would be receptive to considering a community garden program as part of the draft action plan. Community Solar Chairman Feichter asked for clarification on how community solar programs work. M. Jablonski explained that customers can sign up to receive a certain quantity of electricity every month from a solar panel project in the region that would be specially built based on funding from subscribers lined up. The projects provide subscribers with a discounted rate on electricity, but may have other requirements to consider. She noted that the specific program Village staff looked at was the CS2 program, through the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus, which vets each solar project. M. Jablonski also stated that in order for residents to be able to participate in this program, the Village would have to endorse it and allow usage of the Elk Grove Village logo. M. Jablonski stated that she knew the Village had not previously endorsed an electric provider, and wanted feedback from the Committee. She noted the program would be opt -in only. Chairman Feichter mentioned that he has seen this type of program in other communities. Trustee Franke asked for clarification on how subscription payments are used and how the energy is delivered to subscribers. M. Jablonski explained that the payments are used to pay for the cost of constructing the solar project. M. Jablonski stated that the program would provide the addition of solar energy to the overall ComEd electric grid based on subscriptions, but the solar power would not travel directly to the subscriber. There is no way to distinguish between energy sources once electricity is added to the grid, but the CS2 program is meant to help develop more solar projects. Chairman Feichter expressed concern that residents would most likely be confused about the program. M. Jablonski stated that she agreed this is a concern. Participating communities have shared that about 3% of their residents have subscribed to the program, and it has been well - received by those who participate. The purpose of the program would be to provide residents who cannot personally install solar panels an opportunity to participate in expanding solar energy. M. Jablonski stated that it may also be possible for the Village to try participating in a community solar project for our own energy needs. Trustee Franke expressed that he believed it would be better for the Village to try the program out before trying to share the program with residents. Chairman Feichter stated that he would be interested in meeting with an expert on community solar power projects at a future Committee meeting. The consensus of the Committee was that they would be receptive to the idea of the Village participating in community solar for municipal electric needs as part of the draft action plan. Next Steps M. Jablonski noted that Village staff will need some additional time to prepare a draft Action Plan for review by the Committee. Following Committee review, there would need to be an opportunity for community input before formal approval by the Village Board. M. Jablonski asked if the Committee would have any objection to the Village soliciting sustainability ideas for the public while we are promoting our current sustainability efforts. This would provide an opportunity for staff to research potential ideas before presenting a draft Action Plan to the Committee. The Committee expressed no objections to this plan. M. Jablonski stated that the Village will proceed with publishing the Sustainability Report and will conduct a communications campaign to promote the report and gather public input. The meeting adjourned at 3:59 p.m. C: Mayor and Board of Trustees Village Manager Deputy Village Manager Assistant Village Manager Village Clerk Village Attorney Department Heads