April 2009 Newsletter

Help end our dependence on landfills! The Ecology Action Center is conducting this survey to assess behaviors and attitudes towards recycling in the community. It is brief and should take no more than a few minutes to complete. The information is will be used to evaluate how to improve recycling rates and to decrease the amount of garbage going to landfills. The deadline for completing the survey is April 23, 2009. The Ecology Action Center thanks you for your assistance!

Click on this link to complete the survey:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=SHbV8AHGS2B3u1OT04HhwA_3d_3d

The Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo in the IWU Shirk Center, Friday, April 17, and Saturday, April 18, is getting closer every day. As the event draws nearer, more and more exciting events are being added to expo’s roster.

The day before the expo, Thursday, April 16, a speaker panel will be held titled, “Clean Water, Healthy Food: Your Choice Matters,” in the Illinois Wesleyan University Memorial Center from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. The panel will be run by a group of experts who will discuss various issues related to the relationship between water quality and agriculture in the surrounding area. The panel is being held in conjunction with this year's Expo theme, "Clean Water: The Ripple Effect."

Another exciting event happening Saturday, April 18, at 2:30 p.m. in the Main Floor North Classroom is an exclusive film screening of the award-winning documentary, Flow. Irena Salina investigates the issues facing the dwindling fresh water supply left on the planet and the increasing privatization of these water supplies by major corporations.

For more information on this event, and to view the film’s trailer, click HERE.

There are still many other fun and enlightening events and demonstrations at the expo. There are numerous exhibitors, 11 diverse workshops, a children’s carnival, the Affordable Fashion Show, free massages, local food cooking demonstrations, and more! The event is free and open to the public. Visit www.islwe.org for complete information, or call the Ecology Action Center at (309) 454-3169.

This year, there will be an exciting new addition to the Illinois Sustainable Living and Wellness Expo, Friday, April 17 & Saturday, April 18! In the tradition of EAC’s semi-annual FREE-4-ALL, we will be giving you an opportunity to give away you’re your unwanted stuff and to take what you like -- FOR FREE!

However, to make this event work and worthwhile, we need your donations! Grab items and things around the house you no longer have use for and bring them in to help our Free-4-All! By doing so you are giving these items a second chance to be used, instead of them just ending up in a landfill.

Bring in your gently used toys to give away to others! You may also take what you like, all for free.

Please bring house décor or toys that deserve a second life to the IWU Wellness Office by April 9 th. Please contact us with questions, 309-556-3334 or wellness@iwu.edu.

Earth Day 2009 has been dubbed "The Green Generation." With more and more citizens looking to decrease their carbon footprints and negative effects on the environment, Earth Day 2009 is a more important than it has been for years past.

We want Earth Day 2009 to be a day of civic participation, because things won't be able to change unless we actively do something about it, and the Green Generation has several goals for concerning this new campaign:

These are just some of the ideals that Earth Day stands for. Visit earthday.net/earthday2009 to search for different events, or even find out ways and get tips on starting your own Earth Day Celebration. Earth Day is day when we are all supposed to do something for our planet that has given us so much. Take this opportunity to make a difference for the Earth!

We have just recently been notified by the Illinois EPA that McLean County was not selected as a site for a Household Hazardous Waste Collection event for this spring. The fact that we have been fortunate enough to have a collection event in past years has likely worked against us.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection is a very important and useful resource. However, we want to encourage community members to reduce the amount of hazardous wastes you purchase in the first place. We should not only rely on this collection to rid our houses of unwanted and hazardous chemicals, but instead we should use products that are not as harmful to our environment. The more we reduce our use of these chemicals, the less hazardous waste we will need to carefully and specifically dispose of.

The closest IEPA Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event this spring will be in East Peoria. For more details, see the IEPA website at:

Alternately, there are a few permanent HHW collection sites in Illinois, located in Naperville, Rockford, Chicago, and Gurnee. Contact information for each of these facilities is located on the same IEPA webpage.

Additionally, we have found that some items people are holding onto for a HHW collection might be items that can be recycled locally. For example:

Compact fluorescent light bulbs may be recycled of at the following collection sites:

Household batteries may be disposed of at the following collection sites during regular business hours:

Latex paint can be recycled at Paint Depot at 2407 G.E. Rd., in Bloomington for a nominal fee.

Alternately, latex paint (not oil paints) can safely be disposed of in the garbage if you first allow the paint to dry completely into a dry mass. To aid in absorbing excess latex, add kitty litter or shredded newspaper.

Bloomington and Normal police departments are accepting drop-offs of all medicine, including controlled substances/narcotics (strong painkillers like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and oxycodone) and other perscriptions.

Computers, TVs, copiers, phone systems, all types of radios, VCRs, microwaves, blenders, and other electronics may be recycled at the Normal Public Works Garage Electronics Drop-off at 1301 Warriner (off Adelaide), Monday-Friday from 7am to 2pm.

Other household hazardous waste items not listed above (including oil-based paints, paint thinner, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, drain cleaners, cleaning chemicals, pool chemicals, and mercury containing items such as old thermostats, thermometers, tube fluorescents) all still need to be disposed of at a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event.

We are still going to continue to try and get a collection the next time they schedule one. If you wish to receive an email notification of the next event when it is scheduled, simply send an email toeac-hhw-request@ecologyactioncenter.org with "subscribe" in the subject line. You can also call the Ecology Action Center at (309)454-3169 to be added to the mailing notification list.

Please feel free to contact the Ecology Action Center with any further questions regarding household hazardous waste items.

The Elliott Organization LLC is Proud to announce the 2nd Annual Earth Music Art Festival, being held Saturday, April 18 to Sunday, April19th. This two day event is being held as a fundraiser for The Blank Canvas Project. It is being held 317 S. Central Street in Bloomington, Illinois.

The event offers live music performances throughout weekend, and an eclectic collage of artists’ displays. The event is goes from 10 a.m. to Midnight on Saturday and Sunday. The 2009 Earth Music Art Festival will also feature Live Hot Glass Performances by The MACK GLASS CO.

The Blank Canvas Project is a Destination of Arts and Entertainment built by the community that provides both cultural and economic benefit for The City of Bloomington and the local community.

In conjuction with the Illinois Sustianable Living & Wellness Expo and the Heartland Local Food Network, please join a panel of experts as we explore:

Clean Water, Healthy Food: Your Choices Matter

Thursday, April 16, 7:00 - 9:00 pm

Young Main Lounge, Memorial Center (location of Blue Moon Coffeehouse)

Illinois Wesleyan University

Park FREE at IWU Shirk Center, 302 Emerson, Bloomington,
then follow the signs to Memorial Center

Do you know that 89% of the land in McLean County is used for agriculture?*
Do you know the way we farm affects the purity and healthfulness of your drinking water?
Do you know how YOUR CHOICES can make a DIFFERENCE?

Introduction - Why Do We Need to Talk about Our Water in McLean County?

· Marsha Veninga, Heartland Local Food Network

What Is in Your Water?

· Walt Kelly, Illinois State Water Survey

How Do Farming Practices Affect Your Water?

· Steve Van der Hoven, Associate Professor, Department of Geography-Geology, Illinois State University

· Steve John, Executive Director, Agricultural Watershed Institute

What Can Farmers Do to Improve the Quality of Your Water?

· Kent Bohnhoff, District Conservationist, USDA - Natural Resources Conservation Service

· Dave Bishop, Owner of Prairerth Farm, in Atlanta, IL

Why Do Your Choices Matter?

· Lindsay Record, Executive Director, Illinois Stewardship Alliance

· Laurine Brown, Ph.D., MPH, Visiting Associate Professor of Health and Environmental Studies, Illinois Wesleyan University

Facilitator: Abigail Jahiel, Ph.D., Director of the Environmental Studies Program, Illinois Wesleyan University

For directions and more information about this and other Illinois Sustainable Living & Wellness Expo events, visit the Ecology Action Center website
or contact Ecology Action Center at (309) 454-3169.

* 2007 Census of Agriculture, Statistical Summary for McLean County, Illinois, Produced by University of Illinois Extension - McLean County

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