Submitted by The Rebuilding Exchange
The Rebuilding Exchange is hosting the first of several planned community events this Sunday to explore the drivers and barriers surrounding recycling, composting, reuse and other practices that can reduce the amount of waste we as a community are sending to landfills.
Waste Less Workshop
March 19 from 1 – 3 p.m.
Rebuilding Exchange, 1245 Hartrey Avenue
The format will be a café-style event with conversations among neighbors. While background information will be provided, the primary goal of these events is to LEARN about how our community manages and thinks about waste. The aim is to generate ideas and momentum to make Evanston more “circular” with less waste going to landfill and more repairing, sharing, reselling, and donating — not to mention less buying in the first place.
“Zero Waste” is a core part of the Climate Action and Resilience Plan (CARP) adopted by the City of Evanston in 2018. Waste sent to landfills at every step of the value chain is responsible for a significant amount of the greenhouse gas emissions that drive warming. Along with reducing non-renewable energy use, reducing waste is a critical strategy in fighting climate change.
“Beyond Waste” is a core program of Climate Action Evanston (CAE) dedicated to advancing this dimension of the CARP. The Circular Evanston Working Group is a broader based ad hoc team with participation from Climate Action Evanston, the City, the Rebuilding Exchange, Collective Resource Compost, the West End Tool Library and other non-profit, business and citizen volunteers.
According to the latest measurements, Evanston’s households currently recycle and compost at a rate of around 20%, sending 80% of our waste to landfill. The US average is just over 30%, while in Australia it’s 44% and in Germany it’s 67%. This is a reflection not of “bad behavior” but of a culture that makes it easier to waste than to regenerate and recirculate.