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We're back, with new changes to the podcast.

We talk about upcoming events where you can get involved, Kendra gets hyperbolic about a law that was passed in January, and Tia takes a deep dive into the plastic bag discussion, which finally made its way back to the council. We're back and excited to dig into all things Elgin.

Correction: Kendra meant to say that "15 through the rest" are the addresses on the other side of her building.

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As 2024 turns to 2025 in the next few days, the city of Elgin prepares to change waste haulers, moving on from a 20+ year contract with Waste Management (WM) to a new contract with Lakeshore Recycling Services (LRS).

This is the final episode of The Elgin Watchman's Season Three special series on Waste. We've been calling this series WASTE WARS.

In this episode, Tia and Kendra talk about the tour that LRS generously took them on of the company's MRF (aka Materials Recovery Facility, which is kind of like a recycling facility).

If you are interested in learning more about Elgin's new waste hauling company, you will want to tune into this episode. It is an awesome behind the scenes look at a company who cares about the environment and someone with whom Elgin residents are about to enter into a multi-year relationship.

This is a must listen to episode for anyone who cares about waste and recycling.

To access LRS' Elgin Resident online portal, CLICK HERE.

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout podcast platform.

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The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, December 10th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. The following issues were discussed by commissioners on December 10th and cheerfully shared with you by Erik & Tia after the fact:

• Tia did not attend the ESC meeting, so she hosted this episode
• Not enough commissioners thought attending the December meeting was important, so the meeting lacked a quorum and the "people's business" could not be done. In other words, there was just a lot of talking (which is kinda par for the course with this group)
• The mayor's wife showed up as a concerned citizen to offer comments about the proposed removal of the Kimball Street Dam and weigh-in on the commission's city council recommendation about single use bag fees (or possibly a ban)
• Elgin Parks Superintendent Greg Hulke spoke for a long time about the city's parkway tree planting program
• Commissioners chatted about the city's Climate Action Planning process
• The lack of advanced event planning for the 2025 Elgin Earth Summit was discussed and there may be two volunteers willing to engage on this question sometime after the holidays

In the "deep-dive" segment of this episode, Erik & Tia unpack some of what is happening with the consultant facilitated Climate Action Planning process. They spent some time talking about the assessment phase. Specifically, the consultants are asking the community to engage in a mapping tool exercise.

• Here is a link to an overview of the process: https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/8f125e0f2d3745aaba550fb92e3da76e
• Here is a link to the City of Elgin’s Interactive Climate Action Map where YOU and YOUR NEIGHBORS are encouraged to provide pre-planning feedback: https://elgincap.mysocialpinpoint.com/

For more information on so many sustainability related issues, please visit our website, LIKE our Facebook page, and subscribe to our podcast using one of the many RSS Readers on our Buzzsprout platform. Look for The Elgin Watchman wherever you listen to podcasts.