Send us Fan Mail 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.

Send us Fan Mail 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 Rec...

Send us Fan Mail 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 episodeNot 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 othe...

Send us Fan Mail In our last episode, Tia & Erik covered the November 12th Elgin Sustainability Commission meeting and unpacked the commission's discussion about their Single Use Bag Fee ordinance proposal to the city council (which happened almost two years ago). They also reported on what commissioners were saying, which was they were hearing the city manager's office was warming to the idea of a single use bag ban instead of the commission's recommended bag fee. Tia & Er...

Send us Fan Mail The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, November 12th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. The following issues were discussed by commissioners on November 12th and cheerfully shared with you by Erik & Tia after the fact: Climate Action Planning processCarpentersville Fox River dam removalStatus of t-shirt purchase for commissionersCommission's recommendation to Elgin City Council to remove the Kimball Street damProposed Single Use Bag Fee ordi...

Send us Fan Mail The Elgin Watchman welcomes special guests Brian Pinion, Downtown Neighborhood Association Vice President and Jamie Berry, owner of Vern's Tavern as they explain the complex issue of simply throwing things away in Downtown Elgin. As a business owner, Jamie provides insight into the long-standing issue of trash contracting in a confined space like the downtown area and exposes some of the challenges that come along with how we collectively (or not) manage waste. Brian e...

Send us Fan Mail The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, October 8th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. While Tia was off this month celebrating Indigenous Peoples Day, Erik and his Siamese Cat (aka Luang) summarize this month's commission meeting using a multiple choice question format. The following issues were covered by Erik & Luang: Climate Action Planning processIllinois Green Alliance's website resources on net zero bui...

Send us Fan Mail The Elgin Sustainability Commission met on Tuesday, September 10th at the Edward Schock Centre in downtown Elgin. Tia and Erik unpack the run-of-the-mill agenda items. It did not seem as if there was very many new topics being discussed this month. Until . . . Tia and Erik accidentally stumbled upon the agenda topic of the East Side Neighborhood Garden workday. It was during this discussion, they discovered a potential city hall cover-up. (Or maybe it was j...

Send us Fan Mail Our season three special series on Waste continues with this episode in which Tia, Kendra, and Erik unpack what happened at the August 28, 2024 city council meeting. Every council member weighed in with their opinionsThere was a motion to enter contract negotiations with Lakeshore Recycling (LRS)There was a amendment to that motion to NOT move forward with LRS and instead enter contract negotiations with Waste Management (WM)The mayor tossed in the equivalent of a 3rd grade m...

Send us Fan Mail Our season three special series on Waste continues with this episode in which Tia chats with the Elgin City staff recommended waste hauler in the 2024 RFP, Lakeshore Recycling Services. She is joined on this hot August day by Katie Neary, Manager of Municipal Services and Josh Connell, Co-Founder and Board Director and Vice President of Government Affairs from LRS. The Watchman wanted to hear from the bidding haulers and in this episode, and got a chance to ask a few follow...