Watch Greener Grove’s Home Composting Video Series!

New to composting or in need of a refresher on how to start and maintain a healthy compost pile? Greener Grove founding member Carol Richart recorded these three easy-to-follow videos, including one on indoor composting. 

How to Start Composting

Compost Tea and Faster Decomposition

Vermicomposting with Carol

Curious about how to start a compost at your school or workplace? Greener Grove member and fourth grade teacher Sarah Karrow shares about her school’s composting program.

Composting at School with Sarah

Pro Tip: Build your compost bin/pile in the spring, summer or fall when ground temperatures stay consistently above freezing. Use winter to plan the type of outdoor compost setup you want to create and where to site. Check out this blog post recapping our July 2024 meeting where we go into detail about composting processes and provide tips for creating healthy compost.

Stay tuned for our upcoming compost-mentoring program if you'd like one-on-one help getting started.

Recap: 2024 End of Year Celebration

Coming together with likeminded people in a beautiful space, we celebrated our progress and accomplishments towards sustainability in 2024.

In 2024, Greener Grove was able to: 

• Become an official 501c3;

• Work directly with the Village Council on crafting sustainability goals for the Village’s long range plan; 

• Set up a Sustainability Task Force between the Village Council, Park District, and Greener Grove; 

• Offer 10 monthly educational programs to the community; 

• Partner with Cellar Door, DGN, Downers Grove Organic Gardeners, After Hours Film Society and the Tivoli, Pierce Downer Heritage Alliance, and the DG Park District to host Downers Grove’s first Earth Week celebrations; 

• Send over 20 email/blog posts containing action items and education to our 380 subscribers.

This is a lot to accomplish in one year, and we appreciate everyone's time and dedication!

Opportunity: 2025 Goals

We also shared our goals for 2025, selected by the board based on the Greener Grove Interest Survey responses.

In 2025, we will be focusing on:

• Youth Outreach & Engagement

  • Change takes generations. How can we involve the youth in our community to make sustainable choices second nature?

• Sustainability Mentorship & Coaching Program

  • Getting started with sustainability can be daunting. How can we offer coaching or mentors to help people start their compost bin or electrify their home?

• Strengthening Partnerships with Local Organizations

  • There’s strength in numbers. How can we rally the wonderful and active organizations in DG together to support sustainability in more ways?

• Hosting a Recycling Extravaganza

  • Downers Grove used to host a recycling extravaganza many years ago, and we’re on a mission to bring it back in 2025!

This is a great time to get involved! 

We are looking for people who are interested in leading or participating in projects that further the goals outlined above. If you want to get involved, email us at info@greenergrove.org.

Have a Waste-less Holiday

How wasteful are the holidays?

During the holidays, the amount of trash the average American produces rises from 5 pounds to 6.25 pounds per person per day. 

With a population of 330 million people, that means 2,887,500,000 more pounds of garbage are generated per week during the holidays relative to the rest of the year.

What are the biggest contributors to the uptick in holiday waste? 

Let’s take a look. Don’t worry, there are solutions.

Food Waste

70 billion pounds of food waste are sent to the landfill every year, with the heaviest losses during the holidays. This is largely due to over-preparation of food for gatherings, and throwing out leftovers after the meal. 

Food Prep Realistically: Be sure to have an accurate guest count and try to prepare realistic portions instead of an over-abundance of food. If there are still leftovers, have containers on hand for guests to stock up on their favorite dishes before leaving. Also, grab a few ingredients post-holiday to reinvent any leftovers you need to use up. Compost or freeze whatever you can’t use up in time.

Wrapping Paper

Most wrapping paper is not recyclable. In fact, 2.3 million pounds of it ends up in landfills each year in the US alone.

Rethink Your Giftwrap! 

Package items in reusable gift bags, re-use paper grocery bags as wrapping paper, wrap gifts in cloth using the Furoshiki method, buy compostable gift wrap and biodegradable washi tape (Scotch tape is plastic, NOT biodegradable)!

Ribbon & Bows

If every household reused 2 feet of ribbon, it would save enough to tie a bow around the planet.

Reuse & Upcycle! Replace plastic bows and curling ribbons with cotton twine or upcycled bows made out of catalog pages. Also, get creative with your toppers - tying sticks of cinnamon, dried oranges, rosemary or evergreen sprigs, pine cones, etc. looks beautiful and can just go back outside when you’re done.

Gift Returns

Returns are responsible for 5 billion pounds of landfill waste and 15 million tons of carbon emissions per year. It was estimated that 8.75 million packages get returned within the span of a few days after the holidays. Many don’t make it back to the market - they’re sent to landfills.

Consider Before Purchasing! The statistics above show the importance of well-thought out and researched gifts both during and outside of the holidays. Be sure the recipient will actually want the gift. If you’re not sure, a gift card is a better route. Or, give an experience! Also, if you receive things you don’t want, consider re-gifting or hosting a gift swap.

Greeting Cards

The US mails 1.3 billion holiday cards per year - the same amount of CO2 emissions as charging 22 billion smartphones or 22,000 homes’ energy use for one year.

Send a Virtual Greeting! Sending an e-card is a great way to minimizes the physical waste generated by mailing cards. Personal note - my favorite tradition in lieu of sending cards is virtual caroling. I record me and my kids singing a song and text it to friends and family.

If you do choose to send physical greeting cards, look for options that have the environment in mind. Certifications like the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) or product specifications that include statements about compostability or seed paper are better options.

This blogpost was adapted from Michelle Weed's presentation, "Have a Waste-Less Holiday," shared at Greener Grove meeting in December, 2023.