421 N. COUNTY FARM ROAD  
WHEATON, IL 60187  
DU PAGE COUNTY  
Environmental Committee  
Final Summary  
www.dupagecounty.gov  
Tuesday, January 7, 2025  
8:30 AM  
Room 3500A  
1.  
CALL TO ORDER  
8:30 A.M. meeting was called to order by Chair Sheila Rutledge at 8:30 A.M.  
2.  
ROLL CALL  
Other members present: Yeena Yoo, Paula Deacon Garcia  
Cronin Cahill, Evans, Haider, Honig, LaPlante, and Rutledge  
PRESENT  
3.  
4.  
CHAIRWOMAN'S REMARKS - CHAIR RUTLEDGE  
Chair Rutledge welcomes new Vice Chair Saba Haider and Member Andrew Honig.  
PUBLIC COMMENT  
The following individuals made public comment:  
Kay McKeen from SCARCE:  
Kay thanked everyone for their participation in the plastic bread tags collection. She also  
commented on how the food pantry would appreciate reusable bags rather than paper bags. The  
goal is to encourage the use of reusable bags for donations which are collected and donated to  
food pantries, but many people still use paper grocery bags. Grocery bags with handles are  
particularly needed by food pantries, as they are strong and useful for carrying food. The bags  
must be clean, dry, and not ripped to ensure they can be reused effectively. The food pantries  
receiving the bags include: Glen Ellyn Food Pantry, Elmhurst Food Pantry, People’s Resource  
Center (both locations), Bartlett Neighborhood Food Pantries.  
In January, three open houses are planned to showcase various programs and items available for  
borrowing. The Green Your Gig program, which promotes dish reuse, is expanding, with Glen  
Ellyn recently receiving a grant from the DuPage Foundation for residents to buy dishes at the  
library. Additionally, a repair fair on January 25th including Elmhurst and Carol Stream, have  
begun offering sharpening services for tools like shovels and pruning shears.  
Other upcoming events include a sustainable professionals meeting on January 31st, a visit to the  
hazardous waste site in Naperville on February 28th, and the High School Sustainable Design  
Challenge on April 15th. A list of local programs for tree mulching and holiday light recycling is  
also available. There's a lot of things coming up in a lot of different ways to educate people and  
reach people. Interested individuals can attend an open house or schedule a tour at SCARCE to  
learn more.  
5.  
APPROVAL OF MINUTES  
5.A.  
25-0002  
Environmental Committee Minutes - Regular Meeting - Tuesday, November 5, 2024  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
Lynn LaPlante  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.  
PARENT COMMITTEE APPROVAL  
6.A.  
25-0003  
Recommendation of the approval to support local government hosted document  
shredding events providing all DuPage County residents access to document shredding  
services through November 30, 2025, for a total expenditure amount not to exceed  
$8,500.  
ACCEPTED  
Saba Haider  
Lynn LaPlante  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.B.  
25-0004  
Recommendation for the approval of an Agreement between the County of DuPage,  
Illinois, eWorks Electronics Services, Inc. and Reverse Logistics Group Americas, Inc. to  
provide electronics recycling to residents of DuPage County, for the period January 1,  
2025, to December 31, 2025, for an amount not to exceed $6,000, for Environmental.  
Yeena Yoo inquired about how e-Works was chosen for electronics recycling,  
specifically whether the selection process was open for bidding. The answer explains that  
e-Works was selected because they are part of the state's Illinois Manufacturers Recycling  
Association, which is established by state legislation. The county is assigned a recycler  
through this program, and in this case, e-Works was chosen due to their existing  
relationship with RLG, the assigned recycler. Additionally, e-Works is the only company  
that charges residents a fee rather than charging the county.  
ACCEPTED  
RESULT:  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
Lynn LaPlante  
MOVER:  
SECONDER:  
6.C.  
EN-R-0001-25  
Recommendation for the approval of a grant agreement between the County of DuPage  
and Choose DuPage for Choose DuPage to manage Sustainable DuPage, for the period of  
January 14, 2025 to November 30, 2025, for a total amount not to exceed $60,000.  
Greg Bedalov, President/CEO of Choose DuPage commented:  
In 2024, 17 assessments were conducted for businesses in DuPage County, aimed at  
supporting sustainability initiatives. 7 webinars on sustainability practices were hosted,  
attracting 332 businesses, and were held in collaboration with the Environmental  
Department and the University of Illinois. Additionally, 10 case studies were developed  
for businesses, all set to be published this year. A website was created featuring over 70  
resources, including a Green Building Business Assessment Checklist. The website saw  
800 unique visits from businesses with 15,000 impressions.  
A Sustainability Plan workbook and template were also developed for local businesses to  
use. Looking ahead to 2025, the goal is to extend these efforts to municipalities. Plans  
include creating a webinar series in partnership with municipalities, focusing on building  
electrification, renewable energy (in line with new Springfield legislation), water  
conservation, and assisting municipalities in securing grant funding for sustainability  
initiatives.  
Member Cahill asked about light pollution and how does Choose DuPage address this  
issue because Elmhurst doesn't have any initiatives towards light pollution. Joy  
commented that Greg did a webinar with Dark Skies that addresses this issue for  
businesses and we are still looking for an ordinance for that. Cahill clarified that she is  
focused on educating municipalities and asked Choose DuPage to incorporate light  
pollution into the outreach.  
APPROVED AND SENT TO FINANCE  
Cynthia Cronin Cahill  
RESULT:  
MOVER:  
Saba Haider  
SECONDER:  
7.  
OLD BUSINESS  
Member Lucy Evans is advocating for the removal of plastic bottles from vending machines and  
the cafeteria, emphasizing the need to move towards more sustainable options like aluminum  
cans. She stresses that while she doesn't want to fully ban plastic bottles on campus, she believes  
it's time to stop selling them, as alternatives are available.  
Nick Kottmeyer mentions that during a meeting with food services, they explored the option of  
switching to aluminum cans. However, he notes that the final decision will be up to the board, as  
aluminum cans are more expensive than plastic bottles.  
Tim Harbaugh suggests discussing the issue further in March when more information is  
available. He also highlighted the importance of keeping everything under one contract for food  
services.  
8.  
9.  
NEW BUSINESS  
No new business was discussed.  
ADJOURNMENT  
With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:45 A.M.