Will Illinoisans Take Their Chance to Make Zero Waste a Reality?

Thanks to Vital Information for directing me to former lawyer Melissa Graham‘s blog, Having Company.

I was especially taken with Graham’s latest, information-packed post on zero-waste practices and why Illinois is so far behind the curve when it comes to composting.

She explains how dated concepts and bureaucratic red tape make getting composting permits next to impossible to get and certainly not worthwhile for a small organization.

Graham also introduced me to state Sen. Heather Steans, who is pushing legislation (SB99) that would allow food waste to be commercially composted by amending the Illinois Environmental Protection Act to reclassify food scraps as compostable material instead of garbage.

The legislation is slated to come before the Senate Environment Committee tomorrow, Feb. 26, so Graham wanted to be sure that readers call or email their senators to support the effort.

And helpfully, she includes a script for both phone and email and the link here to find your local senator.

Love this photo from KateMcP’s Flickr photostream of a Mount Rushmore-like sculpture made from a compost heap. Brilliant.