In the face of Skokie’s average temperature having already risen 1.13 degree F in the past four decades, according to a study, the Skokie Village Board voted unanimously on Monday, Nov. 21 to adopt a sweeping Environmental Sustainability Plan, launch a residential compost program and reduce garbage collection from two days to one day a week.
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The compost program and reduction of garbage pickup to one day a week were passed immediately after the new sustainability plan, which aims to reduce the village’s greenhouse gas emissions by 35% by 2030 and to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Residents applauded all three measures after some debate about whether reducing garbage collection would create trash overflow that might attract rodents.
In praising the Environmental Sustainability Plan, resident Jan Beladi said the board is addressing an issue that is critical to the future of not only Skokie but the planet.
“Climate change is a problem,” Beladi said. “It’s not just going to go away. It is going to lead to more expensive problems if we don’t deal with it now.”
The first eight years of the plan would reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Skokie from 726,000 metric tons, as measured in 2020, to 469,000 in 2030, said Ted Redmond, a co-founder of paleBLUEdot, a consulting firm the village hired to update Skokie’s 2016-21 sustainability plan.
Between 1980 and 2018, the average temperature in the village increased by 1.13 degrees, annual precipitation increased 5.7 percent, and the average annual number of days below freezing decreased by nine, according to the Village of Skokie Climate Vulnerability Assessment, produced by paleBLUEdot in May.
Skokie is currently on track for, by 2100, its average temperature to increase by 9-12 degrees, precipitation to increase by 15%, and the average annual number of days above 95 degrees to rise by 55, the study said.
Before the vote on garbage collection, Trustee Alison Pure Slovin said residents expressed concerns to her about increasing the presence of rats if pickup is reduced to one day a week.
“They could request a second bin, but I’m hearing concerns about large complexes,” she said. “How are we going to mitigate the rat problem?”
To prevent such a problem, Skokie officials said they plan to offer residents extra garbage bins to avoid overflow and reduce the possibility of attracting rats, squirrels and other wildlife.
“Typically, as long as trash is picked up, concern with rodents won’t increase,” said Cameron Hendricks, environmental health supervisor for the village. “The problem is how trash is contained. As long as there are adequate containers and they are able to house refuse, there shouldn’t be any additional problems with rodents.”
Hendricks encouraged residents to get another container rather than let garbage flow over from existing containers.
“If you have overflow, you definitely don’t want to leave it outside a container,” he said. “It will exacerbate problems with rodents or any wildlife, like raccoons and possums.”
The compost bins the village plans to offer are equipped with latches that prevent animals from gaining access, officials said.
Resident Danny Wallenberg, who began composting on his own a few years ago, said the village program will provide an excellent opportunity to educate children about the environment.
“Children are going to make their parents compost,” Wallenberg said. “We take out a big bucket every day to our compost pile. That would go in the garbage if we did not compost.”
Trustee James Johnson urged village officials to begin looking two steps beyond simply approving the sustainability plan. Johnson said Skokie should hire a sustainability coordinator and the village should begin mobilizing its other boards and commissions to support sustainability.
“Should a single staff member be responsible for the program? Or should all staff share in the responsibility?” he said. “That is a false dichotomy,” he said, adding that the best solution is “both.”
“A coordinator would help ensure the plan is fully integrated into every department. If the plan applies to all members of the community, other village boards and commissions need to be involved in implementing it, Johnson said.
“Our board needs to be more intentional about appointing sustainability experts, moving forward, on other boards and commissions,” he said.
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