Find Some Green Solutions at SWANCC.ORG

courtesy of www.clkr.com

I attended an Ecology Club meeting at my daughter's school and was introduced to a website that provides an impressive number of resources for greening our lifestyles.  The website is run by SWANCC, the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County.  SWANCC is a nonprofit government agency charged with solid waste management in Northern Cook County.  The agency strives to reduce the environmental impact of solid waste.  It provides many programs and resource materials to help villages in its jurisdiction meet this goal.  While SWANCC's programs are exclusively for villages in Northern Cook County, many of the resources on the website can be useful for everyone.

There are three resources under the website's "Resources" section that are of particular note.  First, SWANCC has put together an Eco-Cleaning Guide.  The downloadable guide provides environmentally-friendly options for household cleaners (including glass cleaners, shoe cleaners, jewelry cleaners and stain removers), pest management and weed control.  I was pleased to find that most of these solutions can be created using components I already have around my house.  I can't wait to give a few a try!


An Eco-Friendly Marketplace brochure can also be found under the "Resources" section.   This brochure serves as a resource for identifying places where consumers can purchase items that are either made from recycled resources or using sustainable practices.  Additionally, there is a section that highlights sources for fairly traded items. 

Lastly, the Green Pages Directory lists solutions for recycling those waste materials that you do not know quite what to do with.   For example, I have learned that some of the UPS stores will take those pesky packing peanuts.  (I encourage calling your local UPS store before bringing them over.)  Also, Whole Foods Markets will accept used wine corks for recycling through the Cork ReHarvest Program.  I would never have known had I not checked out this website!

There are so much great information on this website that I could go on for awhile!  The SWANCC website is a handy resource for anyone trying find green solutions---both for ones you are looking for and some that you didn't realize that you were looking for!