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Ridgefield-Crystal Lake Presbyterian Church
8505 Church Street (in Ridgefield) Crystal Lake, IL 60012 * 815-459-1132 |
"The earth is the Lord's and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it." Psalm 24: 1
RCLPC is an
Earth Care Congregation
Global Green News
Green Guide Upcoming Activities
Green Living Tips
Green Drinks Networking
Recycling
Earth Care Team Announcements:
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2018-2019 McHenry County Green Guide
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Recycling
Options for Disposing of Latex Paint:
With the weather getting warmer many of you may have some painting projects you've been waiting to tackle. Here are some helpful tips regarding the disposal and recycling opportunities for latex paint. Latex paint is a low toxic, water-based product. Once it is dried solid, simply knock out the solid clump into your regular garbage. The steel or plastic paint container with a small amount of dry residue can be recycled in your curbside collection. You can accelerate the drying process by: a) Adding cat litter or oil absorbent to the paint until it is dried solid; or b) Leaving the paint can out in the sun (lid off) until it is dried solid. Consider donating unused paint to a neighbor, relative, community recycling event, or social service agency that might be able to use it. Be sure to transport paint in sealed, leak-proof containers.
Drinking Fountain/Bottle Filling Station in Fellowship Hall
The drinking fountain/bottle filling station in Fellowship Hall has been getting a lot of use! Since its installation in early February, the Green Ticker counter on the bottle filler informs us that the bottle filler has been used 325 times! If all of these uses were 20oz. water bottles, we potentially eliminated 325 bottles from our landfills. The Earth Care Team is glad that the church is putting it to such good use, not only for church activities but also for helping to reduce plastic water bottle usage. Keep up the good work!
~ Earth Care Team
Battery Recycling Update:
Many of you have taken advantage of our battery recycling buckets. And that is great! We are pleased it is so popular. However, please do not dispose of batteries that are corroded or have exploded. These batteries belong in the regular trash as they can no longer be recycled. Also, the battery buckets are intended for alkaline batteries that fit into the deposit slot on the bucket. Larger batteries, that do not fit into buckets can be taken over to the McHenry Township Road District located at 3703 N. Richmond R, Johnsburg, IL (815) 385-3076 | www.mchenrytownship.com. Please help us out by using the battery buckets as they were intended.
Recycling Drives:
The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County hold several recycling drives throughout the year. Upcoming drives are:
- July 14 - Richmond 5600 Hunter Drive, Richmond
- August 11 - Woodstock 2222 Dean Street, Woodstock
Green Guide Upcoming Activities
July 2018
Monarch Family Fun Fair, Sponsored by MCCD, Friends of Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge, US Fish and Wildlife Service and Crystal Lake Park District, Sunday, July 22, 1-4 p.m., Crystal Lake Main Beach Pavilion, 300 Lake Shore Dr., Crystal Lake
August 2018
MCCD-National Night Out Tuesday, August 7, 5-7:30 p.m., Harrison Benwell Conservation Area, 7055 McCullom Lake Road, Wonder Lake
MCCD Great Outdoor Beer Trail, Saturday, August 18, Noon-4 p.m., Fel-Pro RRR, 1520 Crystal Lake Rd., Cary
Green Living Tips
This tip brought to you by the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County. Find them at www.MCDEF.ORG.
Recycling - Quality not Quantity
Many of us think that the more I put in the recycling bin, the more recycling will happen. That's just not true. What we need now is to go backwards to the days when we separated our waste specifically for recycling. What happens when we overload the recycling bin is that we cut down the chances of stuff making it to a facility that will reuse the resource. Companies that reuse don't want contaminated or dirty product. They want quality. The sorters on the recycling line don't have time to sort out every single unusable item. One partially empty soda bottle or a bottle filled with paper or worse yet, cigarette butts, can spoil the whole load. That makes the chance of recyclable items going to the landfill higher.
Let's make it simple to recycle again. Just think clean and empty when you put something in a recycling bin. (You do not have to scrub cans and bottles, simply wipe or rinse.) No pizza boxes or sticky cups from fancy drinks, so no food residue. Plastic - clean bottles and containers with lids on or off. Paper - boxes, newspapers, magazines, phone books, junk mail and copy paper. Metals - empty food and drink containers, nothing else. Glass - empty bottles that are not broken. Glass is sorted by color. No ceramics, mirrors or household glassware. No tempered glass. And yes to cardboard milk and juice containers. Keep it simple and it's easy.
Global Green News
Window-Like Solar Cells Could Power 40% of U.S. Needs:
Solar energy is now the cheapest form of new energy in dozens of countries, with record-setting solar farms being built worldwide. Researchers have been investigating ways to make transparent solar panels that resemble glass that could be used as window panels at the same time as converting the light that shines on them into electricity. "Highly transparent solar cells represent the wave of the future for new solar applications." explains materials scientist Richard Lunt, Ph.D., from Michigan State University. "We analyzed their potential and show that by harvesting only invisible light, these devices have the potential of generating a similar amount of electricity as rooftop solar while providing additional functionality to enhance the efficiency of buildings, automobiles and electronics." As reported in Nature Energy, his team has developed a transparent, luminescent, solar concentrator that looks like clear glass, covered in small, organic molecules adept at capturing on ultraviolet and near-infrared wavelengths of light. The visible light that enables human vision isn't obstructed, so we can see through the cell. If scaled up to cover the billions of square feet of glass surfaces throughout the U.S., it could potentially supply about 40% of our country's energy needs. Exciting stuff!!
- Article from local free publication Natural Awakenings, April 2018, pg. 20.
McHenry County Green Drinks Networking
Green Wednesdays
In McHenry County, the first Wednesday of each month is Green Wednesday! Time to gather to discuss environmental topics, plus reconnect with eco-friends and make new ones. Join us at Duke's Alehouse & Kitchen, 110 N Main Street in Crystal Lake. The event is upstairs at Duke's from 5-7pm. Head upstairs for info and inspiration, business and pleasure.
Come talk about "greening" the future with others. Additional parking is available at the train station.
Upcoming Green Drinks Topics:
July 4 - CANCELLED
August 1 - Stump the Recycler panel (Environmental Defenders, recycling companies, and McHenry Co. Solid Waste Director)
Future Programs:
Check the weblink at greendrinks.org/ for additional information about upcoming green topics.
The McHenry County Green Drinks is apart of an international network of over 600 Green Drinks groups throughout the world.These events are very simple and unstructured, but many people have found employment, made friends, developed new ideas, and had moments of serendipity.
Prayer for the Earth
As people of faith, we are called into covenant. Your covenant of faithfulness and love extends to the whole creation. We pray for the healing of the earth, that present and future generations may enjoy the fruits of creation, and continue to glorify and praise you. ~ National Council of Churches