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Zero Waste Ambassadors host tour for Cit...

On Feb. 24, 2017, Seven Generations Ahead (SGA) coordinated a multi-school tour of the Chicago Public Schools Commercial Composting Program for the City of Chicago’s Chris Wheat, Chief Sustainability Officer, and Chris Sauve, Recycling Program Director. The tour included stops at Sandoval Elementary School and Hernandez Middle School and culminated with a discussion with Solorio […]

SGA helps CPS divert tons of food waste ...

Seven Generation Ahead’s partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS) to implement zero waste programs and teach students to be Zero Waste Ambassadors has entered its third year. Five schools participated in the initial year pilot program, five more came aboard in the second year and this year’s plan is to double the number of schools […]

9th Micro Brew Review sees success—even

For the second year in row, an August downpour hit just as the Annual Oak Park Micro Brew Review was getting started, but the festivalgoers who turned out for the popular craft beer festival didn’t miss a beat. More than 3,500 filled two blocks of downtown Oak Park’s Marion Street for the afternoon-to-evening event, which […]

SGA and other groups explore food waste ...

Fresh Taste Initiative and Seven Generations Ahead convened a half-day meeting at the Greater Chicago Food Depository on May 16 to explore food waste solutions in the Chicago region. Presented under the title, “Exploring Food Waste Solutions in the Chicago Region,” the meeting brought together groups on both sides of the food waste reduction equation-those […]

Solorio’s Zero Waste Program advances ch

The law of conservation of mass states that matter is neither created nor destroyed. This principle applies to all matter, including waste sent to landfills. Though waste cannot be destroyed, Sophomores at Solorio Academy High School in Chicago’s Gage Park neighborhood have taken it upon themselves to find a way to put it to better use. […]

Rush Oak Park Hospital shares food scrap...

Nearly 112 tons of food scraps have been diverted from landfills since Rush Oak Park Hospital (ROPH) began itsfood scrap diversion and composting program three years ago, Cynthia Vasquez, the hospital’s Director of Volunteer services and Chair of the ROPH Green Team, reports. Between 2013 and 2015, the amount nearly doubled, jumping from 24.42 tons to […]

Food scrap composting takes hold in Oak ...

Almost two years since Oak Park took its food scrap composting village wide, 950 households, nine schools, six churches, two Park District facilities, the Oak Park River Forest Food Pantry, Farmers Market and various special events participate in the program. Julie Moller of the River Forest Sustainability Committee In River Forest, where residential curbside composting started […]

4,500 at the Oak Park Micro Brew Bask in...

Ninety-two breweries – mostly from Illinois and the Midwest – provided 4,500 craft beer lovers with samplings of nearly 400 unique beers during the 8th Annual Oak Park Micro Brew Review on Aug. 15 in downtown Oak Park.  The event – produced by Seven Generations Ahead and the Illinois Craft Brewers Guild – included the extremely popular “ReplicAle” feature of the Guild, […]

CPS Zero Waste Ambassadors Make a Big Di...

Seven Generations Ahead and Chicago Public Schools successfully wrapped up a five-school commercial composting pilot program called “CPS Composts: Don’t Throw Me Away!” this spring. McAuliffe Elementary School Sorting Relay Race March 2015 Five schools signed on to implement systems to compost food scraps from kitchens and cafeterias and to recycle in these areas as […]

SGA shares expertise at Indiana conferen...

At the recent Indiana Recycling Coalition (IRC) annual conference in Indianapolis, SGA’s Zero Waste program manager Jen Nelson presented on two panels —public space recycling and school waste reduction and composting in Illinois. Jen talked about SGA’s Zero Waste Event Training and events in which we’ve been directly involved in zero waste planning and implementation. “A big […]