Our next regular monthly meeting will be Monday, September 14, at 7 p.m. at Batavia Public Library.  As always, members and non-members are invited.
Directions to the Batavia Library ...

Cruise the Fox on a paddlewheel steamer!

The Illinois Chapter of the Sierra Club and Valley of the Fox Group invite you to enjoy our region's natural beauty and support the club's environmental issues at their annual Fox River Cruise on Saturday, September 12.

By attending this event, you will help ensure that jewels like the Fox River will be enjoyed for years to come. In addition, you will:

• Relax during a lovely two-hour paddlewheel riverboat cruise on the beautiful Fox River, while traveling through the forests of the Fox Valley.
• Meet others concerned about the environment over provided food and drink.
• Experience the music of Jazz Vertigo.

The cruise departs promptly at 6 p.m. Parking is adjacent to the dock in Pottawatomie Park, 2 North Ave, St. Charles. Click here for a map to Pottawatomie Park.

Tickets are $75 per person or two for $125. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact Jen Hensley at 312.251.1680 x3 or jennifer.hensley@sierraclub.org.

Pedal the Fox!

Join us for a VOF cycling outing up and down the beautiful Fox River Trail on Sunday, June 28. We'll go from Aurora up the west bank to St. Charles, have a short break, then travel back on the east side. Along the way back down we'll make a stop at the Red Oak Nature Center, a 40-acre woodland. The trip is approximately 24 miles. We'll meet 8 a.m. in Aurora at the west trail where it meets Illinois Avenue. For more information, contact Jan Mangers at malmer233wp@aol.com.

Annual Fox cleanup is Saturday, August 15

The VOF will hold its annual Fox River Cleanup and Restoration on Saturday, August 15, from 9 a.m. to noon in downtown Aurora. We'll meet at the Aurora Township Office parking lot, 80 N. Broadway (Route 25) in Aurora. Click here for a map to the office. Have fun with other volunteers as we clean the riverbanks in downtown Aurora as well as restoration in other locations. We provide all supplies, gloves and bags as well as snacks and water; however, you should bring a refillable water container, because no throwaway water bottles will be allowed on site. Trash will be separated and recycled as much as possible. Free T-shirts. All participants will sign the standard waiver; those under 18 must have a parental signature. Children under 16 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Waivers can be requested ahead of time by contacting fran.caffee@sierraclub.org. Wear sturdy shoes, sunscreen and insect repellant. Support for the event is also provided by the Fox Valley Park District and the City of Aurora.

Make every day Earth Day!

Earth Day was April 22, but you can make every day Earth Day. How do you do that? The Sierra Club has come up with two information sheets: Five ways individuals and companies can fight global warming, and five ways cities and states can to it too. Both are about a megabyte in size and are in PDF format. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view the sheets. Most PCs already have this valuable and free program; try clicking on a link to one of the sheets to see. If you don't have it, click here to download a copy.

• Click here to see the sheet for individuals and companies.
• Click here to see the sheet for cities and states.

Want to celebrate on the actual day? Try these activities!

Happy birthday to the Sierra Club in Illinois!

The Sierra Club in Illinois turns 50 this year! The Chapter was first organized in Illinois in 1959. At that time, we were the Great Lakes Chapter, including many Midwestern states. In 1990, we formally changed our name to the Illinois Chapter to reflect our Illinois focus. Now, the Illinois Chapter has 26,000 members from all over the state. The chapter is made up of 16 groups across the state, including our own Valley of the Fox Group.

Thanks to 50 years of the Sierra Club’s work, we have a cleaner and greener Illinois. To visit the Illinois Chapter's web site, click here.

Don't dump it—recycle it!

What do you do when one of your energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs burns out? These bulbs should be recycled because they contain a small amount of mercury, a neurotoxin. However, the amount is miniscule compared to the mercury put into the atmosphere from coal-burning power plants.

Here are some suggestions:

• Ace Hardware stores in Aurora will take back CFLs for recycling. Check the Ace in your area.
• Home Depot has just announced that it will accept CFLs for recycling at stores across the U.S.
• IKEA stores will also accept CFLs.
• Many varieties of household hazardous waste, from CFLs and other fluorescent tubes to oil-based paints to prescription medication, can be dropped off Naperville's Household Hazardous Waste Center, 971 Brookdale Road, on Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. For a map to the facility, which is open to DuPage County, Kane County and Will County residents, click here. 

What do you do if a CFL breaks? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the answer. Click What do you do if a CFL breaks? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has the answer. Click here to see the cleanup process.

Other recycling resources

According to Kane County officials, residents and businesses are recycling 42% of their waste, a vast improvement over the 8% that was recycled in 1986. Some stats from the county's recycling web site:

• The average Kane County home recycles about 60 pounds of material each month.
• Last year, we recycled about 65,000,000 aluminum cans in Kane County (or 168 for each person), but we still threw away 30 million cans (or 86 cans per person).
• Kane County residents recycled 30 million pieces of junk mail (85 pieces per person). 44% of the junk mail was never opened.
• We recycled 94 million pounds of paper, saving the equivalent of 796,000 trees. Each day, 2 million trees are cut down in the United States.

Click on a category to find out where and when you can recycle the following items:

• Municipal trash pickups: (Weekly pickups) What will my local trash hauler accept for curbside recycling?
• Electronics and books: (Monthly dropoffs) Computers and Peripherals: Personal Computers, Monitors, Printers, Scanners, Modems, Tape, Disk, CD Drives, Cables, Keyboards, Mice, Plotters.
  Entertainment Equipment: Televisions, Camcorders, Cameras, Stereo Equipment (no speakers), Game Players, Joysticks.
  Office Equipment: Telephones, Cell Phones, Pagers, Answering Machines, Typewriters, Calculators, Adding Machines, Fax Machines, Shredders, Copiers, Postage Meters.
  Electronic Media: Floppy Disks, Compact Discs (and cases), Videotapes (no audio cassettes).
• Household hazardous waste: (Weekly dropoffs) aerosol products, antifreeze, batteries (auto and household), blacktop sealer, cleaning products, fluorescent bulbs, gasoline, hobby and photographic chemicals, lawn chemicals, mercury, motor oil, oil-based paints, pesticides, pool chemicals, propane tanks and solvents. Not accepted: ammunition, explosives, fireworks, biological or medical wastes, farm machinery oil, fire extinguishers, latex paint, smoke detectors.
• Used motor oil.
• Used tires.
• Printer cartridges
• Unused and expired medicines.

Don't live in Kane County? No problem! Just go to www.Earth911.com and type in your ZIP Code at the top of the page to get a list of recycling sites.

More recycling services

• If you're doing any work around the house, you can find materials at Habitat for Humanity's ReStore, an Elgin-based store that sells at bargain prices donated items from contractors, remodelers, manufacturers, distributors and homeowners–much of which would otherwise be destined for the landfill. Proceeds support the building of Habitat homes in Kane County. The store is located at 860 North State Street in Elgin. Details and map to store ...
  
• Homeowners and small businesses in Batavia now can recycle electronic equipment, office equipment and books Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Batavia Public Works Department, 200 North Raddant Road. When you arrive at the Public Works facility, please enter the main entrance on Raddant Road and advise the receptionist you have equipment to drop off.

  Items accepted for recycling:

  • Computers and Peripherals: personal computers; monitors; printers; scanners; modems; tape, disk and CD drives; cables, keyboards, mice; and plotters. There is a limit of 25 pieces on PC towers/CPU's and monitors.
  • Entertainment Equipment: Televisions; camcorders; cameras; stereo equipment (no speakers); game players; and joysticks.
  • Office Equipment: Telephones; cell phones; pagers; answering machines; typewriters; calculators; adding machines; fax machines; shredders; copiers; and postage meters.
  • Software: Floppy discs; compact discs (and cases); videotapes; and audio cassettes. Please remove all paper and recycle it with your mixed paper at home.
  • Books: Hardbound and paperback books.
  • Please DO NOT bring manuals, packing material, air conditioners, other appliances or household hazardous waste.

  For additional information contact the Public Works Facility 630-879-1424 ext 310.

Now available on line:
The VOF's newsletter, 21st Century Fox

Did you misplace your printed copy of the VOF's newsletter? Now you can read it online. Click here for the most recent issue. If you'd like to receive the 21st Century Fox via e-mail--and save a few trees in the process--send your name, membership number (the eight-digit number on the address label of your Sierra magazine) and your e-mail address to: editor@illinois.sierraclub.org. For back issues, click here.

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Last updated June 22, 2009. Questions, comments on this web site? Contact the VOF's webmaster. Site designed by Mike Hanlon.