By Guest Writer Judith Campbell, Vice Chair of the Earth Care Committee
On Saturday morning Phyllis Byrd and I stood on the church steps at the Church Street Entrance with a big box to collect foam #6 for recycling. Most of us know it as styrofoam.
It comes in the shape of packing material, egg cartons, white carry-out clamshells or food trays from our grocery stores. This foam is not recyclable in our regular community curb-side recycling. It also remains as foam in the landfill, since it does not decompose!
To keep it out of our earth, the Earth Care Committee has committed to collect this foam and drive it to one of two locations in our Chicago area where it can be compressed and reused. (Dart in Chicago Chicago and Abt in Glenview.)
Within the 10 minutes our big box was filled and bags were being dropped off. A consistent flow of cars came by and stopped, trunks popped open and the foam piled up on the steps. By the time our 2 hours were up, more than 20 cars had stopped, driven by church members, friends and neighbors, as well as Evanston residents who had read of this collection in the Pioneer Press.
What impressed me most about the morning was the gratitude of those who brought the foam #6. It was clear that there is concern for our Earth and a desire to find a way to recycle this foam. Many, many times people thanked us for providing this service. A sense of relief could be felt from some as they drove away — relief that they could make a positive choice for the earth. We exchanged lots of smiles.