Lake County Circular Economy

The first Circular Economy Workshop in Lake County

SWALCO is excited to invite you to the first Circular Economy Workshop for Lake County! This workshop will be presented online in partnership with RRS on September 24th, 2020 from 9 am CDT to 12 pm. The Workshop will also formally kick off SWALCO's strategic reuse partnership with Rheaply and will provide information on how to begin participating in a countywide reuse program initially targeted at businesses and institutions.

The goals of the Workshop will be to provide you with a deeper understanding of the circular economy model, how it is already working in Lake County, and how we can work together to strengthen it. We are inviting the leaders of business, the waste industry, the recycling and composting industry, local, state and federal government, non-profit organizations, local chambers of commerce, and primary and secondary schools to participate in this Workshop. However, this webinar is only the beginning of this effort, concrete steps that you and your organization can take to build a stronger circular economy in Lake County will be presented in partnership with Resource Recycling Systems (RRS) and Rheaply. We hope as a team we can inspire change and offer viable solutions to help Lake County kickstart Circular Economy principles within our community.

Please see flyer & agenda for workshop to the right

U.S. Plastics Pact

SWALCO joined the U.S. Plastics Pact in August 2020 to continue Circular Economy Efforts on a nationwide scale. This U.S. Pact was created in partnership by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, WWF and predominately lead by the Recycling Partnership. SWALCO looks forward to this opportunity, as it aligns well with SWALCO's Circular Economy goals and allows for more collaboration with stakeholders across the country. Check out the Press release for more information on the Plastics Pact Goals or visit https://usplasticspact.org/

A Great Lakes Region Circular Economy Webinar

On June 18, 2020, SWALCO participated in an online webinar with Resource Recycling Systems outlining the Circular Economy initiatives happening in the Great Lakes Region. SWALCO discussed the current projects in place that enable Lake County work toward a circular economy, as well as future plans to grow this initiative. Presenters included SWALCO, the Council of the Great Lakes Region, and Resource Recycling Systems. This webinar is a precursor to a workshop SWALCO is planning to hold later this year and is intended to help jump start the Circular Economy movement here in Lake County. This webinar gives a higher-level view and demonstrates how regional efforts like ours can be plugged into the larger Circular Economy initiative that the Council of the Great Lakes Region is working on. You can view the recording of the webinar at the link below if interested in viewing the conversation!

Webinar Recording Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI38y39aCvU