Green Initiatives

Gym Shoe Recycling - 203 Pairs of Gym Shoes Collected!
The Downers Grove Park District participated in the Gym Shoe Recycling event that took place April 29 through May 19 at both Lincoln and Recreation Centers. The Lincoln Center collected 116 pairs of shoes and the Recreation Center collected 87 pairs of gym shoes. The recycled gym shoes will be turned into a material that is used for sports surfaces, including basketball courts, athletic fields, playgrounds and running tracks! We'd like to thank everyone who donated!

Arbor Day Celebration at Hummer Park - April 26, 2013
In partnership with Pierce Downer's Heritage Alliance
The Downers Grove Park District celebrated Arbor Day with Whittier Elementary School on Friday, April 26 at Hummer Park. Two bald cypress trees were planted at the park with the help of Park District Staff and Whittier students. The seedlings that were distributed to the Whittier First Graders, and that are available for all residents at the Recreation Center (one sapling per person, while supplies last), were provided, at no cost, by Living Lands and Waters trust, www.livinglandsandwaters.org, located in the Quad Cities. This was done as a part of their million trees initiative.

Read some of the Arbor Day thank you letters sent by Whittier School participants to our Park District Forester.

Rain Barrel Display at the Recreation Center
Conserve water and help the environment - purchase a rain barrel today!
A rain barrel display is currently featured at the Downers Grove Park District Recreation Center. Rain barrels can be purchased through May 15 through the Village of Downers Grove. A portion of all sales will be donated to the Conservation Foundation. The cost is $58.50 plus tax. Residents can choose to pick up their rain barrels on May 17 at no additional cost, or have them delivered for an additional $5 or delivered and installed for an additional $20. Click here to place your order!

Park District and Village partner on Electronics Reycling Extravaganza

The Village of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Park District hosted a Recycling Extravaganza on Saturday, October 13th, 2012 from 8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at the Village of Downers Grove Public Works Building located at 5101 Walnut Ave.
The event gave residents of DuPage County an opportunity to recycle or donate items that may otherwise end up in a landfill.

Participating Organizations

• SCARCE of Glen Ellyn, Illinois
• Creative Recycling
• Exide Technologies of Aurora, Illinois
• Century Post 503 VFW of Downers Grove, Illinois
• ACME Refining
• Amerigas
• Working Bikes of Chicago, Illinois
• Goodwill
• Go Green Carpet Recycling, Chicago Inc.
• Sharing Connections of Downers Grove
• Kinko Ace Hardware of Downers Grove
• Cintas of Aurora
• Lions Club

Visit the Household Hazardous Waste/Electronics page for additional information on other recycling programs.

Download a copy of the 2009 Dupage County Recycling Guide

Take it in, take it out
The Downers Grove Park District proudly supports the Leave No Trace (LNT) concept in our parks, open space and natural areas. The LNT program was started in the 70s and 80s by the US Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and the National Park Service. Trash and litter are human impacts that can greatly detract from the naturalness of an area. Show good stewardship by taking out what you take in."Take nothing but pictures. Leave nothing but footprints."

Green Tips of the Month:

Guilt-Free Chocolate
With Valentine’s Day right around the corner followed by Easter, you can’t escape chocolate this time of year! Chocolate can be semi-sweet, milk, and dark, but is often not green. Sadly, most chocolate production has dire consequences, including deforestation, unsustainable farming practices, and child labor. Consider the following and make eco-conscious decisions when it comes to your affair with chocolate:

Buy Organic: Look for organic to ensure the plants, soil, water and your chocolate is chemical-free.

Buy Fair Trade: Chocolate is grown in third world countries where laws often do not protect workers. Fair Trade chocolate ensures your treat was produced under safe working conditions and provided fair wages to workers.

Rainforest Alliance: sort of like Green Seal approval for chocolate, this stamp of approval means that your chocolate was shade-grown to prevent the destruction of rainforests

Get the Good Stuff!  Instead of a big heart shaped box of mediocre chocolate with all kinds of artificial ingredients, spend your money on a smaller amount of high quality and much tastier chocolate.

Celebrate Sweet and Healthy
Looking for that perfect gift for your special Valentine? Or maybe you’re looking to fill someone’s Easter basket with something different this year. Try to be more eco-friendly and health conscious and consider the benefits of giving the sweet gift of honey:

- Honey tastes great!
- Honey helps with cough and throat irritations
- Its exact combination of fructose and glucose actually helps the body regulate blood sugar levels, unlike white sugar
- The anti-bacterial properties of honey make it an ideal treatment for burns and wounds
- Honey is said to combat allergies, especially local honey which contains pollen from nearby sources
- Honey is great for skin health, and used to treat acne

And for that special and adventurous person, go the extra mile and give them a gift of a beekeeping class!


Big Belly - Check them out at some of our parks or facilities.
The "Big Belly" solar garbage normally resides in one of our parks during the spring and summer months. This garbage compacts trash as it takes in. The Big Belly intelligent waste collection system dramatically lowers the operating costs, fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emmissions associated with the waste collection process by up to 80%! You can learn more about the Big Belly at www.bigbellysolar.com!

Downers Grove Park District Adopts Environmental Guidelines
The Board of Park Commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a set of environmental guidelines recommended by staff during the December 18th board meeting. The Downers Grove Park District has been a leader in environmental initiatives for many years beginning with the dedication of Belmont Prairie as an Illinois Nature Preserve in 1979, the preservation of Lyman Woods as open space in 1986 and the construction of the William F. Sherman, Jr. Interpretive Center in 2003. The District's ongoing efforts towards being a responsible environmental steward led to the creation of a "Green Committee" and the development of environmental guidelines for daily business operations. The guidelines adopted will be used as a tool to assist staff in the promotion of sound environmental practices in the workplace. Click here to view the environmental guidelines.

Battery collection count as of 7/2012
11,071 lbs. collected -  That’s almost 6 tons of alkaline and rechargeable batteries!

Dry Cell Battery Recycle Program - The Park District is host to a dry cell battery recycling campaign located at the Recreation Center, 4500 Belmont Road. Responsibly recycling batteries saves natural resources and protects human health through reuse of reclaimed materials and by keeping heavy metals out of landfills and water supplies. Click here for additional information.

Gym Shoe Recycling - Each year, the Downers Grove Park District hosts a gym shoe recycling program in cooperation with SCARCE,  School and Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education. Collection sites located at the Recreation Center at 4500 Belmont Road, and the Lincoln Center at 935 Maple Avenue yielded 534 shoes during the April - May 2012 program which will be recycled and used to make new products such as sports surfaces, playgrounds, basketballs and frisbees.

Park District donates Washington Park playground equipment to City in Krygyzstan DOWNERS GROVE, Ill. – On October 15, 2009, the government in Kara-Balta City, Krygyzstan held a dedication to celebrate the addition of recycled playground equipment, which was once located in Washington Park in Downers Grove, IL. ....read more

Did You Know?

• The Interpretive Center was designed and constructed with a green building concept which included the use of green building materials including steel frame construction, Hardie board siding, water and energy saving fixtures as well as a green roof with native prairie plants.
• The Interpretive Center follows a “green housekeeping program” which includes such tasks as using green certified products, collecting and recycling all recyclable materials and reducing water and energy consumption with the use of pre-programmed thermostats and timers.
• The District began environmental education programming in the early 1990’s and the District’s Wetland Education program for local 5th graders began in 1995.
• On-going restoration and land management projects at the District’s natural areas, golf course and parks include tree plantings, woodland and habitat restoration, native landscaping, storm water management, stream bank stabilization and the consistent use of best management practices and integrated pest management programs.
• The Recreation Center was built with water saving fixtures in the rest rooms and locker rooms.
• Over 20lbs of water bottles are recycled per week from the Fitness Center and 75lbs of paper are recycled per month from the Recreation Center facility.
• In 2005, the Lincoln Center light fixtures were replaced with more energy efficient fixtures.
• District facilities recycle paper, plastic, aluminum, cartridges, toners, and obsolete equipment.
• The Golf Course has recycling receptacles on the course for plastic, aluminum and glass containers and recently installed automatic hand dryers in the restrooms.
• The District reduces the use of paper by double-siding documents and using electronic communications when possible.
• The seasonal Recreation & Parks Guide and Park Avenues newsletter is printed on recycled paper with eco friendly inks.
  The District requests green alternates on bids for playground equipment, construction projects and vehicles and turf equipment.