At the October 27 Greener Glenview Kickoff meeting, we asked the 30+ attendees to complete a Personal Environmental Action Survey. The results were impressive! Here's what people are doing in their daily lives.
The number next to the action indicates the number of respondents who indicated that this is something they do.
WASTE MANAGEMENT
21 Donate clothing and other unneeded items
20 Recycle glass, aluminum, plastic, and paper
20 Refuse plastic bags when you only purchase a couple items
17 Take your own bags to the grocery stores
15 Compost food scraps (in your yard or in Groot's curbside food/landscape waste container)
13 Refuse straws
12 Purchase used items in resale shops
10 Use cloth napkins instead of paper
4 Swap out your paper towels for washable cloths
1 Clean up dog poop
NATURAL RESOURCES
18 Use a refillable water bottle
17 Increased use of native plants
16 Don't burn landscape waste in the backyard
16 Manage the lawn using natural products and low-impact practices
16 Turn off outdoor lights overnight
15 Plant trees
15 Allow fallen leaves in your garden beds
14 Mulch lawn leaves
14 Take unneeded prescription drugs to the police station or the village's monthly drug take-back days
13 Purchase the least toxic de-icing agents
13 Avoid coal tar sealants as a driveway topcoat
11 Use an electric leaf blower, or no leaf blower
11 Turn off the car engine when waiting at railroad crossings or in school/park district pickup lines
12 Planted pollinator gardens
10 Stopped watering the lawn
9 Installed a rain garden or swales to collect stormwater
8 Collect water in a rain barrel
6 Participate in river cleanup days
5 Volunteer with restoration efforts in the woods/prairies (cutting buckthorn, collecting seeds)
2 Beekeeping
1 Remove invasive buckthorn from my property
1 Go to a salon that is green certified
ENERGY
25 Switch to LED or CFL bulbs
20 Use the shower instead of taking a bath COMMENT: I think this has more to do with personal preference
16 Purchase Energy Star appliances
16 Keep the thermostat set low (below 70) in winter and high (78+) in summer
15 Put your computer and devices to sleep when not in use
13 Insulated your home
11 Clean your air filters more frequently
10 Signed up for community solar
9 Use rechargeable batteries
8 Had an energy audit of your home
6 Installed solar panels
5 Unplug appliances when not in use
1 Installed a heat pump or have geothermal climate control
1 Limit online deliveries
TRANSPORTATION
17 Keep my tires inflated
13 Walk or ride a bike instead of driving to some destinations
9 Own a hybrid car or EV
9 Take public transportation to downtown Chicago
FOOD
16 Eat seasonally
15 Buy organic produce
14 Eat more plant-based foods
12 Grow some of my food
3 Participate in a CSA
2 Take my own containers for restaurant leftovers
2 Take my own coffee cup to Starbucks
