Government Center

719 S. Batavia Ave., Bldg. A

Geneva, IL 60134

Kane County

KC Energy and Environmental

Committee

Meeting Minutes

BATES, Tarver, Allan, Kious, Penesis, Strathmann, Young, ex-officios Roth (County Vice

Chair) and Pierog (County Chair)

Friday, August 15, 2025

9:00 AM

County Board Room

Call To Order

Chairman Bates called today's meeting to order at 9:00 AM.

Roll Call

Board Member Mavis Bates

Board Member Bill Tarver

PRESENT

Board Member Deborah Allan

Board Member Chris Kious

Board Member Ted Penesis

Board Member David Young

Ex-Officio County Board Vice Chair Bill Roth

Board Member Cherryl Strathmann

ABSENT

Ex-Officio County Board Chair Corinne M. Pierog

Also present: Co. Bd. members Gumz*, Juby*, Lewis, Molina*; Sustainability Mgr.

Hinshaw and staff Powell; Recycling Coordinator Ryan; ITD staff Peters; and members

of the press and public including Dir. of State Stewardship Programs for Call2Recycle

Roxane Peggs.

Remote Attendance Requests

There were no remote attendance requests for today's meeting.

Approval of Minutes: July 11, 2025

RESULT:

MOVER:

APPROVED BY UNANIMOUS CONSENT

Chris Kious

Public Comment (Agenda Items)

Committee Member and Kane County resident David Young stated that wildfires are a

major contributor to poor air quality. He noted that according to the National Oceanic

and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), a very large hot fire of approximately 100K

acres emitted the same amount of Co2 as one coal-fired power plant in one year. In

the past five years, Canadian wildfires have emitted as much Co2 as 861 coal-fired

power plants. Young questioned why the contribution of Canadian wildfires was not

included in the presentation for today's meeting.

Environmental (J.Wollnik)

Kane County Groundwater Study Update

No report was made.

Recycling/Solid Waste (C. Ryan)

Call2Recycle: Illinois’ Upcoming Battery Stewardship Program

Recycling Coordinator Ryan stated that the Call2Recycle program will be the

product stewardship organization that will be collaborating with battery

manufacturers, local government, and other entities. The program will begin

January 1, 2026.

Dir. of State Stewardship Programs, Roxane Peggs, stated that Call2Recycle

program is an Illinois approved, non-profit organization founded in 1994.

(Committee Member Allan arrived at 9:10 a.m.) The program is funded primarily

by battery and battery-containing product manufacturers to responsibly collect,

and recycle batteries at the end of life across the U.S. She explained that the

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a group of producers or battery

manufacturers who fund the collection and recycling of battery products. Battery

recycling is important in order to conserve valuable metals for reuse, prevent

fires in homes, trucks, and facilities, and reduce hazardous use in landfills. The

type of batteries the law covers are any portable battery that is not embedded in

a product, single-use batteries up to 4.4 pounds, rechargeable batteries up to

eleven pounds, and E-Bikes. The program provides a "OneDrum" bin that can

hold up to 450 pounds of 300 to 2K Watt-hour batteries. This all-in-one battery

solution allows safe and efficient placement and transportation of large volumes

of consumer single-use, and rechargeable batteries in one drum. The main

benefits of the Call2Recycle program to both residents and local governments

include the no cost to participate, more drop-off locations across the state,

reduced landfill waste and fire risk, and the support of local sustainability goals.

There are currently 600 battery brands produced by manufacturers in the

program that can be sold into state. Peggs concluded by saying that the

organization is currently in conjunction with partners like Arcwood, eWorks, and

Clean Harbors. There will be various signage, shelf toppers, and window clings

offered, and campaigns for battery collections will be conducted in the coming

months.

Recycling Coordinator Ryan announced that there will be a link to the program

listed on the County website for residents to access, and a battery recycling

"OneDrum" bin will be placed at a county affiliated site off Fabyan road. The

local locations that provide rechargeable battery drop-off bins include Home

Depot in Geneva and Lowe's in St. Charles. Further discussion took place.

Sustainability (S.Hinshaw)

Air Quality in Kane County

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw provided information on the five main chemicals and

components that contribute to the air quality index. These components include

ground-level ozone, particulate matter, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and

nitrogen dioxide. The two components monitored more frequently are the

ground-level ozone and the particulate matter (PM). The air quality index (AQI)

for Kane County in the month of June from 2015 to 2025 was 67 days above

100. Hinshaw noted that not all days were recorded in years 2020, 2021, and

2022. She indicated that there is now an IQAir Quality indoor and outdoor

monitor located at the entrance of Building A of the Kane County Government

Center. The monitor reports levels of air quality, humidity, Co2, and temperature.

Since the air monitor has been in place, the AQI was above fifty for twelve days,

and five days the AQI was above 100. Lastly, the Co2 levels for Kane County for

the month of July were between 500 and 550.

Switch Together Update

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw presented an update on the Switch Together

Program. This renewable energy initiative program is in partnership with local

governments and nonprofits across the U.S. to make sustainable energy

solutions more accessible and affordable. In the spring group buy, there were

215 new registrations in Kane County, 1,548 total new registrations in Illinois, 34

accepted and paid in Kane County, and 286 accepted and paid in Illinois. There

were four contractors this year including Windfree Solar, Greenlink Energy

Solutions, All Energy Solar, and RxSun. The average cost per panel was $2.77.

The deadline to register for the group buy for the new program is September 3,

2025. Further discussion took place.

New Business

Sustainability Mgr. Hinshaw announced two grants have been awarded to the

Environmental and Water Resources Department. One of the grants was for a

solar-powered flashing flood sign that can detect potential rain, and measure flooding

levels. The second grant was for trees for new residents. With this grant, 120, 3 gallon

trees will be distributed to new home owners over the next year.

10.

11.

Chairs Comments

Chairman Bates thanked her staff for the continued hard work they do for sustainability

in the county, and for helping to fight climate change.

Executive Session (if needed)

None.