News & Updates All »
Final Leaf Pickup of 2023
Sunday, December 10, 2023
The Goshen Street Department will make one last round of leaf collecting beginning Monday, December 11. Residents who miss this round can still take their leaves to the Environmental Center. Located at 20100 CR 19, the center accepts brush and leaves, loose or in bags, at no charge to Goshen... more
Goshen continues annual Mirth Tree ornament exchange
Monday, December 4, 2023
'Tis the season for spreading joy and reducing waste in Goshen! The City of Goshen's Department of Environmental Resilience is excited to announce the 3rd Annual Mirth Tree Ornament Exchange, a festive initiative to celebrate the holidays in an eco-friendly way. This is the third year residents... more
City of Goshen awarded state volunteerism award
Friday, December 1, 2023
The Environmental Resilience Department poses with the award. Back L to R: Lee Bergey; Aaron Sawatsky-Kingsley, Director of Environmental Resilience; Levi Moser. Front L to R: Theresa Sailor, Education Grant Writer; Melanie Helmuth, Urban Forestry Assistant; Acadia Imhof; Alexa Kennel; Brandi Devoe,... more
Upcoming Events All »
Board of Works
Today, 2:00pm
To join the webinar please copy and paste this link on your browser: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88469251269 or call +1 312 626 6799. Webinar ID: 884 6925 1269 Comments are no longer taken online.
Shade Tree Board
Today, 7:00pm
This meeting is in-person only.
Redevelopment Commission
Tuesday, December 12, 2023, 3:00pm
Webinars - Zero Waste Goshen
E-Blog Climate Action Forestry Electric Vehicles Zero Waste Sensory Trail
Goshen Zero Waste Webinar
Thursday April 28 at 6:30pm EST on Zoom
Title: Compost City
Description: Along with backyard chickens, balcony beekeepers, rooftop farmers, and community gardeners, urban composters are part of a bumper crop of pioneers who are redefining the green space of crowded towns and cities. You may think you need a big yard to compost. Think again. Rebecca Louie, the author of Compost City, is a certified NYC Master Composter who was born and raised in Queens, New York. Rebecca will talk about her journey into sustainable living and share practical tips on how you can too.
Registration Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_tDFFkTogT8m83vEg0XNyCQ
Arbor Day Celebration
April 29, Friday 4:30 pm, Arbor Day Celebration – 150 Years – We will celebrate the end of the Zero Waste Challenge then.
Location: Court House Lawn
There will be lots of activities for families, food trucks, free trees, and many other things!
2022 Arbor Day Trees Available
Free Seedlings
Free tree seedlings will be given to the public on a first come first served basis: 100 Sweet Gum, 100 Pecan, and 100 Silky Dogwood.
Tree Raffle
The Goshen High School Youth Caucus will also be raffling off 18 older trees. This will be a fundraiser for Trees For Goshen, a local non-profit organization that helps Goshen residents plant trees on their properties. Raffle tickets can be purchased at the Arbor Day event, and ahead of Arbor Day by inquiring at environmental@goshencity.com .
There are 11 different species of trees in the raffle, and participants can choose which kind of tree they are purchasing a ticket for. Three of these species will be smaller than 4 feet tall this spring, and tickets will be sold for $10 per tree; the remaining species will be 4-6 feet tall, and tickets will be sold for $15 per tree.
Trees available for the raffle. Tickets are separate for each tree.
Paw Paw: There are 2 small trees available for $10 per tree.
American Plum: One large tree is available for $15 per ticket.
Scarlet Oak: There are 2 taller trees available for $15 per tree.
American Sycamore: There are 2 taller trees available for $15 per tree.
Hop Hornbeam: There are 2 taller trees available for $15 per tree.
Catalpa: There are 2 small trees available for $10 per tree.
Tulip Tree: One taller tree is available for $15 per ticket.
Sweetgum: There are 2 taller trees available for $15 per tree.
Serviceberry: There are 2 small trees available for $10 per tree.
American Beech: There is 1 taller tree available for $15 per ticket.
Magnolia (Sweetbay): There is 1 taller tree available for $15 per ticket.
Trees will be raffled during the Arbor Day event on April 29, at the County Courthouse, 101 N. Main Street. The event will run from 4:30 – 7:30 pm, and the raffle will take place between 6:00-7:00 pm.
First Fridays - Highlight Durable Goods - Free Bicycle Safety Checks
May 6, 2022
5:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Downtown, NW corner of Jefferson and Main Streets
Quality durable goods that can be repaired and maintained for a long life are important in reducing waste. This often means purchasing items that are constructed from sustainable natural materials that are the easiest to recycle. Durable goods should be repairable and made from components that can be sourced and replaced to maintain the item for a long life. In that effort, Goshen Zero Waste is highlighting bicycles as an important durable goods product that can and should last a lifetime.
Lincoln Avenue Cycling will be providing free bicycle safety checks from 5 pm - 8 pm. A bicycle safety check includes checking operating components, such as the wheels, brakes, and crankset, to ensure they are in working order. Lincoln Avenue Cycling staff will identify any safety concerns so that the individual can plan to get them addressed. Minor adjustments such as adjusting a brake pad, adding lubrication, or tightening a connection could be provided as a part of the safety check. Staff would determine which items are "minor" and which items require at-home or scheduled professional (paid) adjustments. The intent is to provide a service to assist in keeping your bicycles rolling into a summer of healthful living.
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Goshen Zero Waste Webinar
Title: No-Waste Kitchen Gardening
Description: Stop tossing your carrot stumps, loose cilantro sprigs, lettuce and cabbage stalks, and apple cores in the trash! Get expert advice from Katie Elzer-Peters, author of No-Waste Kitchen Gardening gives you all the instructions and tricks you'll need to grow and re-propagate produce from food waste. You'll be astonished at how much food waste you can re-grow.
Recorded Date: April 14, 2022
Recording: Available here
Title: Finding Satisfaction in a Lower Consuming Lifestyle
Description: What would happen if we all stopped shopping? How could we transform our lives and our economy to reduce mass consumption and waste to protect the planet? What would happen to the way we think, make products, use time, express our individuality? Would life be better, or worse?
The Day the World Stops Shopping is a provocative, deeply researched thought experiment exploring what life beyond consumerism might look like—and how we can get there.
This is a conversation between EcoPAX students at Goshen College, Goshen residents, and J.B. MacKinnon, sponsored by Goshen Zero Waste. J.B. MacKinnon is an author and journalist who researches and writes extensively on environmental topics. He has written multiple books and his work has appeared in The Atlantic, the New Yorker, and The Walrus.
Recorded Date: March 10, 2022
Recording: Available Here
Title: The Economics of Recycling
Description: The Economics of Recycling – Daniel Zelaya and Kyle Woolsey from the WasteAway Group will explain recycling economics and dispel the myth that recycling costs too much. Learn how recycling, a commodity-driven enterprise, impacts the local and national economy. Businesses around the country are competing for your recycled goods. Upwards of 40% of all residential waste is recyclable, with an additional 40% compostable, leaving another 20% to be reused, repurposed, or ultimately landfilled. Learn how your efforts help create jobs, conserve natural resources, and help build a circular economy in the United States. This program was sponsored by Goshen Zero Waste.
Recorded Date: March 10, 2022
Recording: Available Here
Goshen Zero Waste Webinar
Title: Say Goodbye to Plastic
Program Description: If you've heard of the plastic-free lifestyle but think you don't have time for it in your busy life, prepare to be delightfully wrong. Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide For Plastic-Free Living shows you how, whether you're seeking to remove plastic from your life or try a few novel eco-hacks in your kitchen, bathroom, office, or dining room. As a plastic pollution activist and entrepreneur, Harris invites us in her book Say Goodbye to Plastic: A Survival Guide for Plastic-Free Living, which is part memoir, part inspirational ode to the ocean and packed with how-to tips to say goodbye to plastic. Opportunities abound in every room of our homes to simplify our lives by re-thinking our wasteful habits -- we need to learn to recognize them. Register for the event and receive access to a free, digital coloring book with tips and tricks for going plastic-free for kids.
Recorded Date: March 3, 2022
Recording: Available Here
Goshen Zero Waste Webinar
Growing Food at Home, But Not Alone: a model for reducing waste, sharing resources and knowledge, and building community
Description: Want to grow food for your household but feel overwhelmed by needing to buy all the supplies and acquire all the knowledge by yourself? Come hear Zuleyja Prieto of Goshen share about a community project called Rooted Through Corn, Planting Families, which supports backyard gardeners in raising, honoring, and sharing heritage corn seed as well as tools, supplies, and knowledge. Learn how a community of growers is reducing wasted time, energy, materials, and knowledge by sharing, and how building relationships with other gardeners can be key to success, sustenance, and sustainability. In addition to talking backyard corn, Jon Zirkle of Bushelcraft Farm will cover aspects of growing a variety of foods by starting small--at the backyard and patio scale. Attendees will have plenty of time for questions and sharing ideas as well as opportunities to acquire seeds for growing in 2022!
Presenters: Jon Zirkle and Zuleyja Prieto, members of the Rooting Through Corn, Planting Families project, a regional collaboration supported through a USDA-SARE Farmer Rancher grant.
Recorded Date: February 24.
How the Consumerism Economy Affects Your Solid Waste
As we consume more and more, it becomes obvious that the planet needs us to consume less. The United States narrative is that the economy needs us to consume more and more. Is there any way out of this dilemma? Journalist and author J.B. MacKinnon explores this question in his new book—and says we have more to gain than to lose in making a shift to a "deconsumer culture." Join this conversation event to learn more.
Goshen Area Recycling
Topic: Zero Waste Goshen: Local Recycling Facts by Recycling Works Waste Collection 
Description: 48% of household trash is recyclable. The recycling industry in Northern Indiana is a robust business where the material you recycle is reused in the Midwest and becomes a local driver for economic success. Get facts on what you can and cannot recycle along with where your recycling goes. Learn about the amazing world of recycling with Recycling Works.
The Zero Waste Goshen webinar series is a partnership between the City of Goshen's Department of Environmental Resilience and the Goshen Public Library.
The average Goshen household is expected to throw 2,500 pounds of trash into the landfill in 2021. That is 50% more than the national average per household. The cost of hauling and disposing of household trash is expected to top $1,500,000 in 2021.
Come join us in the journey to reduce our household waste. Follow the workshops and reduce your trash by 50% or even more!
Recorded Date: Oct 28, 2021
Recording: Available here
Kate O’Neill, author of Waste and Professor in Global Environmental Governance and Global Waste Politics at UC-Berkley.