Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago

House Warming Podcast, Episode 019: Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago with Katherine Tellock and Miranda Carrico, Co-Founders of Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago.  

In this episode, Sarah talks with Katherine and Miranda about founding their group Chicago Environmentalists and Cleanup Club Chicago.  

Katherine Tellock is a citizen activist who wants to dedicate her life to fighting climate change. She strongly believes that an environmentally sustainable society is the best long-term economic and social decision, and is within reach for all people. Having grown up next to an EPA superfund site, she has always cared about the environment and been acutely aware of the impact of industrial pollution. However, she didn’t get heavily involved in environmental issues until spring 2020, when she started tackling litter through Friends of the Chicago River's Summer Challenge. She eventually started Chicago Environmentalists group with Miranda, as well as Cleanup Club Chicago. She took the CCC sustainability leadership training in 2021, and for her final assignment, she is running the Guerrilla Recycling Reporting (GRR) Project. It aims to hold property owners accountable for violating the recycling ordinance and change the way the policy is enforced. She also completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training, and wants to get more involved in environmental legislation.

She currently works as a Business and Brand Developer for Block Bins composting service, and has a bachelor's degree in Economics and Spanish from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She currently lives in Irving Park with her very sweet cockapoo. In her free time, she enjoys true crime, volleyball, and comedy shows.

Over the past ten years, Miranda Carrico has transitioned toward a "Zero Waste" lifestyle and has become very familiar with Chicago's sustainability scene; especially related to recycling and waste reduction.  Miranda is passionate about educating individuals on actions they can take to lessen their environmental impact, as well as advocating for sustainable business practices and environmental legislation.  She became more involved in Chicago’s larger environmental scene after teaming up with Katherine on the first Cleanup Club event. This led to brainstorming ways to improve environmentalism in Chicago and the creation of Chicago Environmentalists. She is Co-Founder of Chicago Environmentalists, Assistant Director of Cleanup Club Chicago, and completed the Climate Reality Leadership Corps training in 2021. 

Miranda works in healthcare and has been a Chicagoan for over 10 years, residing in Lakeview. When she's not finding creative ways to reduce waste, she enjoys traveling, exploring the city via bike and by foot, making "mixtapes," and spending time with her husband and dog, Greta von Goof.

Chicago Environmentalists provides a forum for discussing topics like zero waste living, recycling, composting, environmental justice, renewable energy, eco policy, local businesses, wildlife conservation, environmental news, events, and more. As of March 2022, the combined total membership of these groups was about 5,500 and growing. 

Chicago Environmentalists Website: https://www.chicagoenvironmentalists.org/
Cleanup Club Chicago Website: https://www.chicagoenvironmentalists.org/cleanupclubchicago
Facebook: @Chicago Environmentalists
Instagram: @chicago_enviro

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