Oak Lawn Goes Green For Village
Oak Lawn has been making strides to become more “green” or environmentally friendly in the past months.
The village has adopted a “Green Team,” which is headed by Mayor Dave Heilmann and Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd).
According to Olejniczak, himself, the mayor and other trustees asked themselves, “Are we really doing everything that we can to help the environment?”
After asking this question, the village adopted the idea for the Green Team back in April.
The Green Team meets monthly, and it asks for community involvement to maintain a focus upon such environmental concerns as recycling, energy efficiency, LEED certification for future buildings, fleet efficiency and purchasing policies.
“We have very dedicated residents which are helping us out to improve conservation. ... We have seen a very big impact on recycling within the community,” said Olejniczak.
In addition to the Green Team, the village has installed LED street lights.
“The LED street lights appear to be working out very well. They are not only saving energy, but they have a much lower operating cost as well,” Olejniczak stated.
These LED street lights have an economic life of 15 to 25 years.
Conventional street lights only have an average life of two years.
These lights boost the reduction of energy consumption up to 80 percent, and convey a more clear light.
They also offer a clean, white light in oppose to the yellow tinge that has a tendency to go hand-in-hand with conventional street lights.
The village operates and maintains 5,000 street lights village wide.
According to Olejniczak, the Green Team is determined to continue to make strides and maintain an “environmentally friendly” focus in Oak Lawn within future months by listening to citizens’ concerns and identifying new areas to focus upon.
“Personally, I am very excited to have a positive impact on the environment. ...It’s what my company and I strive for,” said Olejniczak.