An aerial view of the Chicago Area Confined Disposal Facility, a 45-acre site on Chicago’s Southeast Side that has been in operation since 1984. Inset: The CDF is outlined in red. (Credit: Army Corps of Engineers)

Community organizers on Chicago’s Southeast Side are marshaling their forces and looking for solutions to address what they see as yet another environmental threat to their already beleaguered neighborhood.

Composting is one way to reduce food waste. (Herb007 / Pixabay)
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Tuesday marks the first ever International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, so let’s talk about the produce that spoiled in your refrigerator and the unopened cans you trashed because they were past their “expiration date.”

Volunteers are needed for daily beach cleanups through Sept. 26. (Courtesy of Shedd Aquarium)

It might not be the day of your Coppertone dreams, but you can get a little sand between your toes by signing up for one or all of this week’s volunteer beach and shoreline cleanups.

Lead and arsenic were discovered in the soil beneath the Hegewisch Little League field. (Google Streetview photo)

The EPA has completed cleanup of the Hegewisch Little League Field after discovering alarming levels of lead and arsenic in the soil. 

Chicago’s Southeast Side. (WTTW News)
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We speak with Angela Tovar, the city’s recently named sustainability officer, about a new air quality ordinance and improving Chicago’s environment.

Hazy skies over Chicago are due to smoke from West Coast wildfires. (Patty Wetli / WTTW News)

Smoke from the West Coast wildfires has drifted into northern Illinois, creating milky white or gray skies over what should be a sunny Chicago, according to the National Weather Service.

Lake Michigan and the Chicago skyline on Wednesday, Feb. 5, 2020. (WTTW News)

Will new EPA regulations allow a Wisconsin power plant to dump more toxic metals into Lake Michigan? Chicago Tribune reporter Michael Hawthorne explains.

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Following a May explosion, General Iron has put appropriate controls in place to resume its metal shredding operation, experts say. Neighbors say they have little faith in the company’s commitment to compliance.

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Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s new report on air quality shows that while air pollution is a problem across the city, it’s worse in some neighborhoods than others. What her administration is planning to do about it.

General Iron's Lincoln Park facility. (WTTW News)
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Opponents of the Lincoln Park metal shredder want General Iron closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but if the facility checks all the right boxes, it could eventually restart operations, officials said. 

According to preliminary findings from the EPA, manganese has been found in the soil at Hegewisch Babe Ruth Field. (Hegewisch Babe Ruth / Facebook)

After finding arsenic and lead in the soil at the Hegewisch Little League Field, the EPA tested a second a ball diamond in the neighborhood and found manganese. “We fight for every breath we take here,” said one resident.

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July in Chicago brings scorching summer heat to the city, and often with it, poor air quality.

Lead and arsenic were discovered in the soil beneath the Hegewisch Little League field. (Google Streetview photo)

The EPA began cleaning up the site this week, stating the hazardous substances found in the soil posed an “imminent and substantial endangerment” to “public health, welfare, and the environment.”

General Iron’s metal-shredding operation in Lincoln Park. (WTTW News)
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Five weeks after two explosions rattled General Iron, city officials allowed the North Side metal recycler to partially reopen June 24 — but its shredding facility remains shut down as investigations continue into the May 18 blasts.

Protesters outside the North Side home of MAT Asphalt owner. (Neighbors for Environmental Justice)

Environmental activists from the city’s Southwest Side brought their ongoing fight against MAT Asphalt to the North Side front yard of owner Michael Tadin Jr. on Thursday night.

General Iron's Lincoln Park facility. (WTTW News)

Over the objections of environmental activists, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday issued a construction permit to General Iron, allowing the company to move its metal-shredding operation from Lincoln Park to the Southeast Side.