Heights hoping to do its part in helping the environment

Peoria Heights residents wishing to do the planet a favor and compost their table scraps and other biodegradable waste – keeping it out of area landfills – can now do so at a kiosk set up for that purpose in the Village center.

The Village, thanks to a recycling grant courtesy of Peoria County, is teaming up with East Peoria-based Better Earth Logistics to offer the composting kiosk. The latter is open 24-7 and located in the far northwest corner of the parking lot at the end of Seiberling Avenue, near the old Pabst water treatment facility.

To use the kiosk, residents must purchase a starter kit, which is $20.99 and available at Sous Chef in Peoria’s Warehouse District, 1311 SW Adams St., though Better Earth hopes to partner soon with a Peoria Heights business. The kit includes a card to access the otherwise locked kiosk – so as to prevent unauthorized dumping -- and 25 liner bags. Refill bags are $16.50, which covers the cost of pick-up, the frequency of which will depend on usage, at least once a week.

Items eligible for compost include many residential food products, among them meat, fish, bones, fruits and vegetables, along with cut flowers and some biodegradable paper products such as filters, tea bags, etc. As we are fully into the fall season, those leftover pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns also can be disposed of at the kiosk.

“I just hate seeing organic material going to the landfill,” said Luke Rosenbohm, who founded Better Earth Logistics with wife Yvonne a couple of years ago.

Why?

Because decomposing food, deprived of air in a landfill, creates methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere, said Rosenbohm. Landfills account for an astounding 34 percent of all methane emissions in the United States, along with the potential they pose for soil and groundwater pollution.

Meanwhile, if what was once waste can now be put to safe, productive use in mineral-rich compost to replenish the soil, well, why not?

“If we’re going to sit there and say we have a problem with climate change ... one of the most basic things we can do is getting organic material out of landfills,” said Rosenbohm.

“I don’t think we’ll ever get rid of landfills, but we can definitely reduce the volume” of waste going into them, he said. “It’s pretty simple. Our great- grandparents used to do this all the time. Convenience got us out of the habit of doing the right thing.”

At the end of the day, the question to be asked is, “What’s better for our kids down the road?” The Rosenbohms answered it by merging their passion into a sustainable business model.

The kiosk in Peoria Heights joins others in Peoria, Washington, Bloomington and Illinois State University’s campus in Normal.

“We’re delighted to be a part of this effort,” said Peoria Heights Mayor Michael Phelan. “We greatly value our natural environment here in the Heights, and it’s important for all of us to help preserve and protect it for ourselves, today, and for future generations. It’s the only Earth we have. I hope our residents use this service.”

Follow your nose to Generations Candle

You might say the Zobrists, the newest investors in Peoria Heights’ vibrant and growing mom-and-pop retail scene, have a nose for business.

Susan and Chad Zobrist hosted a grand opening for their Generations Candle Company at 4600 N. Prospect Road -- in the heart of the Heights’ bustling downtown -- in early October. And here, the noses and the scents they detect absolutely rule. There are more than 80 of those scents, in fact -- everything from decidedly creative takes on “Old Books” and “Santa’s Pipe” to clear-cut favorites such as “Coffee Bean” and “Baked Bread.” It’s autumn, so expect the scents of the season – “Pumpkin Spice,” “Mulled Cider,” “Campfire,” “Autumn Leaves.” One might say there’s something for every olfactory persuasion.

Obviously, then, it’s important to bring your best nose to the occasion, but it’s a hands-on experience, as well. Indeed, Generations Candle is the latest in a line of DIY (Do It Yourself) shops in the Heights.

“We’re a retail experience. You get to blend your own custom scent” with the help of a scent stylist who has smelled her way around the block a time or two and has a good feel for what combinations work and for which occasions, from “fresh and floral to cozy and food related,” said Susan Zobrist.

Customers can pour their own candles and draw up their own custom labels, while store employees apply the glaze, trim the wicks and box it all up, ready to go. “We’d like for people to come here first,” said Susan Zobrist. “Go out and eat. Come back two hours later and it’s all done for you.”

So, what prompted this adventure?

A couple of years ago, Susan was visiting one of the couple’s four adult daughters in Indiana, and the two visited a candle store there. She was sold.

“I came home and said to my husband, ‘How about we open a candle shop?’” she said. “We were empty nesters. We were looking for what was next.”They also had business experience. The Morton couple had run a Quiznos restaurant in that community, where Chad continues to operate an office supply store. Susan was a stay-at-home mom before becoming involved with South Side Christian Academy in Peoria. Family had long been at the center of their lives, and Generations seemed like it could become another outlet for the “team.” Indeed, family photos depicting multiple generations have a prominent place in the store, which has a decidedly “Fixer Upper” vibe, for those familiar with the popular HGTV show. Still, they had no background with this kind of business. So, they sought advice, and a business plan, from Candle Lab out of Columbus, Ohio, which had done the same for some 40 candle shops across the country, from New York to California. And off they went, despite a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic,which was “scary,” though they were determined and confident that people were “ready to get out.”

So far, that belief has proven correct.

Group events have been popular – bridal and baby showers, date nights, girls’ nights out, holiday parties, etc. Weddings are a big market. One couple chose “Champagne” and “Autumn Leaves” as “their blend,” said Susan. “They’re getting married next week. They’ll have them at every table.”

Meanwhile, when it comes to business success, “location, location, location” is a common refrain. The Zobrists had the good scents – make that sense – to pick Peoria Heights.

“We wanted a spot with walking traffic,” said Susan. “This was about the only place in the Peoria area that was established and ready for that. ... It’s kind of a destination area.”

And what they’ve built in the midst of all that is “a peaceful place for people to come in ... and it smells good,” she said. “It’s a fun little adventure.”

Helping Hands to celebrate Heights’ anniversary

Helping Hands Resale Shoppe will celebrate its fourth birthday in Peoria Heights from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 4 with an event at its Heights’ storefront, 1005 E. War Memorial Drive.

The charitable organization will be giving away $200 grants every 30 minutes to non-profits that are represented in person.

A designated 501(c)(3), Helping Hands was founded in 2010 to generate funds for local and international charities through the sale of donated goods. Each week, a ministry or charity is picked as a recipient. In addition to the Heights store, Helping Hands also has resale locations in Chillicothe and Canton. Tens of thousands of dollars are raised annually to help the needy in those communities.

The Heights store is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Donations may be made during open hours only.

Follow Helping Hands online and on Facebook.