Category: Compost

Compost for All

Kim Stone

Highland Park’s Compost for All program begins July 31. Simply place yard waste and food scraps into the new cart with the yellow lid, and put it out on your regular trash pick up day beginning next week. No sticker is required, and the cost is already included in our trash bill. Details are here.

My household has been participating in the compost program for several years, and below are some tips that might make your experience go more smoothly:

  • If it grows, it goes: you can compost fruit and vegetable scraps, other plant material, dirty paper towels and paper napkins, egg shells, greasy pizza boxes, meat and fish scraps and bones, coffee grounds and tea leaves, and yard scraps. A list of compostable items is here. 
  • Avoid contaminants: No plastic should ever go into the compost cart. If you have messy items, you can use a paper bag or purchase special compostable bags. Plastic utensils, even if labeled as compostable, do not go into the compost cart.
  • Countertop containers: Near my kitchen sink, I have a metal container with a lid that snaps closed. When it gets full, I empty it into the compost cart and wash the container in the dishwasher. Any container works — it doesn’t need to say that it is for compost. There are also trash cans with separate attachments for compost, and under cabinet containers.
  • Keeping it clean: You may want to place paper towels in the bottom of your compost cart to soak up liquids. Smelly food scraps can be put in a container or paper bag in the freezer, and then moved to your cart closer to the day of your pick up. Hose down your cart as needed. There are also companies that provide trash cart cleaning services.

Recycling Update

Kim Stone

As the City Council liaison to trash, I have the opportunity to meet quarterly with our trash hauler, representatives of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, and City staff to discuss all things trash. At the most recent meeting, I learned that residential trash and recycling volumes in Highland Park have increased over the past 6 months by about 11%. This makes sense since people are spending more time at home due to the pandemic. Here are some things you can do to help reduce waste and improve recycling:

  1. Buy items that have minimal packaging or are packaged in recyclable materials.
  2. Do not use plastic bags for your recyclables. Plastic bags and plastic envelopes should not go into your recycling cart. They can get caught in the sorting machinery and contaminate our recycling. You can recycle clean, dry plastic bags and plastic envelopes at local big box and grocery stores. Find the nearest location for plastic film recycling here.
  3. Clothing and textiles can be dropped off in the bins at the HP Metra station (east of the tracks and south of the station) or the HP Recycling Center, 1180 Half Day Road, for recycling or reuse. These bins are available 24/7.
  4. Clean tin foil should be balled up before being placed in your recycling cart. To be picked up by the sorting equipment, make sure to collect enough foil to make a ball larger than a tennis ball.
  5. Lids can stay on the containers placed in your recycle bin. Please rinse out containers before recycling.
  6. You can compost your food scraps through the winter. Pick ups are every other Wednesday, and sign up is required. For details and to sign up, click here.

Plastic recycling has been in the news a lot lately. While some haulers are having trouble with plastics, our waste hauler has markets in the US for all the items they currently accept for recycling. For example, #5 plastics are being made into paint buckets. A list of items that are recyclable in Highland Park is here.

Winter Compost Program begins December 16

Kim Stone

Yard waste and food scraps are now collected year round, but you must sign up by emailing Service@lrsrecycles.com. You can pay per can/bag with stickers or purchase a seasonal subscription.


Pick ups are on Wednesdays through the end of March. The every other week schedule will begin for those located West of 41 on Wednesday, December 16 and then East of 41 on Wednesday December 23, rotating every other week until Wednesday, March 31.

May 13 Events

Kim Stone

SWALCO’s annual rain barrel, compost bin and native plant sale will take place from 9 am – 3 pm at Independence Grove Forest Preserve in Libertyville. Details are here.

Help clean up the Chicago River on Saturday morning between 9 am and 12 pm. In Highland Park, there are 2 clean up sites: 1) the northeast end of the Target parking lot or 2) the Golf Dome off the highway north of Park Avenue. Bring gloves and wear rain boots.

Moraine Township is looking for volunteers in the morning to help plant their garden, and in the afternoon to help sort food at the pantry. Details are here. You can also donate to the food pantry by leaving a bag of shelf stable, unexpired food by your mailbox during Saturday’s Postal Food Drive.

Trash Updates

Kim Stone

The compost pick up program begins again this week. You can request a third cart from Lakeshore for no cost for both yard waste and food scraps. This is available to all Highland Park residents regardless of which trash program you have chosen. There are two different options – you can purchase stickers at local hardware and grocery stores and pay as you go, or sign up for a seasonal subscription. Details are here.

Highland Park’s spring trash collection days are scheduled for April 29, May 6, 13 and 20. Electronic waste, yard waste, and over one cubic yard of construction waste will not be picked up. If you have a bulky item under 50 pounds, you can place it next to your trash cart for pick up on your regular trash collection day, rather than waiting for spring clean up. Details are here. You can also put one large, or three small electronics at the curb on your first trash pick up day of the month. Electronic waste, styrofoam, and paired shoes can also be dropped off at the City’s recycling center. 1180 Half Day Road, from 7 am – 1 pm any Tuesday or the first Saturday of the month. Details are here.

Curbside Compost Collection

Kim Stone

As the leaves have begun to fall, I want to be sure that you know that Highland Park’s curbside compost collection continues through December 15, and begins again in the spring. You can request a third cart from Lakeshore Recycling Systems here. Landscape waste and food scraps can both be put into this cart. This option is available to all Highland Park residents. You can purchase stickers to pay as you go, or subscribe for the season. Details are here. You can learn more about composting by watching this video from SWALCO.