Category: Recycling

Spring Clean Up

Kim Stone

With Spring Clean Up coming up, it’s a good time to share information about how to best dispose of items you no longer need. Most of the items listed below will NOT be picked up during Spring Clean Up, or can be kept out of the landfill and put to better use.

Appliances: Call Lakeshore Recycling Systems at 773.685.8811 or email them to schedule pick up. There is a charge of $40 per item.
Arts and Crafts supplies: donate them to the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange.
Bicycles: Donate to Working Bikes.
Electronics: Leave one large, or several small electronics at the curb on your first trash pick up day of the month or drop off at the City’s Recycling Center (see Styrofoam for hours).
Household Chemical Waste: The SWALCO website has a schedule of Household Chemical Waste drop off events.
Medication:  Drop them off anytime in the disposal box at the HP Police Station, 1677 Old Deerfield Road. Details are here. 
Recyclables: Put these out on your regular trash day.
Shoes: Paired shoes (tie or rubber band together) can 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.
Styrofoam: Drop 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.
Textiles: Place in a sealed plastic bag and drop off anytime in one of the collection boxes located at the City’s Recycling Center or the Highland Park Metra Station (east of tracks and south of station).
Usable items: Donate to charity or use the Highland Park-Highwood Freebox page on Facebook to get unwanted but usable items to others in the community.

Learn more about how to recycle or dispose of unusual items here and here.  Here are some creative repurposing ideas for spring.

Spring Clean Up Information

Kim Stone

Highland Park’s spring trash collection days are scheduled for April 24, May 1, 8 and 15. 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.

Here are some options for proper disposal of certain items, and ideas to help keep things that are still usable out of the landfill:

Appliances: Call Lakeshore Recycling Systems at 773.685.8811 or email them to schedule pick up. There is a charge of $40 per item.
Arts and Crafts supplies: donate them to the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange.
Bicycles: Donate to Working Bikes.
Electronics: Leave one large, or several small electronics at the curb on your first trash pick up day of the month or drop off at the City’s Recycling Center (see Styrofoam for hours).
Household Chemical Waste: The SWALCO website has a schedule of Household Chemical Waste drop off events.
Medication:  Drop them off anytime in the disposal box at the HP Police Station, 1677 Old Deerfield Road. Details are here. 
Recyclables: Put these out on your regular trash day.
Shoes: Paired shoes (tie or rubber band together) can 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.
Styrofoam: Drop 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.
Textiles: Place in a sealed plastic bag and drop off anytime in one of the collection boxes located at the City’s Recycling Center or the Highland Park Metra Station (east of tracks and south of station).
Usable items: Donate to charity or use the Highland Park-Highwood Freebox page on Facebook to get unwanted but usable items to others in the community.

Learn more about how to recycle or dispose of unusual items here and here.  Here are some creative repurposing ideas for spring.

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.

Updated: Trash and Recycling

Kim Stone

Curbside bulk and electronic pick up has resumed. You may place one large (bulk) item out with your trash each week at no additional charge. On your first pick up day of each month, you may place one large electronic item or three small items out with your trash. More details are here.

The City Recycling Center at 1180 Half Day Road has reopened for drive up drop off of electronics, styrofoam, fluorescent bulbs, rechargable batteries, shoes (paired) and textiles. The Recycling Center is open from 7 am – 1 pm every Tuesday and the first Saturday of the month. More details are here. Clothing and textiles can be put in either the drop box outside the Recycling Center gate or the box on the south side of the Highland Park Metra station at any time.

As I walk around the neighborhood, I’ve been seeing plastic bags and styrofoam sticking out of recycling carts. Please take a few minutes to review this list of what is recyclable in Highland Park’s curbside program. Local grocery and big box stores have plastic bag recycling receptacles. Please do not bag your recyclables in plastic. Styrofoam should be taken to the City Recycling Center. To keep our recycling system clean remember: when in doubt, throw it out.

Spring Clean Up Cancelled

Kim Stone

Due to the pandemic, the spring clean up days originally scheduled in April and May of 2020 have been cancelled. Here are some ways to get rid of unwanted items in the meantime.

Arts and Crafts supplies: donate them to the Brushwood Art Supply Exchange.
Bicycles: Donate to Working Bikes.
Household Chemical Waste: The SWALCO website has a schedule of Household Chemical Waste drop off events.
Medication:  Drop them off anytime in the disposal box at the HP Police Station, 1677 Old Deerfield Road. Details are here. 
Recyclables: Put these out on your regular trash day.
Textiles: Place in a sealed plastic bag and drop off anytime in one of the collection boxes located at the City’s Recycling Center or the Highland Park Metra Station (east of tracks and south of station).
Usable items: Donate to charity or use the Highland Park-Highwood Freebox page on Facebook to get unwanted but usable items to others in the community.

Learn more about how to recycle or dispose of unusual items here and here.  Here are some creative repurposing ideas for spring.

Recycling Update

Kim Stone

Clothing and Textile Recycling is now available 24/7 at 2 locations. In addition to the drop box at 1180 Half Day Road, there is now a bin in the parking space just south of the main Highland Park Metra Station. Please continue to bring paired shoes, styrofoam and compact fluorescent bulbs to the Recycling Center at 1180 Half Day Road between 7 am and 1 pm on Tuesdays and the first Saturday of each month.

Recycling Reminders

Kim Stone

Highland Park has a strong recycling program – including pick up and drop off options for different items. As we begin 2019, please take a few minutes to review these recycling guidelines from the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County.  Please do not put your recycling in plastic bags. Plastic bags should be taken to a local retailer for recycling (grocery and big box stores have bins for plastic bags.) Electronics can be placed next to recycling cart at the curb on your first trash pick up day each month. Holiday lights, textiles, styrofoam and paired shoes can all be dropped off at the Recycle Center. Learn more about these options here.

 

Electronic Waste

Kim Stone
Electronic waste has increased in recent years, and much of it is not recycled. Highland Park residents can recycle electronic waste by putting it next to their trash cart on the first trash pick up of any month. Please call Lakeshore Recycling Systems in advance at 773.685.8811. You can also drop off electronics for recycling at the Highland Park Recycling Center, 1180 Half Day Road, from 7 am – 1 pm on all Tuesdays and the first Saturday of the month. The Recycling Center also collects styrofoam, clothing and shoes (paired) for recycling and reuse.
 
 

New Shoe Recycling Drop Off

Kim Stone

Do you have old shoes that you’d like to dispose of, but not send to the landfill? The City of Highland Park has recently begun to collect shoes at the Recycle Center, 1180 Half Day Road. Please pair the shoes with a rubber band or by tying together the laces. Moldy or wet shoes, ice skates, roller blades and snow boots are not accepted. Shoes can be dropped off when the Recycle Center is open — 7 am – 1 pm every Tuesday and the first Saturday of each month.

Spring Clean Up Season

Kim Stone

The City of Highland Park is hosting a donation drive this weekend — May 7th and 8th from 9 am to 1 pm at Hidden Creek Aqua Park.  Bring over books, small household items, toys, shoes and other items (for the specifics please call 847-926-1000) to donate for reuse. Got clothing too?? Our clothing and textile bin is only a few minutes away at 1180 Half Day Road! There are many year-round Reuse-A-Shoe drop offs nearby.