Recent News

• Where to Recycle Your Christmas Tree or Broken Holiday Lights January 3, 2022
  Not sure what to do with your live tree and old or broken light strings post-holidays? There are many opportunities to recycle these items in Cook County. Make your holiday season a little more sustainable this year by keeping holiday waste out of the landfill.  Drop-off sites open to all Cook County residents:  Make sure […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Avoid the landfill and compost your Autumn pumpkins this year with Pumpkin Smash November 4, 2021
  Many households like to use pumpkins for a colorful decoration this time of year and if you celebrate Halloween, you probably carve your pumpkins into jack-o-lanterns. But what do you do with your Halloween pumpkins when November arrives? If you usually just throw it in the trash there is a better option for disposing of your jack-o-lanterns. Composting is a great option to keep your pumpkins out of the landfill. […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: Scrap Metal June 11, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. Scrap metal recycling has been around since the invention of metal but scrap metal has never been accepted in curbside recycling programs. […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: Tanglers Make a Mess of Curbside Recycling June 11, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. Tanglers are one of the most common types of non-recyclable “contaminants” faced by sorting facilities or Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs). But what […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: No Shredded Paper in the Curbside Recycling Bins June 11, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. While shredded paper used to be allowed in recycling carts, it isn’t any more. Shredded paper does not belong in your curbside […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: Keep Food and Liquids Out of Curbside Recycling June 11, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. At home or work when you are getting ready to recycle those everyday items, such cardboard, bottles, cans or jars, remember to […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: How to Recycle Old Batteries June 11, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. It is estimated that over 3 billion batteries were sold last year according to the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency. Batteries help […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: Disposing of Household Hazardous Waste June 1, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. If you have painted your house, refinished your floors, or switched your lightbulbs from CFLs to LEDs, chances are you had some […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen – Clothing and Textile Disposal June 1, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, textile waste accounted for 8% of all landfilled municipal solid waste in 2017. In Cook […]
  Sarah Edwards
• Dirty Dozen: Clearing Up Confusion on Plastic Recycling June 1, 2021
  CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group that addresses pressing recycling issues throughout the state. To answer specific recycling questions, the task force has launched the Dirty Dozen Campaign. What makes something recyclable or not? An item is recyclable only if it (1) can be correctly sorted using current technology at […]
  Sarah Edwards