Although flattening containers, like cartons, plastic bottles, and cans, may save room in your recycling bin, please don’t do it. Crushing these items leads to issues in single stream recycling systems. However, you should flatten cardboard & corrugated boxes (see benefits of flattening boxes below).
Single Stream Recycling
If you put all your recyclables into […]
Click here for more →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. Each month, a different recycling issue will be addressed. This month, we are exploring biohazardous materials.
There is a lot of […]
Click here for more →America Recycles Day, an initiative from Keep America Beautiful, offers a great moment for reflection and change regarding our recycling habits. Here in Cook County, the typical household recycles 1.9 lbs per day with 8.2 lbs of trash going to the landfill. Over a year, that amounts to the weight of a giraffe […]
Click here for more →Join Cook County in celebrating Earth Day at the following events:
April 16, 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. – Domestic Violence Courthouse, 555 W Harrison St., 1st floor lobby. April 17, 8 a.m. – 10a.m. – Cook County Building, 118 N. Clark St., 1st floor lobby April 18, 11:30 a.m – 1:30 p.m. – […]
Click here for more →
Want to save money on your utility bills? Are you a senior who lives in Berkeley? Join Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability, Citizens Utility Board (CUB) and Elevate Energy to learn […]
Click here for more →Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced Cook County and the Forest Preserves of Cook County are stepping up the fight against climate change.
Resolutions (Cook County Board and Forest Preserves of Cook County) introduced this week set the ambitious goal of making all County government buildings and other operations carbon neutral by […]
Click here for more →Now more than ever, local government has a crucial role in sustainability and promoting green practices. The annual sustainability report highlights the County’s sustainability work in both our own operations and in the communities we work with every day.
At Cook County we are working to make sure that:
Local action is effective. […]
Click here for more →One of the best parts of the holidays are the decorative lights that adorn our homes, but those twinkly lights can come at a price. Holiday lighting in the United States alone uses enough electricity to power 200,000 homes for up to a year. If all the decorative […]
Click here for more →If you add up all the leaks, holes and gaps in your home’s building envelope, it would be the equivalent of having a window open every day of the year. Yikes! Consider weatherizing your home in order to save money and energy and to keep your home toasty. Weatherization focuses on finding the small leaks […]
Click here for more →Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability is taking the opportunity to remind residents about ‘recycling right’ as part of America Recycles Day.
One in four items placed in recycling carts is not recyclable, according to the recycling industry. This increases contamination which slows down recycling sorting facilities, reduces prices received […]
Click here for more →A Message from the President
I believe that Cook County should be a world-class model of sustainability. We are working not only to boost sustainability practices throughout County government, but also to join forces with local governments, nonprofits and business, to accomplish more than we could separately in making each of Cook County’s communities sustainable. To further this work, I appointed Deborah Stone as the County’s first Chief Sustainability Officer, and as Director of the Department of Environmental Control. I also recognize that Cook County needs to share ideas and collaborate with a diverse group of community leaders and sustainability experts. In March 2012, I appointed the Cook County Sustainability Advisory Council to help lift our vision higher and give us access to best practices. You can meet the Council members and read more about their mission in the “Advisory Council” section of this website. Toni Preckwinkle,Cook County Board President
Contact Us
Cook County Chief Sustainability Officer
69 W Washington
Room 1900
Chicago, IL 60602
312-603-8200 (o)
312-603-9828(f)
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