In the event that waste haulers limit extra services like collecting bulk items, delaying landscape collection and combining recycling and waste in your community, Cook County Department of Environment and Sustainability provides the following guidelines and alternatives. Remember: For specifics on your program, please check directly with your municipality or hauler.
1.If there is […]
Click here for more →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 →If it’s made from paperboard, it must be recyclable, right? Not always! Frozen food boxes pose a challenge to the recycling process. Paperboard boxes that were designed for freezer foods, such as frozen pizza and entrées, are impregnated with a plastic polymer to protect against freezer burn. The plastic prevents the box from […]
Click here for more →Have a busted strand of lights? Cat attack the tree again? Before you send the strand to the landfill, consider visiting a recycling drop off location. The copper, metal, and plastic from the lights will be separated and recycled in these specialized processes. Due to the specific process needed, be sure to keep holiday […]
Click here for more →CCDES is a member of the Illinois Recycling Contamination Task Force, a group convened to handle the 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. For November, we explore the plastic bag dilemma.
Plastic […]
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 →Cook County is doing its part to help stem climate change.
The county is exceeding its target for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions from its buildings, the County’s 2015 Sustainability Report shows.
The County’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions have decreased by 11 percent since they were measured in 2010, an achievement that surpasses its target of […]
Click here for more →Cook County’s award-winning Demolition Debris Diversion Ordinance was discussed by a group of architects, interior designers and reuse specialists on November 11. Hosted by DIRTT Environmental Solutions, the panel featured Cook County’s Sustainability Officer Deborah Stone; DIRTT’s Calgary-based sustainability leader Andrée Iffrig; Andrew Balster, an architect and executive director of nonprofit ARCHEWORKS, a Chicago-based, multidisciplinary, […]
Click here for more →Join the Cook County Department of Environmental Control at Kickapoo Woods on Saturday, September 26th from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. We will be celebrating the Cook County Forest Preserve District’s 100th Anniversary while sharing information on backyard composting and other environmental programs. For additional information and to see other events taking place at Kickapoo […]
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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