West Chicago offers reminders on winter services
The City of West Chicago would like to remind residents of the following winter services:
• The West Chicago Environmental Commission is once again helping to keep the holiday "green" this season by coordinating the free recycling of strands of incandescent and LED holiday lights and extension cords that no longer work.
Residents, businesses, clubs, churches, and organizations may drop-off these items at designated bins at following locations through Jan. 17: City Hall, 475 Main St.; First United Methodist Church of West Chicago, 643 E. Washington St.; Murphy Ace Hardware, 319 S. Neltnor Blvd.; West Chicago Water Treatment Plant, 1400 W. Hawthorne Lane; West Chicago Public Library, 118 W. Washington St.; and The ARC Center, 201 W. National St.
The program is coordinated with Elgin Recycling, which collects these items to strip and recycle for their copper and plastic parts. The company is a full-service scrap metal business serving the area for more than 30 years.
• Residents should be aware of the following city policies on snow removal.
City ordinance imposes a parking ban on all streets after a two-inch snowfall until such time as the street has been completely plowed curb-to-curb.
It is illegal to plow or shovel snow from driveways or sidewalks into the street. The city does not provide for snow removal from sidewalks other than in front of municipal properties and from the A. Eugene Rennels Bridge.
The city will not be responsible for damage to improperly installed mailboxes or to boxes damaged by thrown snow. Properly installed mailboxes require the box to be securely attached to a strong post with the face of the box a minimum distance of six inches behind the back of the curb (preferably 12 inches).
The placing of ornamental rocks or other objects along the curb line is illegal as they present a serious safety hazard to snow removal equipment and other traffic.
If possible, wait until your street is completely plowed before cleaning off your driveway.
• The dates for free Christmas tree pickup will be Jan. 6-17. Trees need to be free of lights, garland, tinsel, etc. otherwise drivers will tag the tree and leave it for the following week.
If tree decorations are not removed by the second week's collection, the customer will have to put a sticker on it and it would be picked up the following week as trash. Please do not put trees in plastic bags.
The city asks that residents remove their holiday lights from their home's outdoor display by March 25.
For more information, visit www.westchicago.org.