Time to declutter and recycle

Jay Kinzler has always felt that one of the easiest ways for a citizen to contribute to a clean environment is to clean up our messes.

"It's simple," said Kinzler, a Glen Ellyn surgeon who has been on the Glen Ellyn Environment Commission for more than five years. "It doesn't cost a lot. And it makes the place look nice."

The Glen Ellyn Recycle Extravaganza from 8 a.m. to noon today will go a long way to tidy up the community, and take a load off those who wish to organize their own garages, basements and attics. It will also alleviate what ends up on the curb to ultimately languish in landfills.

Kinzler is one of the organizers of the effort, which will turn the commuter lot on Duane Street just west of the Glen Ellyn Public Library into an efficient recycling hub.

Stations will be set up to collect things including books, cell phones, certain types of plastics, fire extinguishers, eyeglasses, hearing aids, bicycles, tools, lawnmowers, certain scrap metals, gym shoes, record albums, juice pouches, bottle caps, buttons, neckties, printer cartridges, broken jewelry, toys, small appliances, clothing and household items, even American flags.

Kinzler emphasized that they will not accept computers, monitors or printers.

This event is sponsored by the village of Glen Ellyn and the Environmental Commission with assistance from local service organizations, businesses and clubs.

Recyclers coming Saturday can expect to recognize local Glen Ellyn Lions club members collecting eyeglasses and hearing aids, and Cub Scout Pack 150 will be collecting American flags for proper disposal. Kiwanians, Rotarians, Glen Ellyn League of Women Voters and Glenbard West Eco Club members will be directing traffic and sorting goods. SCARCE also will have a large presence with a book collection tent and will take unwanted cell phones and gym shoes. Kiwanis Club of Central DuPage will be collecting bicycles to be reconditioned and reused for a humanitarian effort, His Wheels International, a not-for-profit founded in Wheaton providing bikes for those in need.

The Salvation Army will fill a truck with clothing, toys and small appliances. It's Our Earth Inc., a Wheaton shop, collects broken jewelry, juice pouches, record albums, and neckties, to be transformed into usable items sold in the store. Laser and ink-jet cartridges will be accepted by Computer and Laser Services and Aurora Tri-State Fire Protection will take your old fire extinguisher.

"Every year it gets bigger, and we collect more stuff," Kinzler said.

He feels that this year there will be even more participation and interest from the community, and said "This year the theme is Glen Ellyn is green. We're all talking about things the village is doing to reduce our footprint and reduce pollution."

In addition to the stations designed to collect recyclable materials, Kinzler will have a staffed signup table to assign volunteers for the Prairie Path and Great Western Trail cleanup also starting at 9 a.m. today.

Kinzler recalls when the idea was first hatched to clean up the Prairie Path. The trail was being used in some cases as a garbage dump, with large discarded items, even refrigerators and ovens.

Now the cleanup is more like annual routine maintenance.

"It's getting easier to clean up every year. Often the job is done by 11 a.m.," he said.

This year the Glen Ellyn recycling extravaganza will be more efficient than ever, with a new traffic pattern and a special parking area for those who wish to browse the recycled books.

Those who recycle might want to proceed with some caution. Last year, a woman unwittingly recycled her Bible and Bible study notes with some old clothes she was donating. A worker from the Salvation Army drew it to the attention of a volunteer, who tracked her down from some notes she had scrawled in the pages. It was returned to her.

Another gentleman came back at the end of the day, frantically searching for his book of personal photographs, which he had placed with his recycled books hours before. Since the books are picked through all day, his photos never turned up.

Often cars make several trips to the recycle event, which is open to all, not just Glen Ellyn residents. But many who stop by live close enough where they can go back home, fill up with another load, and return. After a weekend of cleaning out and making space, residents might just be able to find a few things left to put out for Unlimited Trash Pickup.

Beginning Monday, the village of Glen Ellyn allows residents to put out larger discarded items. This highly anticipated event is an opportunity for those who wish to get rid of things, but also those who enjoy the art of "garbage-picking." That's the week to expect the unexpected, and one might see the same "junk" creep from one household curb to the other.

For details on all these events, visit www.glenellyn.org.