Kane County Recycling makes changes to services, programs
All curbside collection programs for waste and recycling remain operational at this time.
Please continue to separate and recycle as usual. You do not need to change how you are doing anything, unless you would like to make extra efforts to maintain your "Green" standards.
Waste haulers are currently limiting extra services like collecting bulk items or excess trash or recycling that is outside of the cart. For example, they may not be collecting collect bulk materials or flattened cardboard boxes that are left outside of the cart. For specifics on your program, check with your city or hauler directly.
There may be further changes to your curbside services as things change over the coming days. If there are not enough drivers working to complete the routes as scheduled, it may become necessary for waste hauling companies to take measures to collect all materials on reduced schedules. Haulers might start by combining yard waste with trash, but in order to do that they will need to seek exemption from the state law that requires yard waste to be collected separately and composted.
It may become necessary, in extreme conditions, to collect trash and recycling together on the same day in the same truck. All material would go to the landfill.
Maintain your green standards: If that measure is activated, consider stockpiling your clean recyclables in a corner of the garage or basement until this is over. If you chose to do this, keep in mind that you will need to restart recycling in a limited way when service returns, so as not to overwhelm the system. Further, consider ways to reduce your waste, like composting your food scraps in a corner of the backyard, reusing containers, and rethinking your purchases.
Kane County Recycling has made changes to its programs and services in order to maintain the health and safety of staff, volunteers and community members.
• Electronics and textile drop-off locations are now closed and will reopen when the shelter-in-place order has been lifted.
• The Naperville Household Hazardous Waste facility is now closed until further notice.
• The Home Collection Program has been temporarily suspended until further notice.
• All recycling events in April have been canceled, including the April 11 recycling event for electronics, clothes, and books, and the April 25 Shredding Event.
• All "Rethink, Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle Right" presentations in April have been canceled, including the April 1 presentation at Village Green in East Dundee, the April 7 presentation at LeRoy Oakes for the Kane County Forest Preserve District, and the April 23 presentation at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove. The next programs on the schedule are May 12 at the St. Charles Police Department and June 9 at the Batavia Park District Civic Center.
• The Kane County Coroner's Office is closed to the public for drop-off of pharmaceutical medications. You should assume that all pharmaceutical/medication drop-offs will be closed to the public.
Kane County Recycling staff are monitoring the situation and posting updates here regarding any further cancellations. They will post all eventual resumptions of programs at a later time.
On March 20, the governor issued an executive order for residents of Illinois to stay at home. This order allows essential infrastructure and associated employees to continue to travel for work related functions. Waste and recycling services are specified as essential infrastructure in the order. Prior to the announcement of the order, the Illinois chapter of the National Waste and Recycling Association submitted a letter to emphasize this fact.
In looking toward a potential future of even more restricted services, the National Waste and Recycling Association is working to create regulatory flexibility so that they can continue to offer necessary waste removal services.
For information, visit www.countyofkane.org/recycling/.