STF Hosting the Second Donate and Recycle Day

There are four R’s of environmental stewardship: refuse, reduce, reuse and recycle. Even after trying to refuse and reduce the amount we purchase, sometimes we still wind up with a houseful of unwanted goods. This fall, on Saturday, October 10, we, Village of Glencoe Sustainability Task Force, will be hosting the second Village-wide Donate and Recycle Drop-Off Event from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., rain or shine. You’ll find us at the southeast Metra commuter lot (290 Park Avenue). This event will follow social distancing guidelines and will be a self-unload event.

In October 2019, we organized the first Donate and Recycle Drop-Off Event one week before of the bi-annual Village Clean-Up Day. This was because all items that are put on the curbside by residents go directly into the landfill. At last October’s successful event, 927 gallons of latex paint, 592 pounds of clothing, 234 pieces of household furniture, three truckloads full of electronic equipment and massive amounts of Styrofoam, as well as many other items, were collected to be reused or recycled.

This fall, we are expecting the event to be bigger and even more popular than the last! The Epilepsy Foundation will again be partnering with the Sustainability Task Force to collect most of your household and other reusable items, such as smaller furniture, as well as books and sports equipment in good condition. Abt Electronics will be returning to pick up Styrofoam. Styrofoam peanuts will be going to UPS. The newly launched Flat Can Recycling will be there this year to collect your spray paint can, including the cap, for $1.00/can. We are excited to partner with Lakeshore Recycling Systems who will recycle your construction debris and electronic equipment. We will have two newcomers to this year’s event: Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse and Working Bikes. Evanston Rebuilding Warehouse will take your doors, hardware, light fixtures, bathroom and kitchen cabinets in good condition. Working Bikes will be looking for all bicycle donations, in good condition. A list of acceptable items is available at www.villageofglencoe.org/donateandrecycleday. Please check the webpage before you bring your items and check back frequently to see if your item(s) can be brought to the event. Please note that we are unable to take large furniture pieces.

As a safety precaution for COVID-19, this fall the event will be self-serve and participants will unload their own vehicles, unless assistance is needed. Volunteers will be there to direct traffic. To help the event run smoothly, we will post a site map of the event on our website www.villageofglencoe.org/reyclingday. Please familiarize yourself as to where all the vendors are in the parking lot. We will have signs, but it might be helpful to have the map downloaded and handy on your smart phone.

 The date of the Donate and Recycle Drop-Off Event, Saturday, October 10, is one week before the Village’s curbside fall Clean-Up Day, on Saturday, October 17. As mentioned, everything that is picked up at the curbside goes directly into the landfill on Clean-Up Day, so please try to find a home or a recycling option for most of your items if you can. Last year there were 7.2 fewer tons that went to the landfill than the previous fall on Clean-Up Day, which is a 15 percent decrease. We believe that much of the reduction can be contributed to the recycling event. We should be proud that we are making progress - maybe this fall we can do even better! Our goal is to keep as much as we can out of the landfill.

 Let’s start putting aside recyclable and reusable items in our garages to bring to the Donate and Recycle Drop-Off Event on Saturday, October10 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. at the south east Metra commuter lot (290 Park Avenue). Let’s all do our part to establish Glencoe as the most environmentally friendly community and let’s all be #SustainabilityStars!