Chicago Christmas tree recycling

If you have a real Christmas tree, you can take it to one of the locations listed at ChicagoRecycles.org from now to 1/17. Our nearest location is Kennedy Park on Western.

It's a much better alternative than putting out in the trash and having it end up in a landfill. If you take it for recycling, it gets turned into mulch that will be used to help other trees. You can also get mulch for yourself if you bring a container for taking it home.

 

time for a better recycling plan

Tonight I was out for a bike ride and had plenty of reminders of a problem that's gotten out of hand: using Waste Management to pick up our recycling. I never saw a significant problem with broken glass on the pavement until they started handling our recycling. Now the areas around where recycling cans were picked up have a LOT of broken glass - on streets and in alleys.

To make matters worse, their recycling operation is a major conflict of interest, as they handle both recycling and dumps. Their rejection rate for allegedly contaminated recycling bins is much higher than that of other haulers. As owners of dumps, where they make money on loads taken there, they have a strong incentive to reject recycling as contaminated. If you want more detail, click here and read on.

The broken glass problem is a hazard to children, dogs and people riding bikes. It's also the proverbial last straw for me, on top of their ridiculous conflict of interest.

I hope that our new mayor will give them the sack. This is just one bad piece of a recycling program that's overdue for a major overhaul.

please recycle your Christmas tree

If you bought a real tree this year, please consider holding onto it until 1/8 and then taking it for recycling.  If you do this, it will be chipped and used for mulch instead of taking up space in a landfill. Full news story here.

Locations include:

Kennedy Park, 2427 W. 113th St. , Mount Greenwood Park at 3721 W. 111th St., the city’s forestry site at 900 E. 103rd St., Lincoln Park at Cannon Drive and Fullerton Avenue, Margate Park at 4921 N. Marine Drive, , North Park Village at 5801 N. Pulaski,Warren Park at 6601 N. Western Ave.,  Bessemer Park, 8930 S. Muskegon Ave. Clark Park, 3400 N. Rockwell St. Garfield Park, 100 N. Central Park Ave. Grant Park, 900 S. Columbus Drive Kelvyn Park, 4438 W. Wrightwood Ave. Lake Meadows Park, 3117 S. Rhodes Ave. Marquette Park, 6700 S. Kedzie Ave. McKinley Park, 2210 W. Pershing Road West Chatham Park, 8223 S. Princeton Ave. North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski Road Norwood Park, 5801 N. Natoma Ave. Portage Park, 4100 N. Long Ave. Riis Park, 6201 W. Wrightwood Ave. Sheridan Park, 910 S. Aberdeen St. Walsh Park, 1722 N. Ashland Ave. and Wentworth Park, 5701 S. Narragansett Ave.

Christmas tree recycling at Kennedy Park and Mt. Greenwood starting Tuesday 1/3

Don't throw your tree in the trash! You can recycle it by dropping it off at Kennedy Park, Mt. Greenwood Park, the city forestry dept. at 900 E 103rd St and other locations starting tomorrow (1/3 thru 1/21).  This helps to keep trees out of landfills and generates mulch for use by residents and the city forestry department.

If you want free mulch from recycled trees, you can get it at Mt. Greenwood Park or 900 E 103rd St starting on 1/3.

Click here for more info.

19th ward shredding and electronics recycling Sat. 6/4

The next 19th ward shredding and electronics event happens Sat. 6/4 9 – 11 am at St. John Fisher 10234 S Washtenaw in the parking lot.

19th ward electronics disposal and shredding event on Sat. 2/20

recycling changes

The City of Chicago now requires that all recyclable materials be placed in blue carts loose, without plastic bags.

Plastic bags contaminate the recycling stream, damage equipment at sorting facilities and prevent workers from seeing whether other non-recyclables are present. Set plastic bags aside and take them to bins at local stores where bags are accepted for recycling.

Click here for complete details on what can be recycled and how.

If you'd like to get recycling updates, click here to be added to a mailing list.

Christmas tree recycling locations in Chicago

Please don't put your Christmas tree out with the trash. If you got a real (non-artificial) tree this year, please consider taking it to a recycling location so that it can be chipped and used as mulch instead of going into a landfill. Jan. 2 through Jan. 16 for recycling. You can even get free mulch at a few spots starting Jan. 11.

* Mulch will be available for free on a limited basis Jan. 11-17 at select locations:
- Mt. Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St.
- Bessemer Park, 8930 S. Muskegon
- Lincoln Park, Cannon Drive at Fullerton
- North Park Village, 5801 N. Pulaski
- Warren Park, 6601 N. Western

recycle your Christmas tree

Now that Christmas has passed, you may be thinking about taking down the Christmas tree soon.  If it's a real tree, please consider taking it to one of the recycling sites mentioned in this article, so that it can be turned into mulch to help protect trees around the city. 

If you have dead strings of Christmas lights or other items that may not be among the regular items accepted in our recycling pickups, here's a resource to find a place to recycle them.

Wishing you and your family a healthy, prosperous, green New Year.

where to recycle old holiday lights

Do you have old burned out or broken holiday light strings? You can drop them off for recycling at one of the following locations during their regular hours between now and Tuesday 1/18.

Chicago Center for Green Technology, 445 N. Sacramento
City Hall Lobby, 121 N. LaSalle St.
RecycleTech, 11235 S. Cottage Grove
Chicago Police Dept., 5101 S. Wentworth
Edgebrook Ace Hardware, 5423 W. Devon
Whole Foods South Loop, 1101 S. Canal
Wright College Campus Center, 4300 N. Narragansett
Logan Theater, 2646 N. Milwaukee
Southeast Senior Center, 1767 E. 79th St.
Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce, 1414 N. Ashland
Southwest Senior Center, 6117 S. Kedzie
North Community Bank, 5235 N. Western

after Christmas

When your Christmas tree has dropped too many needles and it's time for it to go, please consider recycling it. The Chicago Park District will be accepting trees for chipping and mulching at several locations between now and Sunday January 17th.

In the Beverly area, trees will be accepted at Mt. Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St., and Kennedy Park, 11320 S. Western. You can pick up free mulch beginning today.

household hazardous and electronic waste collection

The Green Sanctuary Group of Beverly Unitarian Church will collect household hazardous waste and electronics for recycling Sat. 3/6, 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the church parking lot, 10244 S. Longwood Dr. (the Castle). Modest contributions to help offset transportation costs are appreciated. For more information, call 773-233-7080.

don't trash that tree!

Are you thinking about taking down that Christmas tree and disposing of it now that the needles are dropping? Don't toss it in the trash. From now thru 1/17, you can take it to one of the following locations to be recycled:

Kennedy Park, 11320 S. Western
Marquette Park, 6700 S. Kedzie
Forestry Site, 900 E. 103rd St.
Mt. Greenwood Park, 3721 W. 111th St.
Rowan Park, 11546 S. Avenue L
Jackson Park, 6300 S. Cornell

Trees will be chipped and turned into mulch. Free mulch will be available to residents at the same sites beginning Friday 1/8.

For additional info on recycling drop-off locations, call 311.

household hazardous and electronic waste collection

The Green Sanctuary Group of Beverly Unitarian Church will collect household hazardous waste and electronics for recycling Sat. 11/7, 8:30 to 10 a.m. in the church parking lot, 10244 S. Longwood Dr. (the Castle). Modest contributions to help offset transportation costs are appreciated. Collections are scheduled on the first Saturday of Feb., May, Aug. and Nov. For more information, call 773-233-7080.

Christmas tree recycling

Instead of throwing your Christmas Tree into the garbage, please consider bringing in to one of the local parks listed below to have it chipped and turned into mulch. Free mulch will be available to city residents for pickup at these locations now thru Friday, 1/16. Please note that quantities of mulch available are limited and that other recyclables are not accepted at these locations.

For further information, contact Alderman Rugai’s Office at (773) 238-8766 or vrugai@cityofchicago.org.

Christmas Tree Recycling Locations:
Kennedy Park - 11320 S. Western
Mt. Greenwood Park - 3721 W. 111th St.

waste to profit

On Chicago Tonight, they had a feature about a cool recycling program that was unfamiliar to me: the Waste to Profit Network. The program matches up businesses with waste they can't use with other businesses that can recycle that waste in some way.

recycling compact fluorescent bulbs

Home Depot now accepts CFLs for recycling.

post-Earth Day thought

Putting your stuff into the recycling bin is only half of the picture. Buying products with recycled content is the all-important other half. Recycling doesn't work if there is no market for the recycled materials. Paper towels are a good example. Here's a comparison test of several recycled paper towel brands vs. Bounty.

greener way to run a business

Here's a green business model in action.

Another example I'm seeing lately here in Chicago is the increase in restaurant food deliveries by bicycle, such as Potbelly and Jimmy John's.

one man's trash

How many of us think about how much trash one person can generate in a year? This is a thought-provoking, if somewhat extreme, example.

We can each find practical ways to reduce the trash we generate. Bags are a biggie for me. If I'm at a store, I often have a tote bag with me and put my purchases into it rather than accepting a plastic bag. If I don't need a bag, I try to avoid taking one. I try to buy items with less packaging when possible.

Look at your patterns of use. Replacing one or two disposable items with reusable ones can make a big difference. Here's to a new year of less trash. Cheers!