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FAQs
About the Rethink Recycling Campaign
Due to significant increases in recycling processing costs, The City of Lake Forest is conducting a two-year campaign to lessen recycling waste from 25% to 10%. If the goal is met, our recycling processing costs will be reduced by 25% per ton. To achieve this goal, residents are asked to rethink how they recycle in order to save significant revenue for the City. The focus of the campaign is on what should and should not be placed in a recycling bin.
The Lake Forest Garden Club generously provided the City of Lake Forest with a community grant totaling $110,000 to fund this expansion of Lake Forest’s Recycling Education Campaign. The Lake Forest Garden Club, established 1912, is a long-time partner and collaborator with The City of Lake Forest and a leader in advocating for environmental conservation, beautification and educational efforts that benefit residents, visitors and businesses in Lake Forest and beyond.
The Rethink Recycling campaign is being evaluated on an ongoing basis by the city’s Public Works department. We’re measuring the reduction in recycling waste in route to the goal of reducing waste from the current 25% down to 10%. Measurements of recycling waste are available to all residents via the News page of this website.
I can answer that one. Hi everyone! I'm Bart the Cart. My job is to help Lake Forest residents learn what should and should not be placed in their recycle bins. I've organized my recommendations into four basic guidelines: Empty & Clean, No Plastic Bags, No Styrofoam, No Tanglers. Pretty simple, right? And it's really important. If we follow these guidelines, our recycled materials won’t clog recycling machines, because that causes additional work for the processors and ultimately drives up costs to the City.
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Can I recycle this?
Not curbside, but the first Saturday after federal taxes are due, Lake Forest hosts a shredding event where you can also bring previously shredded paper. Check https://www.cityoflakeforest.com/i-want-to/recycle/recycling/ (https://www.cityoflakeforest.com/i-want-to/recycle/recycling/)for any updates.
Plastic bubble envelopes can be recycled provided any paper stickers or labels are removed or cut off, but they are NOT recyclable in our curbside carts. They can be droppeed off at the Recycling Center on Rte 60 and Jewel-Osco. Same goes for other plastic bags, bubble wrap and other thin-film plastic bags (like salad bags).
Foam #6 plastics aren't recyclable in our curbside pickup, but you can take them to the Highland Park Recycling Center on Tuesdays and the 1st Saturday of the month, 7 am to 1 pm.
Learn more by following this link:
https://cms6.revize.com/revize/highlandparkil/environment/docs/Highland%20Park%20Recycling/E006_HighlandPark_FoamDropOff_091718.pdf
Similar words, different meanings. Just because something says 'recycled' doesn't mean it can be further recycled. 'Recyclable' indicates the material in question can be recycled. It should be noted, though, that some items involve extra cleaning or care (i.e. overyly dusty or dirty) prior to being recycled.
The recycling process in Lake Forest
Great question! Lake Forest residents place materials to be recycled in their city-issued carts for once-per-week curbside pick up. There are two designated recycling pick up days. If you don't know yours, call (847) 615-4264. The City of Lake Forest Sanitation Section collects the material and contracts with Resource Management to transport and process the recyclable materials. See The City of Lake Forest website Recycling (https://www.cityoflakeforest.com/city-services/public-works/sanitation/recycling/)page for additional recycling program details and rules.
Items to be recycled are delivered to a recycling center where they are sorted and separated into different types of materials (by hand or machine), and reprocessed into new materials destined for manufacturing new products. The recycling process is significantly hampered when materials that can’t be recycled are mixed with approved recyclables (see FAQ "What does 'contamination' mean?).
Improper items such as food contaminated boxes, plastic bags and styrofoam delivered to the recycling center require hand removal thus causing extra labor and significant time delays. This drives up processing costs for the city. Avoiding contamination is critical to keeping our recycling costs lower.
The recycling process in Lake Forest
Try to be conscious of wasting water when rinsing recyclables. You don’t need to wash
recyclables like you wash your dishes. Tip: use leftover dishwater to rinse your items.
You’ll save water and reduce your water bill.
The entire recycling process actually conserves water as it reduces the need to extract
and process non recycled materials, which lessens water use. And big picture:
Recycling saves energy and when done efficiently supports communities economically.
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