First, before you think about recycling, think about REDUCING. That is going to be WAY more effective than recycling! Sometimes we like to call it “pre-cycling” where you don’t pick up that free tchotche some business is giving away that ends up languishing in your drawer. But we digress…recycling!

Recycling in the Glen Ellyn area can be confusing. Beyond curbside with Groot (Village) and other carriers in unincorporated GE, it’s difficult to know what to recycle, how and where to do it. DuPage County has a great recycling guide that talks about the differences between curbside and non-curbside.

Curbside Recycling

In the village of Glen Ellyn, Groot picks up your garbage, plus a co-mingled container of paper, plastic and glass. When you add anything into that mix that is not suppose to be there, you can stop a recycling production line, or contaminate an entire load sending it all to the landfill. No one needs that guilt! So follow some basic steps to make sure that what you are aspiring to recycle is actually recyclable.

We like to use this graphic of items created by DuPage County that can go in your curbside bin. If it is NOT on this list, check the "non curbside lists" below to see if you can recycle it elsewhere!

DuPage County’s Recycle Bin is a fun tool that you can also use to learn about what can go in your recycle bin. But check with your waste hauler/recycling company for specifics, as some take items that others do not.

Want to know more details? You can find information in our newsletter on curbside recycling, as well as a series on recycling the most common curbside items:

Before you recycle curbside…Let’s talk plastic bags.

You may think that you are being tidy putting your recycling in a plastic bag, BUT IT WILL GO DIRECTLY TO THE LANDFILL!

The recycling collector does not open it to notice your freshly washed pasta sauce jar and tuna cans. They will throw it away. All your good work for naught.

Even empty plastic bags and film do not go in the recycling bin as they will gum up the works when the other items are being sorted.

Plastic bags are one of the worst contaminants in recycling bins. NO plastic bags, films, bubble wrap, etc. When you recycle plastic, think rigid container. If it’s not a rigid container, it’s probably not recyclable…EVEN if it is made of plastic.

Non Curbside Recycling

Electronics and Textiles

Electronics and Textiles are two of the biggest items that are incorrectly added to curbside bins. You can recycle these items that CANNOT go in your curbside bin!

Medication

DON’T FLUSH IT!

From our Friends at IL Poison Control:

You can help prevent accidental poisoning of children and family members by properly removing medicine from your home. Doing so can help reduce medication abuse and drug diversion.

Proper medication disposal also helps the environment. Studies have found prescription drugs—antibiotics, hormones and cardiac medications—in our nation’s waterways. Water treatment plants cannot remove drug compounds before they reach the environment. Flushing unused medications down the toilet is part of the problem. It’s also something we can control.

Other Odds and Ends

What about all those other odds and ends? Lights, old toys, beverage rings, lightbulbs, contact lens packaging? We’ve started a guide that captures where to take all those little things in the back of your closet and junk drawer! Check it out and let us know what you think!

Resources for Non Curbside Items

SCARCE

List of SCARCE collections

SCARCE is a wonderful resource nearby at 800 S. Rohlwing Rd (Route 53), Unit D, Addison

View accepted items

Staples

We learned that Staples also takes a lot of items for recycling including all batteries, luggage and bags, non-working (i.e. dried out) pens and markers, and lots more!