Kane County Environmental Management
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How Much Are We Recycling? In 2003, Kane County residents and businesses combined to recycle 267,000 tons of material – 1,187 pounds for every person in the County. This amount equals 42% of the 636,000 tons of garbage we generated last year. Our efforts have helped eliminate the need for 8 new landfills in Illinois over the past 15 years, saving more than 1,400 acres of land from becoming permanent dumping grounds for our garbage. 
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average Kane County home recycles about 60 pounds of material each month.
- Last year, we recycled about 65,000,000 aluminum cans in Kane County (or 168 for each person). BUT, we still threw away 30 million cans (or 86 cans per person). - Kane County residents recycled 30 million pieces of junk mail (85 pieces per person). 44% of the junk mail was never opened. - We recycled 94 million pounds of paper, saving the equivalent of 796,000 trees. Each day, 2 million trees are cut down in the United States. Mandatory Recycling for Businesses and Apartments
The Kane County Mandatory Recycling Ordinance was adopted by the Kane County Board in June 1995, and requires the following: (1) All commercial establishments in Kane County must recycle the two largest recyclable materials in their garbage. Haulers may not collect waste from any establishment that is not recycling. A "commercial establishment" is defined as any building or any part of a building wherein commerce or business is conducted, both profit and not-for-profit, including stores, offices, restaurants, shopping centers, theaters, schools, churches, government offices, and manufacturing facilities. (2) Owners of multi-family dwelling units must provide recycling service for the occupants of their buildings. |
WHAT YOU CAN RECYCLE AT HOME Recycling Tips: Recycle everything you can. One can or envelope may not seem like much, but there are more than 100,000 homes in Kane County, and if everyone does it, that one can becomes 100,000 cans that are thrown out instead of recycled. Labels can be left on bottles and cans. Do not recycle the caps from plastic bottles. They are usually a different type of plastic than the bottle and are difficult to separate at the sorting facility. Cardboard boxes must be flattened and cut down to 36" x 36" so they will fit on the recycling truck. Do not put your recyclables in plastic grocery bags. Use paper bags and take your plastic bags back to the grocery store. Remove any plastic, foil, or scented packets from catalogs and mail before recycling. Click here for further information on recycling in your area... |
