The village of Lake Zurich has spearheaded a pilot recycling program for Styrofoam.
“This is something special we started in early April. We’re trying to divert material from the landfill,” said Kyle Kordell, assistant to the Lake Zurich village manager. “During the first month, we collected half of a semi-truck trailer of Styrofoam with 10 to 12 cars each day. We’re off to a great start.”
Kordell said the village teamed up with the local American Legion post where residents can drop off Styrofoam containers labeled with the No. 6 recycling triangle. These include white foodservice Styrofoam containers that have been wiped clean, egg cartons and some shipping materials.
The drop off site is open behind the American Legion building on Tuesdays and Fridays. The village is seeking community volunteers for the site, officials explained.
Kordell said Lake Zurich is a “high consumption community that generates a lot of trash.”
That waste is headed to the landfill in Zion, which Kordell said is filling up. He sits on the board of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County and there are plans to expand the landfill by 110 acres, he said.
The last time the Zion landfill was expanded was 10 years ago, he said, and since then, it’s considered to have the largest, overall volume in the Chicago metropolitan area. Helping reduce that trash volume is the goal of the Styrofoam recycling program.
“Our recycling rate for normal curbside recycling in Lake Zurich hovers around 30%,” Kordell said. “We thought Styrofoam would be a way to boost that number higher than 30%.
He explained that the Styrofoam drop off site in Lake Zurich is the second one in the county, with another location in Highland Park.
“Most garbage companies don’t want residents to place Styrofoam in a recycling bin,” he said. “When in doubt, throw it out if you’re not sure if you can recycle or not.”
Recycling in the village is up significantly, according to Kordell, with an increase of 8% to 9% in recycling rates in 2020 compared to 2019, and he suspects that’s directly related to the pandemic – with more people ordering everything from food to retail for delivery to their home.
“Environmental sustainability is important for this Village Board and the Great Lakes region,” Kordell said. “We think the village and municipalities have an important role to play in environmental sustainability because real change happens locally. This is our little part we play in keeping the Great Lakes region clean.”
Styrofoam materials that are not accepted at the Lake Zurich site include: straws, lids, labels, tape, trash, packing peanuts, Styrofoam insulation and commercial Styrofoam.
Elizabeth Owens-Schiele is a freelancer.
