Skokie Village to Residents: Think Green, Recycle Holiday Lights

Every year, Americans generate an estimated 250 million tons of trash, surging 25 percent more between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, according to the latest Environmental Protection Agency study.

As 2010 has come to a close, holiday trash is piling up once again. But thanks to environment-friendly programs of communities like Skokie, more solid waste is also being recycled, reducing the amount of garbage that end up in landfills.

For the first time this year, Skokie is teaming up with Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) in collecting used and broken holiday lights for recycling. This, in addition to the village's annual pick up of discarded live Christmas trees, and the regular collection of other recyclable materials.

"Recycling is a good thing," said Paul Brzozowski, refuse superintendent in Skokie. "People have to break their habit of throwing everything away. They have to be concious. They have to make an effort."

Last year, SWANCC collected 7,000 pounds of burned-out string lighting and old
extension cords, from 11 of its 23 member communities.

According to SWANCC, the used holiday lights are processed at Elgin Recycling Inc.'s Palatine facility. The strands are then "chopped, separated, baled and sold as a commodity to foundries and mills" across the U.S.

Recycling efforts like that account for the increase in recycling rates from 29 percent in 2000 to 33.2 percent in 2008. The 2008 rate is equivalent to 83 million tons of recycled materials, according to the EPA study.

Disposal of waste in landfills also decreased from 89 percent of the amount generated in 1980 to 54 percent in 2008, the same study said.

Aside from its benefits to the environment, Brzozowski said locally, recycling also has a practical function, in creating jobs at recycling plants.

Adam Letendre, assistant to the Public Works director in Skokie, said the lights and extension cords can be dropped off at their facility at 9050 Gross Point Road, until Jan. 28 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Meanwhile, Letendre said that for the first two weeks of January, Public Works crews will pick up discarded Christmas trees around the village. After that, it will be done during normal garbage collection.  

"Recycle as much as you can," Letendre said, urging residents to visit the Skokie website for more information about recycling.

To have the trees picked up for recycling, residents are asked to place them in the alley or at the curb where refuse is collected.

The village is requesting residents avoid placing the tree in a bag or container, and to remove all other decorations. Wreaths are not collected with the trees and should be disposed with the regular household garbage, the village said. 

As of Jan. 4, dozens of Christmas trees were already piled up behind the facility.

The trees are then chipped and prepared for mulch, which is available to village residents.The pick-up area is located on the south 
side of Church Street, in the Commonwealth Edison right-of-way property, east of Terminal Avenue.    

The mulch is also used in various Skokie Village-owned building grounds, as well as the Channel Park. 

In 2009, 28.2 million real trees were sold in the U.S., an estimated total retail value of $1.15 billion, according to the National Christmas Tree Association. About 11.7 million fake trees were also sold for $901 million.

Meanwhile, Letendre said public works services such as garbage collection are "maintained at the levels they have always been performed", and there are "no cutbacks" despite some retirements, and the hiring freeze resulting from the economic slowdown. 

"There's absolutely no allowable diminishment of service from the village even with lack of personnel," Letendre said.