Seven recycling trucks were destroyed by fire last year when residents made the mistake of putting lithium-ion batteries and other dangerous materials into their curbside recycling containers for pickup, a recycling company official revealed at a recent event in Glenview.<\/p>\n
Javier Erazo, district manager of Groot Industries\/Waste Connections told a room of more than 60 people gathered at the Glenview Library for an Oct. 27 program on proper recycling,\u00a0\u201cWe probably deal with fires on a daily basis during certain seasons.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we\u2019ll have a fire, we\u2019ll extinguish it and then, within that same area, the second shift will come in hours later and something else will ignite.\u201d<\/p>\n
Co-sponsored by Greener Glenview, \u201cRecycling: Myth vs. Reality,\u201d included representatives from the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) and Groot\/Waste Connections, who explained how the suburban recycling system works, outlined materials that are acceptable for curbside recycling and at drop-off sites, shared new initiatives that are set to launch and answered audience questions.<\/p>\n
Glenview residents, like a number of other suburban communities, receive waste hauling services and collection of recyclables from Groot, which was acquired by Waste Connections in 2017.<\/p>\n
Glenview is also a member of SWANCC, an intergovernmental agency that disposes of collected waste, while also offering special services for proper disposal of items that cannot be recycled but should also stay out of landfills.<\/p>\n
When garbage is collected, it is taken to SWANCC\u2019s Glenview Transfer Station where it is loaded into semi-trucks and hauled to the Winnebago Landfill south of Rockford, explained Theresa Greinig, education coordinator for SWANCC.<\/p>\n
The 23 communities that are members of SWANCC generate about 250,000 tons of garbage for the landfill each year, Greinig said.<\/p>\n
When recycled materials are collected from within the village, they are taken to material recovery facilities where they are sorted and prepared for recycling, Erazo said.<\/p>\n
Items that are improperly placed in recycling carts, like batteries, hypodermic needles and diapers, can endanger workers who manually sort materials that enter the material recovery facilities, he noted.<\/p>\n
According to SWANCC, items that are acceptable for curbside recycling carts include:
\u2022 Glass bottles and jars
\u2022 Metal, steel and aluminum cans and containers
\u2022 Paper, magazines, cartons and flattened boxes
\u2022 Plastic bottles and jugs with their caps on<\/p>\n
All materials should be clean and not placed in bags, according to SWANCC officials.<\/p>\n
The following items should not be recycled:
\u2022 Batteries
\u2022 Electronics
\u2022 Hypodermic needles
\u2022 Plastic bags and wrap
\u2022 Diapers and tissues
\u2022 Food and liquid
\u2022 Shredded paper
\u2022 Clothing and shoes
\u2022 Hoses, wires, cords and hangers<\/p>\n