News Solid Waste Services Solid Waste and Recycling Costs Community Comparison City Annual solid waste cost Evanston $179 Arlington Heights $290 Wilmette $183 Glencoe $262 Oak Park $256 Yard Waste Costs Community Comparison City Annual subscription cost Evanston $25 Arlington Heights $120 Wilmette $31 Glencoe $120 Oak Park $122
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Provider
Equipment Contact
Residential Refuse Groot Condo Refuse Lakeshore Commercial Refuse Groot Residential Yard Waste Groot Residential Recycling City’s Streets & Sanitation Condo Recycling City’s Streets & Sanitation Refuse Cans In Business Areas City’s Streets & Sanitation Refuse Cans In Parks City’s Streets & Sanitation
Green Truck Blue Truck Green Truck Green Truck White Truck White Truck White Truck White Truck
800-244-1977 773/685-8811 800-244-1977 800-244-1977 3-1-1/847-448-4311 3-1-1/847-448-4311 3-1-1/847-448-4311 3-1-1/847-448-4311
For faster service, it is best to call the contract service providers directly. However, residents can call 3-1-1 or 847/448-4311 and the city will contact the contractor for you.
Yard Waste Collections The city’s weekly yard waste pick-ups begin on Monday, April 1 and continue on residents’ regular refuse collection day through December 5.
The city offers three options to dispose of yard waste: 1. Place yard waste in paper yard bags, such as 30-gallon kraft paper waste bags, available at local stores. A yard waste sticker must be affixed to each lawn waste bag. Plastic bags will not be collected. 2. C ompost and mulch to recycle the earth’s nutrients. For more information, call the Ecology Center at 847/448-8256, 3-1-1 or visit: cityofevanston.org/compostguide. The city also has a limited number of free compost carts available to assist in creating usable compost products. Contact 3-1-1 for details.
3. F ill a 90-gallon yard waste cart (available for purchase). These reusable carts do not require the use of bags. To order a yard waste cart, complete the order form online at cityofevanston.org/yardwaste and return it with your payment to the City Collector’s office. A cart costs $82.50. Residents can buy yard waste stickers at all Evanston Dominick’s and Jewel grocery stores, Whole Foods, Lemoi Hardware, Harold Hardware, Home Depot, the Levy Senior Center and the City Collector’s office. Brush must be bundled and no longer than four feet in length and two inches in diameter. Raking or blowing yard waste or leaves into the streets is illegal. Violators will be fined. Special pick-up fees for yard waste collection will be assessed after 48 hours for bags without stickers. Three bags will be charged at a rate equal to $25. Each additional three bags being charged $10.
Fleet Services Did you know? • T he Fleet Services Division provides routine and comprehensive maintenance on over 350 city vehicles and equipment. • F leet Services completed 867 preventive maintenance work orders in 2012, ensuring all city vehicles are running in the most fuel-efficient manner with the least emission output. • F leet Services utilizes “recapped tires” for replacements. They require 30% less energy and 66% less oil to produce than new tires, in addition to costing 30% to 60% less. • I n 2012, the city purchased a new Fire Engine, #325. The new Fire Engine was received in early 2013 and is being prepped for service. 4 Evanston life Public Works | Spring 2013
• T he city purchased a new salt brine maker and blender to create its own blends of anti-icing liquids. The benefit to residents is anti-icing takes place before snow fall. This eliminates the bonding of snow and ice to the pavement. Creating our own salt brine liquid is not only cost effective ($0.75 per gallon in-house vs. $1.95 commercial), but it will also allow the city to blend custom liquids to meet the everchanging winter conditions. • T he Public Works Department is developing a car sharing program for municipal employees at the Morton Civic Center. The goal of the program is to “right size” the city’s fleet and increase city vehicle usage.