Ongoing initiatives

Electronics Recycling Resumes April 2

Did you know that it is illegal in Illinois to throw certain electronic devices into the trash?  Electronics contain hazardous materials that should be kept out of the environment, as well as valuable and precious metals that can be reused, such as gold, silver, copper, zinc, aluminum, platinum, cobalt, nickel, etc.

The Electronics Recycling Program in Winnetka will resume Thursday, April 2 and will be held each Thursday from 1 – 3 pm at the Public Works Yards at 1390 Willow Road until the end of November. Learn more about accepted items here.

IN CELEBRATION OF EARTH MONTH, THE VILLAGE OF WINNETKA AND THE WINNETKA PARK DISTRICT ARE PARTNERING WITH ECOSHOP TO HELP GIVE GENTLY USED PACKAGING MATERIALS A SECOND LIFE. Throughout April, residents can drop off items such as bubble wrap, foam peanuts, air pillows, and packing paper instead of sending them to the landfill. Visit EcoShip's website for a list of accepted items.

As an alternative to discarding packaging from recent deliveries, bring your clean, reusable materials to the collection bins located at Village Hall (510 Green Bay Road, open 8:30 am – 5 pm, M–F) or the Nielsen Tennis Center (530 Hibbard Road, open 6:30 am – 10 pm daily). EcoShip will sort and redistribute these materials to small businesses and nonprofit organizations throughout the Chicago area for reuse.

Participating is simple and makes a meaningful difference. During regular business hours, stop by to leave accepted materials in good, reusable condition, in the collection bins.

Spring Clean-Up Week is April 13–16

One Person’s Trash...
WINNETKA'S ANNUAL SPRING CLEAN-UP IS SET FOR APRIL 13–16. LRS will collect items from the parkway that two people can reasonably lift into a truck. Excluded items include electronics, yard waste, dirt, stone, logs, construction materials, batteries, paint, and other liquids—email us for disposal options. Items must be out by 7 AM on your scheduled pickup day; no call-backs. Find out more.

Another Person’s Treasure...
Before tossing items, consider donating to local rummage sales, thrift shops, animal shelters, or schools. Reuse, repurpose, or recycle when possible! Platforms like Nextdoor, Facebook Marketplace, OfferUp, and Freecycle can help find new homes for unwanted items.

Plastic bags can be recycled at many local stores and through the Hefty ReNew program. Electronics and sneakers can be dropped off at Winnetka Public Works on Willow Road. Scroll down for information about recycling paint, batteries, and more.

From our friends at Go Green Northfield:

For most humans, nighttime is when we put on our soft clothes and become one with the couch. But for many other species, it's when they are most active, and that's only one reason the dark skies initiative is so important.

Commonly referred to as "light pollution," the over-lighting of our darkness has had measurable adverse effects on all species on earth. Just for example:

• Insects, including pollinators, rely on the glow from the moon, stars, and other planets to orient themselves as they fly. A recent study found that artificial light confuses them, resulting in exhaustion, disruptions in flying ability, and many times death. 
• Most songbirds migrate at night, using the same orientation methods as insects. "Sky glow" from cities causes them to veer off course, leading to collisions with buildings that have lit windows, as when almost 1,000 migrating birds crashed into McCormick Place in one night in October 2023 because their lights were left on. 
• Exposure to artificial light at night interferes with human circadian rhythm and disrupts melatonin production, increasing our risk of sleep disorders, depression, obesity, heart disease, and some cancers. 

Dark Skies Week is an international effort to call attention to light pollution and engage in local solutions. Instead of leaving your outside lights on all night, explore motion detecting lighting, use timers, or choose only one to leave on. Contact your municipality to see if public lighting can be modified to shine down instead of up. Start a "Lights Out" program in your village that would limit outdoor lighting during migration season. And then go out and enjoy the night!

JOIN US FOR A WASTE-RELATED PRESENTATION highlighting programming changes in Winnetka, including the introduction of the Recycle Coach app and the Hefty ReNew curbside collection for hard-to-recycle soft plastics, as well the sunsetting of the polystyrene drop-off collection at Winnetka Public Works.

Presenters will be:
Christina Seibert, Executive Director of the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County
Elyse Steiner, Sustainability Coordinator for the Village of Winnetka
Liz Kunkle, Customer Success Manager of Recycle Coach and President of Go Green Winnetka

This program is sponsored Go Green Winnetka and the Winnetka-Northfield Public Library District. Registration required.

Once we're finished putting all the decorations away, some of us will be looking to do some home improvement projects this winter. Often, that old can of paint we had intended to use for touch-ups is no longer viable, and we're faced with the question of what to do with it. Good news! A new paint recycling program that began December 1 enables households and businesses to recycle leftover paint, stain, and varnish conveniently and sustainably. The program is operated by PaintCare, a nonprofit organization created by paint companies through the American Coatings Association (ACA) to manage leftover paint in states that have enacted paint stewardship laws. A collection network of over 250 drop-off sites across Illinois are anticipated, which is achieved through partnerships with paint and hardware retail stores and local government facilities. Find out more here.

As a result of the new Hefty ReNew program offering (see below), and due to increased uncertainty about the Village's current polystyrene recycler's capacity to accept more product, THE VILLAGE'S POLYSTYRENE DROP-OFF PROGRAM WAS DISCONTINUED AS OF JANUARY 1, 2026. Residents are encouraged to utilize the Hefty ReNew program, as it can accept more products and disposal is simplified through curbside recycling. Large or voluminous amounts of polystyrene can be taken to Abt in Glenview (white packaging foam only) or to Mount Prospect Public Works. 

Please contact the Winnetka Public Works Department with questions at 847-716-3568.

In 2025, the Village began participating in the Hefty ReNew Orange Bag program, which significantly expands the amount of household plastics being diverted from landfill. Did you know the follorecycled in Hefty ReNew bags?It's just three easy steps: 1. Purchase Hefty ReNew bags at your local grocer. 2. Place hard-to-recycle plastics in the orange bag. 3. Place the filled bag in your curbside recycling bin.

•    Salad, fruit, and veggie bags
•    Shredded cheese bags
•    Dry mix (muffins, cakes, cookies, etc.) plastic bag liners
•    Foam egg cartons
•    Food storage bags
•    Plastic utensils
•    Plastic plates and bowls
•    Bubble wrap
•    Plastic pillow wraps
•    Foam peanuts
•    Clear plastic overwraps (bags that many clothing items ship in)

Want to know more? Visit the Hefty ReNew website and download this infographic by clicking here.

Recycle Coach* is a state-wide program made available at no cost to every municipality and resident, funded through the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. Residents may download the Recycle Coach app at recyclecoach.com, the App Store, and Google Play and may access the information on the Village of Winnetka’s Website the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County's website, and more.

Recycle Coach is a communications platform available via web and mobile app that informs, educates, and saves time for residents and Village staff with three primary features:

• REMINDERS ABOUT WEEKLY CURBSIDE PICKUPS AND SCHEDULE CHANGES for refuse, recycling, and yard waste, as well as information about standing collections for polystyrene, electronics, and more; 
• 'WHAT GOES WHERE' TOOL that provides localized information entered by municipal and waste agency staff for every material *not collected curbside, whether through donation, drop-off location, event, or other (batteries, electronics, soft plastics, bulky items, tires, paint, eg - you name it, it’s in there); and
• EDUCATIONAL CONTENT AND WORDLE-LIKE QUIZZES that collectively work to increase recycling rates while at the same time decreasing contamination - it's win-win-win! 

*Go Green Winnetka’s president is employed by Recycle Coach and helping to roll out this state-wide program.

EcoShip is a Chicago-based nonprofit that diverts packaging materials from landfills and provides them to local businesses and artists for reuse. Now you can drop off materials at Rebuilding Exchange in Evanston.

Drop off packaging materials, along with other hard-to-recycle items such as toothbrushes, sneakers, and more in collaboration with the City of Evanston. You can also pick up materials like bubble wrap and packing peanuts. This site will accept a limited list of items: mailers, bubble wrap, packing peanuts, packing paper, and crinkle cut shred (no personal documents of any sort!)

Know someone moving? Have new neighbors unpacking? Let them know about EcoShip. We also have a handy New Homeowners Guide on our website to assist in making environmentally-friendly choices throughout the moving process.

Go Green Winnetka has created a New Homeowners Guide, a go-to resource to help people moving homes make a sustainable transition. The Guide has numerous suggestions for conscious choices before and after the move that positively influence our environment. Practical tips are offered, from eco-friendly packing materials to waste diversion strategies.

Please pass this link along to friends and neighbors who are moving or have recently moved. 

That's why Go Green Winnetka is partnering with other organizations to collect  Bread Tags for Wheelchairs. These tags (bread, bagel, muffin, produce, veggies) are pristine plastic and a valuable raw material and billions are made each year. They can’t be recycled through standard curbside programs because they are too small and too lightweight to sort easily. Most are made from #6 plastic/polystyrene.
 

Look for Mason jars at D36 schools—and start saving those bread tags!

260,000 bread tags = 200 lbs of plastic = one basic wheelchair

Check out these websites of participating organizations for more information.

Go Green Winnetka
Glencoe Sustainability Task Force
SCARCE
Danielle Cares for Chairs

Contact Go Green Winnetka with any questions.