Kane County's Rain Barrel and Compost Bin Program is Back
Kane County is partnering with The Conservation Foundation in 2025 to provide affordable compost bins and rain barrels in a time-limited spring sale. Earth Machine composters are available for $75.50 in limited quantities, and UpCycle Rain Barrels are available for $69.50. UpCycle Products was started with the intent of providing a low-cost option for conserving water. With the cost of shipping barrels continually increasing, it is a great benefit to residents to provide an opportunity for them to pick up their orders right in their own community with no delivery fee.
Order: Bins and barrels are available for a limited time. Please pre-order here before Tuesday, May 27, 2025. Mail-in orders are due by Thursday, May 22, 2025.
Cost: Rain barrels are $69.50 each and the stationary composters are $75.50 each. Other rain barrel and compost bin configurations and accessories are available too.
Pick up: Your pre-ordered bins and barrels at the Creek Bend Nature Center at the LeRoy Oaks Forest Preserve (37W700 Dean St., St. Charles) from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Thursday, May 29, 2025.
Home delivery is also available for an additional $42.50. With increased shipping costs this year, we recommend residents take full advantage of the local sale and pick-up opportunity. If you would like to order for home delivery now, please visit The Conservation Foundation website’s rain barrel page.
What are the benefits of a rain barrel?
A great way to conserve water and use it for landscaping and gardening.
Reduces stormwater runoff and mitigates pollution in waterways.
Promotes healthy soil as rainwater is free of salts, minerals, and treated chemicals.
By harvesting your own water source, you can significantly reduce your water bill.
View this guide or watch this video for easy installation tips and check out a FAQ to learn how to use your rain barrel.
Why Compost?
Composting is key to our waste reduction efforts. When we compost instead of landfilling our food scraps, we are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and returning nutrients to the soil where they belong. There are many benefits to composting:
It keeps food out of the landfill: Approximately 40,000 tons of food scraps and yard waste are generated in Kane County each year. Composting keeps these materials out of landfills, where they break down with little to no exposure to oxygen into methane gas. Methane is more than 28 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.
It benefits your yard: Compost improves soil structure and texture, increases the soil’s ability to hold both water and air, improves soil fertility, and stimulates healthy root development in plants.
It’s easy: You can start with just leaves and grass, then work your way toward composting your food scraps. Refer to the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s compost guidance for a quick look at why it is important to compost and how to compost in your backyard.
It saves money: Adding compost to your garden can reduce or eliminate the need to buy chemical fertilizers or compost. If you sticker your yard waste and/or trash, composting will cut your costs.
Please see Kane County’s Recycling and Stormwater webpages for more info on the Rain Barrel and Compost Bin sale.
