Kane County Recycling Extravaganza Returns July 19 — Featuring Hesed House and Flat Can Recycling
The Kane County Recycling Extravaganza will take place on Saturday, July 19, 8am – noon at 540 S. Randall Road in St. Charles. We will be collecting and recycling a laundry list of items, including electronics, books, bikes, paint, aerosols, child car seats and strollers, smoke and CO alarms, fluorescent and LED bulbs, 6 pack rings and ink jet cartridges. For all the details and a map of the stations, please see https://www.kanecountyil.gov/Recycling/Pages/recyclingEvents.aspx
Recycling Extravaganza Vendor Highlight: Hesed House & Flat Can Recycling
Both of our featured vendors today are headquartered right here in Kane County!
The work of Hesed House's bicycle ministry program is best described through stories like Kevin Harmon's. Told in more detail here, Aurora resident Mr. Harmon's story is one of triumph over hardship. He uses machinist training he gained while staying at Hesed House and a donated bicycle to build financial stability in his life through a steady job at a West Chicago manufacturing plant. Anyone familiar with this area will know that getting to West Chicago from Aurora and back without a car is a major challenge. Both are Metra stops but, not on the same line. None-the-less, Mr. Harmon makes it work thanks in part to a bicycle that was donated to Hesed House and likely repaired by one of the program's dedicated volunteers. Last year's Extravaganza was the largest single day collection in the program's history, as reported here in KCC. Can we top it this year and contribute to more success stories? Please consider donating any unwanted bicycles! Hesed House will be Station 3 at the event.
Flat Can Recycling, based in Elburn, started five years ago as the sister company to Municipal Marking Distributors (MMD). As the President and CEO of MMD, a local company that sells specialized spray paint and other surveying materials, Kat Gordon realized that there were virtually no options for recycling spray paint cans even though they are made of recyclable materials. Municipal waste companies generally don't want these cans in curbside recycling because of their flammable nature. Flat Can Recycling was started with a vision to make MMD more sustainable and has since grown into a recycling hub for several hard-to-recycle items, including smoke and carbon monoxide detectors, batteries of all types, and a wide variety of plastic child-care items like car seats, strollers and high chairs. Amy Dabe, the company's Recycling Manager, is often involved in collections and logistics, making sure all collected items are disassembled properly and their various components sent to specialty material recyclers around the Midwest. The Flat Can crew always bring the tunes to the Extravaganza with a handy portable stereo! Can't make the event? We take most Flat Can items at the Fabyan Parkway Recycling Center, and Flat Can accepts drop-offs at 732 Hicks Drive in Elburn, both open Monday-Friday year-round!
Flat Can will be at Station 7 at the Extravaganza this year. Collection fees for various items (cash or charge) are as follows:
- Aerosol cans (everything but spray foam, spray adhesive, oven cleaner): $1 each
- 16oz propane: $4 each
- Portable helium tanks (e.g. Balloon Time): $10 each
- Batteries: $4 per pound
- Car seats, boosters, plastic high chairs, strollers, self-propelled toy ride-in cars: $10 each
- Battery powered ride-on toy cars (e.g. PowerWheels): $20 each
