Kane County Recycling Event Impacts and Volunteer Sign Up

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The sign up for Kane County recycling event volunteers is officially open for May 4 (coming right up), July 20 and September 28. Sign up online here or contact the Recycling Coordinator: recycle@kanecountyil.gov; 630-208-3841.

One of the best things about volunteering at Kane County's recycling events is that your efforts make a real and measurable difference. In 2023, residents were able to shred  27.4 tons of confidential documents, bringing our grand total of material shredded since we first offered the service in 2012 to 400 tons. That's a lot of paper! For comparison, Chicago's famous Cloud Gate (“The Bean") weighs 100 tons. Less quantifiable but equally important is the peace of mind for residents knowing that their printed confidential information will not fall into the wrong hands.

Last year, event staff and volunteers also collected: 17.7 tons of electronics, 11.2 tons of latex paint, 8 tons of clothing and textiles, 938 aerosol cans, one ton of batteries, and 1,567 mercury-containing light bulbs. So just last year, the weight of material we collected and recycled at events was 65 tons - more than the weight of four city buses.

The second best thing about volunteering has to be the deep-dish pizza lunch. :-)

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