Waukegan launches new yard waste disposal plan

By Dan Moran dmoran@stmedianetwork.com @NewsSunDanMoran April 7, 2014 8:14PM

Items like television sets, computers and cellphones can be disposed of free of charge on the south side of the Waukegan Public Works facility, located on McAcree Road between Sunset and Grand avenues. | Dan Moran/Sun-Times Media

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Updated: April 8, 2014 2:27AM

As spring-cleaning season begins in Waukegan, city officials are launching an awareness campaign to make sure yard waste isnt slipped into trash bins and televisions arent dumped just about anywhere.

Under the terms of a five-year, $4.5 million contract with Advance Disposal that was approved in December, residents now have options that include per-bag curbside disposal of landscape waste like grass clippings and a drive-up collection bin for unwanted electronics at the Waukegan Public Works facility, 1700 N. McAree Road.

Residents can even drop off up to four tires per year free of charge at the McAree complex under a provision in the contract that allows the city to recycle up to 20,000 tires annually.

I never knew we had so many tires in this town, Public Works director Tom Hagerty said on Friday, April 4, eyeing a four-foot-high pile that had accumulated in recent days. We finally have an outlet for it.

Both Hagerty and Mayor Wayne Motley said the contract with Advance and the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County is paying dividends in more ways than one, with the city no longer liable for recycling disposal fees.

We used to pay for (crews) to take our recycling, now were getting paid, said Hagerty, estimating that Waukegan will bring in around $5,000 per quarter. We used to pay about a nickel a pound, now we get paid 3 or 4 cents a pound.

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Waukegan launches new yard waste disposal plan