CHRISTMAS TREE RECYCLING

For over 22 years, we have annually diverted more than 36,000 used Christmas Trees from our local landfills. As one of the community’s most popular programs, the chipping of the old trees into valuable pine mulch which is free for home landscaping, returns the nutrients to the ground.

ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION

More than 90 programs and presentations were provided to over 2,200 area school children teaching them about proper environmental stewardship; making them the leaders of tomorrow with programs that meet the State of Illinois Standards for Education.

METALS & ELECTRONICS DRIVES

Over 222,000 pounds of scrap metal was collected last year during the spring and fall Metals Drives bringing our total to well over 1.25 Million pounds of metals recycled. Over 475 volunteer hours were donated to sort washers and dryers for recycling. Almost 100 refrigerators and freezers and 718 computer monitors were recycled. TV’s were taken for the first time in 2008 and almost 600 TV’s were recycled.

CLOTHING DRIVES

During 2008, over 310,000 pounds of clothing and soft goods were collected and redistributed to needy families. Since the beginning of this program, we have diverted over 2.1 million pounds of clothing to reuse. This is another all volunteer driven program.

RECYCLING CENTER

The only non-profit, volunteer staffed recycling center serving Northern Illinois, has been open every Saturday morning, since July 2000. More than 12 tons of recyclables are diverted every month from local landfills. This center provides vital recycling service to those without curbside pickup such as county residents and people living in condos and apartments.

GREAT AMERICAN CLEANUP

Our cleanup projects involved 4,248 hours of volunteer time given by over 1,000 llocal volunteers taking pride in their community by cleaning up and beautifying their neighborhoods. This program makes Northern Illinois a clean, healthy and beautiful place to raise a happy family.

MEDICATION COLLECTION DRIVE

This unique program was conducted on June 14, 2007 for the first time in Northern Illinois. With the cooperation of many community organizations, Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful was able to organize a first-of-its-kind program in this area to collect unused and unwanted medications from throughout the community and dispose of them properly and safely.