Recyclepalooza 2019-05-04 281_web
Local News

Recyclepalooza persists through the pandemic

 

Recylepalooza continues to encourage the Homewood-Flossmoor community to be environmentally aware when disposing of unwanted items, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

This year’s rescheduled event will take place Oct. 3 at Parker Junior High School in Flossmoor. 

Recyclepalooza, hosted by Flosmoor’s Green Commission, is an annual event that provides a way to recycle items that cannot be put in curbside bins for disposal. It is a drive-through experience and participants will not need to get out of their vehicles while making drop-offs.

Educational items, such as recycling guides, will also be passed out so that participants know where they can dispose of recyclables during the rest of the year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges to this year’s event. Some precautionary actions taken for the event are to limit the number of volunteers and to have one shift only, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. In addition, volunteers will have personal protective equipment such as masks and gloves. 

For the community, items are to be separated by the type of recyclable item and labeled. This helps minimize risk for volunteers as they don’t have to sort items. Individuals dropping off recyclable items are advised to stay in their cars during the process.   

Carrie Malfeo, vice chair of the Green Commission, explained that garbage simply thrown away goes to a landfill.

“It is better to reduce, reuse and recycle properly before the end of the cycle,” Malfeo said. “We think of garbage as going away, but it goes to the landfill, which is around forever.”

Last year, over 625 cars participated in the event. With that support, a 15-feet truck was filled with plastic containers. More than 200 television sets were collected and 13,746 pounds of metal were recycled.

The traditional items being collected this year include metals, small household items and new hotel shampoos and soaps that will be donated to Respond Now, a social service agency providing assistance to needy south suburban residents. 

A volunteer flings a vacuum cleaner onto a pile of discarded items during the 2019 Recyclepalooza event. (Chronicle file photo)

Two new items being collected this year are trophies and plastic bread tags, commonly found on bread and produce. SCARCE, an environmental education non-profit, is collecting the bread tags in partnership with Danielle Cares for Chairs, another non-profit group. Plastic bread tags are difficult to recycle due to their size and type of plastic. Danielle Cares for Chairs, founded in 2017, can purchase a basic wheelchair for those in need for every 260,000 bread tags collected. 

Another new addition to this year’s event is the presence of Dart Container Corporation. Dart manufactures eating utensils made from such materials as polystyrene foam and polystyrene also known as #6 plastic. Any materials containing these products such as disposable cups, CD/DVDS, egg cartons and other items, can be donated. Malfeo says Styrofoam and #6 plastic are the hardest to recycle and take up the most space in landfills.

According the village website, the Flossmoor Green Commission is dedicated to promoting “environmental awareness and behavior by residents in an effort to promote an environmentally conscientious community at the household level.”

Other initiatives of Flossmoor Green Commission include “Bag the Habit,” an initiative focused on using reusable bags for shopping; “No Idling,” a campaign designated for people to turn off their vehicles while waiting for an extended period of time; and reducing waste at events such as Flossmoor Fest. 

The Green Commission is also reminding the community is solar-ready. If businesses or residents would like to include solar installations in their buildings, the ordinances are in place already to do so. 

For a complete listing of recyclables that will be collected at the Oct. 3 event, visit www.flossmoor.org.

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