Cook County launched a program this week to provide recycling in underserved communities, awarding $1 million to fund curbside services in Posen, Phoenix and Dixmoor. Anthony Tindall, the solid waste coordinator for the county’s Department of Environment and Sustainability, said the plan is to expand recycling in a dozen municipalities that lack curbside recycling. The initiative through the Municipal Recycling Grant Program aims to bridge gaps in environmental and public health while supporting the county’s goal of reaching a 45% waste diversion rate by 2030, Tindall said. “Now we have nine other municipalities that we have identified do not have curbside recycling programs that we’re going to work, over the next couple of years, to hopefully get them all on board so that we can reach our goal by 2030,” he said. The county allocated just over $523,000 from the American Rescue Plan Act and about $333,000 from the Cook County Equity Fund to support the program, according to a news release. The Recycling Partnership organization also awarded the county $161,000, with support from the American Beverage Association’s Every Bottle Back initiative and the Illinois Beverage Association. Posen Mayor Frank Podbielniak said he is thrilled the village is one of the first to receive funding. Up until about four years ago, Podbielniak said the village offered curbside recycling through its waste management provider, Republic Services. However, the village was forced to stop the service after China sharply reduced its acceptance of certain types of recyclable waste. “We need to do that for the environment, for the landfills, and I’ve always been an advocate of recycling, but we had no choice,” he said. “Now that Cook County’s offered us something with the ARPA funds to do that, it made it more appealing, and they have facilities where the recycling is going to go now.” While the villages were selected on a first-come, first-served basis, Tindall said they were also evaluated based on whether they offered curbside recycling, their environmental justice scores from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data and their recent financial challenges. Tindall said nearly 3,000 households across the three villages will receive new recycling bins starting in the spring. Republic Services, the waste service provider for the villages, will handle the collection of recyclables. Funds will be distributed based on population size, with the county expecting the $1 million grant to cover four years of recycling in these communities, he said. Podbielniak said the bins will be clearly labeled with instructions on what can be recycled, in both English and Spanish, which he said is especially important for Posen, more than 60% of the population is Hispanic. Tindall said the program aims to reduce the illegal dumping of hard to recycle materials, such as televisions and electronics, which contribute unnecessary waste to waterways and harm the environment by generating greenhouse gas emissions at landfills. “There’s all sorts of materials being illegally dumped in Cook County. It’s not just hard to recycle materials, it’s regular trash, it’s yard waste, landfill waste,” Tindall said. “There’s both air quality, water quality and just good public health practice benefits by implementing recycling and waste diversion programs like this.” The South Suburban College recycling center in South Holland. (Mike Nolan / Daily Southtown) In 2024, Cook County launched the Center for Hard to Recycle Materials at South Suburban College in South Holland. The facility allows residents to drop off electronics, textiles, Styrofoam, small furniture and other recyclables for free. The county is also partnering with the college to open a household hazardous waste facility at the center in summer 2025. Podbielniak said the Posen Public Works Department is going to start collecting tires and other electronics to take South Suburban College. While all but 12 of Cook County’s 134 municipalities offer recycling, the countywide recycling rate is 13%, according to the county’s news release. To encourage residents, Tindall said the county will launch an educational campaign with the help of The Recycling Partnership, aimed at raising awareness about the importance of waste reduction. Tindall said the campaign will implement best practices on how and when to communicate to residents and to make sure they have all the information to reduce the types of contamination that goes into landfills. [email protected]