The Village of Oak Park | 123 Madison St.  Oak Park, IL 60302 | village@oak-park.us

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Taking a comprehensive approach to garbage, recycling

The Village of Oak Park’s comprehensive waste disposal program is designed to effectively deal with increasing amounts of trash, rising collection and disposal costs, legislative restrictions and growing environmental concerns.

Mobile refuse carts, available in two sizes, and large recycling containers allow residents to choose the level of service that best fits their needs and pay accordingly. Refuse collection service is provided once a week for all residential buildings with up to five units. Owners of larger multifamily dwelling and commercial buildings must contract directly with private refuse haulers.

Collection – All trash, recyclables and yard waste are scheduled to be picked up on the same day of the week in each of five geographic sections of the Village. Items that are either prohibited by landfills or unacceptable for collection include car parts, dirt , soil, concrete, tires, motor oil, pesticides, acid, gasoline, anti-freeze, pool chemicals, automotive batteries, liquid paint and electronics such as computers, monitors and TVs. If any of these items are mixed with your trash, collection will not be made. Residents can choose between 96-gallon and 64-gallon garbage carts. The smaller cart costs less per month.

Recycling – The Village’s single-stream recycling program eliminates the need to separate recyclables. Paper, cans and bottles that meet recycling guidelines can be placed together in the same container. The Village provides 64-gallon recycling containers to encourage more recycling. The amount of recyclable materials set out for collection is not limited. The Village also hosts special drop-off recycling events for electronic items and paint.

Yard waste – Bundled brush and other yard waste are picked up from the first full week of April through November provided green yard waste stickers are properly affixed to the bundles and containers. Stickers can be purchased for $2.40 each at grocery and hardware stores throughout the Village, including Village Hall, 123 Madison St. A yard waste sticker must be placed on each bundle of brush, paper yard waste bag or container.

Bulk items – Bulk items, such as discarded furniture, household appliances and hot water tanks – or more garbage than will fit in the cart — will be picked up when special pink refuse stickers are attached. Stickers can be purchased for $2 each at grocery and hardware stores throughout the Village, including Village Hall, 123 Madison St. Each residential unit may place out one bulk item per week, provided that two pink refuse stickers are attached. Bulk items and extra trash cannot exceed 50 pounds.

Composting – With the goal of decreasing the amount of organic refuse sent to landfills, the Village offers a food scrap composting program to residents throughout the community. Participants receive a special mobile cart for organics that is comparable in volume to three bags or containers of yard waste collected in the current program. Subscribers who use the organics cart for their yard waste and food scraps will not be required to purchase yard waste stickers.

More information on the Village’s refuse and recycling programs is posted on this website.