Sustainability

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Pumpkin Smash - Saturday, November 8

Please don't put it in the trash; bring it to the smash and green your Halloween! In partnership with the Des Plaines Park District, the City is hosting the Pumpkin Smash composting event on Saturday, November 8, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the north parking lot of Prairie Lakes Community Center.

Bring your pumpkins, jack-o'-lanterns, and gourds to the Pumpkin Smash composting event where attendees can toss their pumpkins into the designated dumpster and WasteNot Compost will haul it away for composting. Painted pumpkins are fine, but please remove any non-biodegradable materials such as candles, googly eyes, stickers, plastic and yarn.

New this year, we are also collecting plastic and foil candy wrappers for recycling both at the Pumpkin Smash event and in a special drop-off bin in the City Hall lobby throughout November. It’s a simple way to give those wrappers a second life and stay out of the landfill.

At the 2024 Pumpkin Smash, our residents composted a total of 234 pumpkins weighing 2,476 pounds, offsetting 111 gallons of gas and 2,455 miles of driving. Great job, Des Plaines!

Pumpkin Smash (5) Pumpkin Smash (46) Pumpkin Smash (24)

Community Paper Shredding Event - Saturday, March 28

Clear out your clutter the eco-friendly way! The City of Des Plaines holds a shred event every spring and fall. Join us for the Spring Shred Event on Saturday, March 28, from 8:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. at the Public Works facility (1111 Joseph J. Schwab Road). Safely dispose of sensitive documents and help reduce landfill waste. Please note the following guidelines:

This event is available to residents of Des Plaines only. Proof of residency may be required. Business materials are not accepted.
There is a 2-box maximum per vehicle and only paper products will be accepted. Staples and paper clips are allowed, but binders, binder clips, butterfly clips, rubber bands, and other metal or plastic should be removed before disposal.
Three ring binders and the like cannot be put into the machine. Paper in binders will need to be removed prior to shredding.
The shredder can only take paper. Please plan to take back any bags or boxes you bring your paper in.
Event is first come, first served. Once the shredding truck has reached capacity, the event will conclude.

Shred Event Flyer

Earth Month Clean Up - April

The City of Des Plaines hosts an annual group trash clean up with Clean Up - Give Back during Earth Month. Dozens of volunteers joined us at Axehead Lake in April to help beautify our community! Thank you to everyone who came out to help. Stay tuned for the 2026 Clean Up date and check out other upcoming events at cleanupgiveback.org!

Clean Up Give Back-15

DEA Takeback Day - April

DPPD participates in DEA Takeback Day every spring and fall, offering free and anonymous disposal of expired, unused or unneeded medications. Drop-off is at the Des Plaines Municipal Complex lobby on Saturday, October 25, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Go to deatakeback.com to learn more!

Tips for Going Green

Living sustainably can be as simple as bringing your own reusable cup and/or straw to businesses that allow it. If you buy coffee at a shop 3 times a week, that is saving 156 disposable cups a year! Now imagine if 10 people did the same. Below are a few ideas you can implement in your own life:

Shut off lights and unplug electronic devices when not in use.
Switch to energy efficient lightbulbs.
Request a free home energy assessment from ComEd. Find out more.
Only run your dishwasher when it is completely full.
Open your blinds for light and heat, or keep them closed to stay cool depending on the season.
Request plastic silverware or small condiment packets are not placed in with your to-go food when possible.
Use reusable bags when shopping.

Local Initiatives

The City of Des Plaines is committed to promoting sustainable practices to become an even greener community. Read on to see what Des Plaines is doing for the environment year-round.

Plastic Bag Drive

Clean Up - Give Back recycles plastic bags to "put plastic in its place." Accepted items include plastic grocery bags, bread bags, dry cleaning bags, newspaper sleeves, plastic shipping envelopes, cereal bags, and outside plastic casing of toilet paper, paper towels and water bottles. Drop off items in the bins at City Hall or at Clean Up - Give Back's headquarters. Visit cleanupgiveback.org for more information.

Prescription Drug Disposal

Active Transportation Plan

Forestry

The City of Des Plaines is proud to have an award-winning forestry team who cares for the 21,000 trees within our public rights-of-way. The City has been named a Tree City for over 35 years, vowing to support the plants, animals, pollinators and people who live here. Find more information at Tree City USA.

In 2023, Des Plaines was awarded the Illinois Arborist Association's Golden Leaf Award, which recognizes outstanding Arbor Day programs or projects. Every year on Arbor Day, the City of Des Plaines plants a tree at one of our local schools, educating students and expanding our urban canopy.

In addition, our community has been honored with the Growth Award from the Arbor Day Foundation on four occasions. This awards highlights communities that provide elevated tree care and community engagement. In 2024, the City added 800 new trees to our canopy.

Learn more about our outstanding forestry team here!

Local Recycling

LRS collects single-stream recyclable items, which means most clean and non-contaminated household items will be considered recyclable. See the LRS flyer of acceptable and unacceptable items.

Please note that LRS Carts are both blue. Trash carts are indicated with "Landfill Only" on the lid. Recycling carts have a lighter blue lid and have a sticker with recyclable materials.

Electronic Recycling

Did you know you can recycle your electronics with Des Plaines Public Works? Drop off your old computers, phones, TVs or other electronics every Wednesday morning from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 1111 Joseph J. Schwab Road (Public Works Garage). Household appliances are not accepted. Must be a Des Plaines resident to participate. Visit the Public Works page for more information.

Greenest Region Compact

In October of 2021, City Council passed a resolution to join the Greenest Region Compact. This provides a framework that guides our future sustainability policy decisions to make our community more resilient and vibrant. The Greenest Region Compact contains almost 50 high level municipal goals that will help ensure that Des Plaines and the rest of our region are equipped to deal with tomorrow’s challenges. The goals include ten overarching categories:

Climate
Economic Development
Energy
Land
Leadership
Mobility
Municipal Operations
Sustainable Communities
Waste and Recycling
Water

Climate Action Plan

Additionally in October of 2021, City Council passed a resolution to align with the Climate Action Plan. More than 100 communities from the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus helped develop the Climate Action Plan for the Chicago Region, which identifies risks facing our community like increased flooding or dangerous heat waves, and provides solutions to help us adapt to and mitigate these challenges.

Water Conservation

Limiting water use is a great everyday practice for people and businesses in our area. Visit our water page for more information.

Want to track your water usage? Des Plaines has a water utility portal that provides virtually everything you need to detect and correct water usage issues. Through this interactive website, you can track your water usage through easy-to-read charts and graphs, receive tips on water conservation and more!

If you have a Sensus water meter, just visit desplainesil.gov/mywater to set up your account.

Solar Panels

Electric Vehicles

BRITE

Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability (DES) has established the Businesses Reducing Impact on the Environment (BRITE) program. This free program helps businesses reduce their environmental impact and create a healthier environment for their employees, customers and community. DES offers on-site assessments to determine if businesses are eligible to apply for grant funding.

This funding would implement saving solutions and recommendations on ways to best modernize operations.

Go to cookcountyil.gov/BRITE to learn more and apply for an assessment.

Des Plaines, IL

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