EVANSTON, ILLINOIS - The City of Evanston will host its eighth annual "Evanston Recycles" event on Saturday, July 7, from 9 a.m. to noon, at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave. The free “drive up, drop off” event provides residents an opportunity to recycle and donate a variety of items and securely shred documents.

Community members participating in the event should enter the drop-off line on Church Street west of Dodge Avenue (view map below). Participants are asked to follow the signs to the drop-off area and remain in their cars as City staff unload the items. Participants are asked to not line up before 8 a.m. Electronics recycling and document destruction are open to residents of all Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) communities.

New this year, the Evanston Public Library is encouraging community members to bring new and gently used books to donate for reuse or recycling at the event.

Electronics Recycling
The following electronic materials will be accepted:

• Cell phones
• Computers (PCs and laptops)
• Computer monitors
• DVR/Cable boxes
• DVD and VHS players
• Fax machines
• Mice and keyboards
• MP3 players and PDAs
• Printers and scanners
• TVs
• Video game consoles

Other Items
Additional items accepted at the event include:

• Vases (clean, dry and empty)
• Batteries (vehicle batteries not accepted)
• Fluorescent light bulbs; small fluorescent bulbs should be placed in sealable plastic bags (incandescent light bulbs not accepted)
• Plastic grocery bags and other plastic film
• Shoes
• Clothes and textiles
• American flags, POW flags and Service flags
• Bicycles and bicycle parts (broken, used bikes and parts welcome)
• Books
• Reusable bags
• Sunglasses
• Eyeglasses
• Pop tabs
• Keys
• Hearing aids

Medications Disposal
Residentially generated, unused prescriptions and expired over-the-counter drugs will be accepted for disposal. Medications considered to be a controlled substance will also be accepted. Participants are asked to follow these guidelines for medication disposal:

• Medicines must be in labeled containers; no loose pills
• No needles or syringes (used or new)
• Multiple medicine bottles should be transported in a clear re-sealable storage bag

Document Shredding and Recycling
Residents can bring up to five banker’s boxes of paper documents to be shredded on site. Documents should be placed in a box or brown paper bag and large metal clips and binders should be removed ahead of time. Staples and paper clips are acceptable. Document shredding is not available for businesses.

Evanston Recycles is supported by the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC), NorthShore University HealthSystem, Stericycle, Evanston Public Library, Evanston Sunrise Lions Club, Evanston American Legion Post 42, Random Acts of Flowers, Goodwill Evanston and the Recyclery. 

For more information, please call or text 847-448-4311. For convenience, residents in Evanston may simply dial 3-1-1.