This holiday season, don't let your broken string lights and dead trees go to waste. Drop off holiday lights in the marked bins at Village Hall and at the Park Forest Public Library through January 10. Christmas trees can be dropped off in the Aqua Center parking lot from December 26 to January 10. Residents are asked to remove any tree decorations prior to drop-off.
Holiday lights cannot go into your regular curbside recycling and must be sent to an electronics recycling company. Park Forest has partnered with Gaby Iron and Metal, a local recycling company. Check out their website for all your metal recycling needs.
Christmas trees that are picked-up with your regular garbage go directly into a landfill. When they breakdown there, they release the second most prevalent greenhouse gas, methane, which harms the environment. Park Forest is looking to offer a more sustainable solution for Christmas tree disposal. By dropping off your Christmas tree at the Aqua Center, trees will be chipped to be reused in landscapes or, at minimum, will be added to yard waste compost that, when finished processing, is a wonderful additive for soil. You may not have known, also, that a hefty truckload of tree mulch produced by the Village can be delivered to residents’ homes (for a small fee) when landscaping season resumes or residents can pick up the mulch for free!
The Park Forest Aqua Center is located at 30 N. Orchard Drive in Park Forest.
Help Park Forest continue to be a leader in sustainability by dropping off your tree and unusable lights!
For questions, please contact the Sustainability Office at 708-748-1112 ext. 5698.