City to Launch Pilot Food Waste Composting Program

The city of Highland Park, in partnership with Veolia Environmental Services, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, Glad and Orbis, will launch a voluntary residential food waste composting pilot program, beginning August 2, as part of the city’s ongoing commitment to sustainability and efforts to divert waste from local landfills.

The pilot program is available in the northeast portion of Highland Park, which includes approximately 2,500 eligible households, and will end November 29. At the conclusion of the program, the city will evaluate its overall effectiveness and efficiency and make a recommendation to the city council regarding implementation of a food waste composting program on a citywide basis.

The first 125 participating residents will receive a 33-gallon Veolia cart at no charge, an under-sink collection bucket, courtesy of Orbis, and a box of compostable bags for food scraps, courtesy of Glad. Collected food waste will be transported to Nu-Earth Organics, in Waukegan, for composting. Please note that yard waste and food waste may not be intermixed.

For more information, call Veolia Environmental Services at 847-272-4145 or Emily Palm, in the city manager’s office, at 847-926-1004.