Forest Park residents will get new 96-gallon garbage cans and 64-gallon recycling bins this month, after the village council approved a waste collection agreement with local company SBC Waste Solutions at its April 13 meeting.
The five-year contract with SBC Waste Solutions will begin May 1, but the company’s first pickup day for trash, recycling and yard waste will be Thursday, May 7 between 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. for the whole village — including residences north of Madison, where Republic Services currently picks up on Fridays.
Like Republic Services, SBC Waste Solutions will collect yard waste from April 1 through Nov. 30 every year and, over the same period, offer collection of organic materials to those who subscribe.
“It’s great to see that the service looks like it will remain relatively the same for residents,” Commissioner Jessica Voogd said at the council meeting.
But, the new waste collection service will be much cheaper for the village. Commissioner Maria Maxham said the new contract with SBC would save Forest Park over $300,000 annually.
“That’s exactly the kind of stuff that we need to be doing here, so I want to thank staff for working really hard on getting that together,” Maxham said.
Next, staff will look into other composting options for residents.
Commissioner Michelle Melin-Rogovin, who wasn’t present at the April 13 meeting, and Voogd have told the council that residents have asked for a year-round composting program, bins that are smaller and easier to clean, and a way for residents to get back their organic waste as compost to use in their gardens.
“My hope is, going forward, we can work with them to better improve or expand our composting program,” Voogd said.
The village’s new choice for a waste collection service is based right in town. Woman-owned SBC Waste Solutions moved to 1313 Circle Ave. — where it stages and stores waste hauling trucks — a little over 2 years ago after launching in Broadview in 2019. SBC offers commercial hauling services for the Chicagoland area and residential waste hauling in Bloomingdale, Indian Head Park, Winfield, Broadview and Berwyn.
Come next month, SBC Waste Solutions will pick up waste from five public buildings, nearly 2,000 single-family residences, 600 two-family residences, about 140 three-family residences, 60 four-flats, and 82 condominium buildings. Each condo structure will get its own large recycling container, and SBC will supply smaller indoor recycling bins for individual units.
Trash not accepted by SBC include bulk items that don’t fit in the provided bin, electronic waste and hazardous waste. Accepted recyclables include paper, cardboard, glass, plastic and aluminum. SBC accepts unlimited yard waste, as long as it’s in a container no larger than 30 gallons and clearly identified as landscape waste. Residents who pay more for organics collection will be given a 96-gallon cart that will be collected weekly.
Per the village’s agreement with SBC, once a year the company will distribute brochures to every residential unit in the village outlining what items are municipal waste and recyclable.