West Cook News

Oak Park, a village known for its progressive values and bustling business districts, is celebrating Compost Awareness Week with a spotlight on its residential compost program. In addition to this, the Village has launched an initiative encouraging residents to leave fallen leaves in their yards next autumn rather than bagging them for disposal.

Leaf litter serves as an insulating blanket for tree and plant roots during winter months, providing nutrients as it decomposes. Applying compost to soil enhances its health and fosters a thriving community of microbes and plants that sequester carbon in the soil.

Residents can visit www.oak-park.us/leafpledge to learn more about this initiative and sign a pledge to leave their leaves. Those who complete the pledge are eligible to receive a free decorative garden yard flag.

According to Environmental Protection Agency officials, organic material constitutes approximately 30% of material sent to landfills in the United States. Composting is one of the primary methods communities use to reach waste diversion goals, such as those outlined in Oak Park’s comprehensive sustainability plan, Climate Ready Oak Park.

When food scraps, yard waste, and other organic materials are sent to a landfill, they decompose and produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. This process occurs due to anaerobic decomposition or decomposition in the absence of oxygen. In contrast, compost piles decompose aerobically or with oxygen and primarily produce carbon dioxide. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions can help mitigate impacts from climate change.

A backyard compost bin demonstration will take place from 1 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 11 at 1036 Clinton Ave. This event is part of a series coordinated by the Illinois Food Scrap & Composting Coalition taking place throughout the state this week.

The Village offers a food scrap composting collection program for residential households of up to five units. Participants receive a gray 96-gallon cart for weekly collection of organics, a three-gallon food scrap kitchen pail, and a sample of compostable bags for food scraps. Both yard waste and food scraps may be placed in the organics cart, eliminating the need to purchase yard waste stickers.

An organic cart subscription costs $16.31 per month, which is approximately the cost of one yard-waste sticker and one yard-waste bag per week. Residents can share an organic cart with one other neighbor to reduce the monthly cost.

In an effort to encourage composting among all residents, the Village has kitchen compost pails available for purchase for $10 per pail at the cashier’s window at Village Hall, 123 Madison St. The pails simplify collection of food scraps for disposal at one of five free compost drop-off locations in the community.

While the CompostAble collection program is only available to residential households of up to five units served by the Village’s waste-hauling contract, residents who live in multifamily buildings or are otherwise not enrolled in the program may leave food scraps in clearly labeled carts at one of five locations in the Village.

Large multifamily or condo associations can also independently contract with Oak Park's contractor LRS or another provider for composting service. Building owners and condo associations can contact publicworks@oak-park.us for assistance with the compost contracting process.

For more information about Oak Park’s compost program, visit www.oak-park.us/compostable, email compostable@oak-park.us or call 708.358.5700.