Waste Reduction

Cook County has recycled more than one million pounds of old documents, reports and miscellaneous paperwork in the last year-and-a-half, confronting a decades-old problem of records storage as well as generating savings and revenue for the County…

After months of collaboration and input from community and government organizations, the solid waste industry, and environmental advocacy groups, the Cook County Board Wednesday approved a Solid Waste and Recycling Ordinance (SWRO) that will give…

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today introduced an ordinance that would give Cook County significant new tools and information to increase recycling, prosecute fly-dumping and reduce thefts of metal and other valuable materials from…

In 2012, the Cook County Board approved an ambitious zero waste goal in the Solid Waste Plan Update. The Demolition Debris Diversion Ordinance that was passed July 24th gets us one step closer to attaining that goal.

Green Buildings are important to the County’s sustainability efforts.  They improve the county’s operational efficiency.  And they provide real life examples of energy efficiency and new green technologies to other governments and…