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DuPage County environmental committee approves shredding events, electronics recycling contract and $60,000 Choose DuPage grant
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Summary
The DuPage County Environmental Committee on Jan. 7 approved three measures to expand resident recycling and sustainability services: county-hosted document-shredding events, an electronics-recycling agreement and a grant to Choose DuPage to manage Sustainable DuPage.
The DuPage County Environmental Committee on Jan. 7 approved three measures to expand resident recycling and sustainability services: county-hosted document-shredding events, an electronics-recycling agreement and a grant to Choose DuPage to manage the Sustainable DuPage program.
The committee approved a recommendation to provide county-hosted document-shredding services through Nov. 30, 2025, with total expenditures not to exceed $8,500; it approved an electronics-recycling agreement for Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025, with eWORKS Electronic Services and Reverse Logistics Group Americas Inc. (RLG) not to exceed $6,000; and it authorized a grant agreement with Choose DuPage to operate Sustainable DuPage from Jan. 14–Nov. 30, 2025, not to exceed $60,000. Chair Rutledge called the motions and each was approved by voice vote.
The meeting opened with public comment from Kay McKeen, who described a range of reuse and donation activities coordinated with local food pantries and other groups. "We're using those paper bags, and I want people to use reusable bags," McKeen said, and she listed local recipients including the Glen Ellyn food pantry, the Elmhurst Yorkfield food pantry and the People's Resource Center. McKeen also highlighted upcoming events and pilot programs the department is running and supporting, including a repair fair on Jan. 25 and open houses and teacher institute visits tied to hazardous-waste programming.
Craig Bedlock, speaking on behalf of Choose DuPage, summarized 2024 results and plans for 2025 for the Sustainable DuPage program. "We conducted 7 webinars on sustainability practices for DuPage County businesses with 332 unique businesses registering for those webinars," he told the committee. Bedlock said Sustainable DuPage completed 17 individual business assessments in 2024, produced 10 business case studies to be published in 2025, created a sustainability-plan workbook and posted more than 70 resources on a new website page. He said early 2025 outreach will focus on building electrification, renewable energy, water conservation and municipal-level sustainability-planning support.
Committee members asked questions about several items. When a member asked whether the electronics contract had been competitively bid, department staff responded that the county participates in a state program administered through the Illinois Manufacturers Recycling Association; RLG is the assigned recycler under that program and had an existing relationship with eWORKS, and eWORKS will charge residents a fee rather than the county paying that fee.
Separately, a committee member raised the issue of stopping the sale of single-use plastic water bottles in county vending machines and cafeterias. Staff said the change would have budgetary implications and that food-services leadership would be asked to report back. The committee asked staff to return with a March update and to invite Diane Borsky, who oversees county food services, to the meeting to discuss options and costs; no formal policy change or vote on vending machines was taken at the Jan. 7 meeting.
Votes at a glance
• 250002 — Approval of minutes from the Nov. 5 meeting: approved by voice vote.
• 250003 — Recommendation to support county-hosted document shredding events through Nov. 30, 2025, total not to exceed $8,500: approved by voice vote.
• 6b25-4 — Agreement with eWORKS Electronic Services and Reverse Logistics Group Americas Inc. for electronics recycling for Jan. 1–Dec. 31, 2025, amount not to exceed $6,000: approved by voice vote. Committee discussion noted the county's participation in the state recycling program and that resident fees may apply.
• ENR1-25 — Grant agreement with Choose DuPage to manage Sustainable DuPage Jan. 14–Nov. 30, 2025, amount not to exceed $60,000: approved by voice vote.
The committee scheduled a fuller agenda for February and asked staff to return in March with a report and a food-services representative to discuss replacing bottled water sales and possible incentives to use refill stations.
