2016 Spring

Yard Waste Program and Compost Availability:

Now that we can see an end to Winter 2015-2016 and all the shoveling that went with it, we can look forward to Spring and yard work! We will begin our annual yard waste collection for the unincorporated areas on April 4, 2016 and will continue until November 22, 2016. Incorporated residents will need to check their Village’s or City’s vendor for their individual service dates. However, in late March and weather permitting, we will deliver 56 yard waste stickers to each household in the unincorporated areas. These stickers are to be used on your purchased yard waste bags for the following items: grass clippings, leaves and garden debris, however dirt or sod is not prohibited. Please do not put more than 40 pounds of material into the bags as they become too heavy to lift into our refuse truck. If you have small brush or branches, please tie them with twine in bundles 4 ft. or less in length and 2 ft. or less in diameter. By doing so, they will be more manageable for disposal. Additionally, for your gardening use, we have compost which is aged, ground yard waste and is offered for pick-up at the Road District Garage and Town Hall. Please call for availability, as this material is quickly consumed.

Tire Amnesty:

Tires are a staple of modern society, however it has become one of our largest solid waste headaches. This nuisance extends especially to our roadside ditches. Violators “fly dump” their unwanted tires, creating breeding grounds for mosquitoes, flooding and maintenance concerns for the Road District, not to mention an unsightly landscape. In response, we created a tire amnesty program several years ago and it has become a well-attended and anticipated event. Early each spring on selected Saturdays anyone living in Palatine Township can drop off their used tires at our yard. If you are a resident of Palatine Township, stop by and drop off your old tires at the Road District Garage, located at: 530 N. Smith Street, Palatine. Once again centered around Earth Day, the tire amnesty program will be from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm on Saturday April 16, 2016 and Saturday April 23, 2016. No tires over 16″ in diameter or from commercial vendors will be accepted.

Water Quality:

We are fortunate to live near the Great Lakes, which is the largest group of fresh water lakes on the planet and represent 84% of North America’s surface freshwater. Urban runoff is threatening these bodies of freshwater and public awareness needs to be present and heightened. Urban runoff pollution comes from neighborhood streets, ditches, storm sewers, construction sites and parking lots. This runoff contains pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers from landscaped lawns and gardens, improper disposal of used oil and engine fluids into open lid manholes and soil erosion from construction sites. Your support as residents of the community is essential to improve our water quality. Proper maintenance, responsible use of fertilizers and correct waste disposal are just a few solutions to keep our creeks and streams clean. We must to do our part together to improve the water quality of our creeks and streams so we may continue living in a healthy ecosystem. Our local ecosystem is the Salt Creek Tributary, which starts mostly in Palatine Township and covers approximately 150 square miles. This watershed eventually makes its way into the Des Plaines River, then into the Illinois River and eventually to the Mississippi River. The flooding in the Southern States first started in our backyards. If we want to protect the Mississippi estuary, we must start in our own back yard.