Trash, Recycling, Yard Waste & Food Scraps

Waste Management 800-964-8988

Residential waste, recycling, yard waste and food scrapping collection services are available through a Village-wide multi-year contract with Waste Management (WM). (The contract was originally created with Advanced Disposal, which was purchased by Waste Management in 2020). Most residents will purchase services through Waste Management. Exceptions include some HOAs (Home Owner Associations), multifamily communities and commercial properties, which may have negotiated their own contracts with other haulers.

To arrange for services, contact Waste Management directly at 800-964-8988 or visit WM.com


 KEY INFORMATION

  1. Services: Residents may opt for a 95, 65, or 35 gallon containers (carts with wheels and lids, provided by WM) for garbage, as well as for recycling. Pricing is dependent on the size of container, the number of pick ups per week, and any additional services, such as subscription yard waste/food scrap collection. Waste must be placed in WM-provided containers. Items outside of the containers will not be collected, or will be charged an additional fee.
  2. Village Contract: The multi-year Village contract sets the fee schedule: 2020-2024 Fee Schedule
  3. Start/Change Service: Contact Waste Management directly at 800-964-8988 to set up or change any of your services. You may also visit WM.com and initiate a live chat or send an email.
  4. Curbside Collection Day: WM collects based on a neighborhood schedule. The current schedule has most residential collections happening on Monday or Tuesday, with an option to purchase an additional collection on Friday. On the main collection day WM will also collect recycling and yard waste/food scraps.
  5. Placement/Timing: Trash, recycling and yard waste/food scraps should be placed at curbside by 6 a.m. on your scheduled collection date. WM provided carts should be placed at the end of your driveway (not in the street) with the opening toward the street and hinge lid toward the house. Please allow at least three feet of space between items to allow for the mechanical arm to access your containers. Please promptly remove and store containers once empty.
  6. Container Storage: Trash and recycling containers (carts) should be stored inside the garage, if possible. If this is not possible, containers should be stored out of sight. Ordinance indicate that containers may be stored in a side yard beside the house back 15 feet from the front corner, screened by bushes or fencing. 
  7. Yard Waste/Food Scrapping Subscription Service: Residents may sign up with WM for seasonal weekly yard waste/food scrap pick up, which coincides with your main trash collection day. Grass clippings, leaves, food scraps, etc., may be placed in Kraft paper bags or in containers (such as plastic garbage cans) marked with an "X." You may place up to six Kraft bags/containers of yard waste/food scraps for collection each week during the collection season, which generally runs from April through November.
  8. Yard Waste/Food Scrapping Sign Up: Sign up for subscription collection by contacting WM in March or April. Note that WM has indicated that residents who have previously been seasonal subscribers will automatically have this service included when invoices go out in the spring. If you do not want to continue, please contact WM directly to make the change.
  9. Pay As You Go for Yard Waste: If you have not signed up for subscription yard waste, you may receive service as needed by tagging bags/containers with a single-use Yard Waste sticker and placing at the curb on your regular collection day during the yard waste season of April through November.  Organics collection service is not eligible for single-use stickers and requires a subscription.
  10. Yard Waste Sticker Sales: Single use Yard Waste stickers are available for purchase directly from Village Hall, Mariano's, the Vernon Hills Park District and other local home improvement stores. 
  11. Yard Waste Season: Yard Waste season runs from April through the end of November.
  12. Brush and Branches: Small branches and tree limbs less than 2 inches in diameter will be picked up as Yard Waste if they are tied with twine or string into bundles no more than 4 feet long and 2 feet in diameter, with each bundle weighing less than 50 pounds. Trees, stumps and branches larger than 2 inches in diameter cannot be collected as yard waste (they cannot be combined with the yard waste stream). Each bundle will need to display a Yard Waste sticker if you are not signed up for the seasonal Yard Waste program.
  13. Bulk Items/Special Pick Ups: To schedule a special pick up, please contact WM directly at 800-964-8988 to arrange for payment and collection. You may also visit WM.com and initiate a live chat or send an email.
  14. Holiday Schedule: Waste Management observes the following holidays: New Year’s Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day. If your pick up is scheduled for a holiday, your collection day will be pushed back one day. For example, if Christmas Day occurs on Tuesday, your collection will move to Wednesday. If the holiday falls on a Friday, collection will occur on Saturday.

RESOURCES




Community Recycling Programs
The Village of Vernon Hills partners with the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) to provide a variety of recycling programs, including:

Clothing & textile recycling
Shoe recycling
Residential electronics recycling
Pharmaceutical collection
Food scrapping
Chemical waste disposal

For information on these programs, please visit the SWALCO / Vernon Hills web portal online.

swalco