Evanston Recycles Collection Event

Join us for the City of Evanston’s annual "Evanston Recycles" event on Saturday, June 27th, from 9 a.m. to noon at Evanston Township High School, 1600 Dodge Ave.

This free “drive up, drop off” event provides residents with a convenient opportunity to safely clear out household waste. Supported by the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) and Endeavor Health System, the City will be collecting only electronic waste, documents for secure shredding, and medication. This year, Climate Action Evanston will also be on-site to accept a limited set of items for reuse and upcycling. No other materials will be accepted. See below on this page for a full list of accepted materials.

Community members participating in the event should enter the drop-off line on Church Street west of Dodge Avenue (view map below). Participants are asked to follow the signs to the drop-off area and remain in their cars. Participants are asked not to line up before 8 a.m.

Safety Restrictions

To ensure the safety of participants and staff, all participants must unlock/open their trunk from inside their vehicle to allow City staff to unload the items. All material for recycling should be placed in the back seat or trunk of participants' vehicles.

Electronics Recycling

The following electronic materials will be accepted:

• Cell phones
• Computers (PCs and laptops)
• Computer monitors
• DVR/Cable boxes
• DVD and VHS players
• Fax machines
• Mice and keyboards
• MP3 players and PDAs
• Printers and scanners
• TVs
• Video game consoles

Document Shredding and Recycling:

Residents can bring up to five banker’s boxes of paper documents to be shredded on site. Documents should be placed in a box or a brown paper bag, and large metal clips and binders should be removed ahead of time. Staples and paper clips are acceptable. Document shredding is not available for businesses.

Medications Disposal:

Residentially generated, unused prescription medication and expired over-the-counter drugs will be accepted for disposal.  Medications considered to be controlled substances will also be accepted.  Participants are asked to follow these guidelines for medication disposal:

• Medicines must be in labeled containers; no loose pills
• No needles or syringes (used or new)
• Multiple medicine bottles should be transported in a clear re-sealable storage bag

Climate Action Evanston:

New in 2026, Residents from Climate Action Evanston will be volunteering onsite, taking select additional materials to help reuse and recycle items. Please make sure that when transporting these items to the event, they are easily accessible and separated for easy collection and sorting by volunteers.

• Bicycles, bike parts, and accessories
• Books, CDs, and DVDs
• Tools (hand or power) in good working condition
• Usable art and office supplies (markers, paint, paper, etc.)
• Lego bricks
• Tennis balls

Can't Attend?

If you cannot attend the event, please remember that as a SWANCC member, community residents are able to go to any SWANCC Community event for free. To find other events, please check out SWANCC's calendar or download Recycle Coach.