Chicago's Department of Streets and Sanitation picks up garbage weekly from single-family homes and buildings of four units or less; bigger buildings use private haulers. The city doesn't list a public trash drop-off of its own, so a load you haul yourself goes to a private transfer station that takes the public.
The biggest is LRS's California Transfer Station at 3152 S. California Avenue, open around the clock on weekdays. For chemicals and old computers, the city runs a drop-off on North Branch Street.
Lakeshore Recycling Systems (LRS)
3152 S. California Ave., Chicago, IL 60608 Directions
| Mon–Fri | Open 24 hours |
| Saturday | Midnight – 3:00 p.m. |
| Sunday | Closed |
Accepts: General waste, recyclables, yard waste, construction debris, electronics.
Won't take: Hazardous waste.
LRS lists this site as open to the public and calls it the largest transfer station by volume in Illinois.
WM
1500 N. Hooker St., Chicago, IL 60642 Directions
| Mon–Fri | 7:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. |
| Sat & Sun | Closed |
Accepts: Household trash and construction debris.
Won't take: Hazardous waste.
City of Chicago Department of Environment
1150 N. North Branch St., Chicago, IL Directions
| Tuesday | 7:00 a.m. – noon |
| Thursday | 2:00 – 7:00 p.m. |
| First Saturday of the month | 8:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. |
Accepts: Household chemicals and cleaners, oil-based paint, solvents, car and lithium batteries, motor oil and auto fluids, antifreeze, pesticides, fluorescent bulbs, mercury items, propane grill tanks, small fire extinguishers; computers and other electronics.
Won't take: Latex paint, alkaline batteries, appliances, tires, air conditioners, medical waste, business waste.
For Chicago residents. The blue building takes chemicals and the yellow building takes electronics; don't leave anything outside after hours.
LRS also marks its Forest View station (6201 W. Canal Bank Road; weekdays 5:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Saturdays until 1:30 p.m.) and its Maywood station (1207 Greenwood Avenue; weekdays 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays until noon; also takes electronics) as open to the public. North of the city, SWANCC's Glenview Transfer Station in Des Plaines posts its rates: $100 a ton with a $25 minimum.
Kane County's recycling office sums up what to expect at private transfer stations: the public usually pays the same per-ton rate as commercial haulers, often with a one-ton minimum, and some sites require a hard hat and a high-visibility vest. Call ahead for the rate, the minimum and what they accept.
Illinois keeps a long list of things out of its landfills: car batteries (since 1990), yard waste (since 1990), appliances that still have their Freon, mercury switches or PCB parts (since 1994), whole tires, and, since January 1, 2012, TVs, computers, monitors, printers and other electronics. That's why landfills turn them away and counties run separate programs for them.
Bulk items are handled by your ward's Streets and Sanitation office. The 18th Ward's office, for example, asks residents to call before putting bulk items out so they don't get a ticket. Household chemicals and computers go to the city's Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility at 1150 N. North Branch Street, two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street: Tuesdays 7 a.m. to noon, Thursdays 2 to 7 p.m., and the first Saturday of each month, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. It doesn't take latex paint; let it dry out and put it in the trash.
Every Illinois rate we've verified is side by side in our guide to what it costs to dump in Illinois.
Enter your city or ZIP for the nearest sites across Illinois, then call ahead — hours and access rules vary a lot here.