Illinois townships will now be able to recycle leaves, wood chips and brush from unincorporated areas rather than add to the growing pile of garbage woes, Rep. David S. Olsen (R-Downers Grove) said in a press release.
Gov. Bruce Rauner recently enacted Olsen's House Bill 2427, marking the first time the rookie legislator has seen his efforts become law.
Previously, townships could only collect, transport and dispose of materials accumulated via lawn maintenance, Olsen said in the release. The new law will put the choice of how to use tree waste in the hands of townships.
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Rep. David Olsen (R-Downers Grove)
“Township highway departments regularly take down dead or diseased trees, or collect fallen branches, and that wood is processed into small chips,” Olsen said in the news release. “Many people like to use those wood chips as a landscaping or mulching material, but unfortunately, laws did not provide for the recycling of the material to businesses and residents for their use.”
Olsen said the Downers Grove Township highway department alone was allocating part of its budget to get rid of material like wood chips.
“Through this new law, which takes effect immediately, they will now be able to deliver the wood chips directly to facilities or residences for a much lower cost than what they were spending on disposal,” he said in the news release.
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