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Kane County residents recycled less material in 2025 than in any year since the county started tracking curbside data in 2011.
According to a recent Energy and Environment Committee presentation, the county's recycling-only rate dropped to 22.8% from 25.1% the year before. Residents recycled just over 56,000 tons of materials in 2025 compared to about 173,000 tons of trash thrown out.
Here's what else to know:
The gap is widening: Kane County's stated waste diversion goal (which is the percentage of waste you divert from disposal at landfills) is 52%, but the actual rate came in at 29.6% in 2025. County recycling coordinator Clair Ryan told the Energy and Environment Committee that the county is "really not any closer to reaching the goal than we were 21 years ago."
Less trash, less recycling: Total curbside trash per household dropped to its lowest weight since 2018, which sounds like progress. But recycling fell faster. Staff pointed to packaging "shrinkflation" as one factor, but said no single explanation accounts for the steady decline.
St. Charles and Geneva lead the county: The two cities tied for the highest curbside recycling rate in the county at 28.8%. Ryan noted that St. Charles "came from nowhere" to match Geneva this year. Gilberts (27.5%) and Algonquin (26.2%) also ranked near the top.
Still above the regional average: A new regional comparison using data from 272 municipalities in the Chicagoland area found an average curbside recycling rate of 17.1%, which Kane County beat handily.
The committee presentation showed that half of commercial businesses in the county don't have a recycling dumpster despite a county ordinance requiring it, with staff noting that the county doesn’t currently allocate the resources necessary for enforcement.
The county held three big recycling events in 2025 resulting in 91 tons of additional materials recycled.
Get more information from the presentation in this agenda document.
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