What Mundelein is doing!

Hybrid Vehicles

The Village of Mundelein recently purchased two hybrid vehicles for the Public Works Department and is looking into additional purchases for the future. A hybrid car is a vehicle that uses a rechargeable energy system and normal gasoline fueled power. These cars are low-polluting and consume less gasoline than cars with pure internal combustion engines. Hybrid vehicles have greater fuel economy than conventional engine vehicles; this means that fewer air pollution emissions are generated.

Solar Powered Traffic Control Signs

The Village is in the process of installing solar powered traffic control signs, such as pedestrian crossings, at 3 locations in the community. These signs use the energy from sunlight to produce electricity. Because they burn no fuel and have no moving parts, solar powered systems are clean and silent. As we become more aware of "greenhouse gases" and their detrimental effects on our planet, clean energy alternatives like solar power become more important.

LED Traffic Signals

The benefits of LED traffic signals are great. Not only are LED bulbs brighter, they are extremely energy efficient and have a very long life. Mundelein has 5 traffic intersections which are maintained by the Village. Plans have been made to begin changing out the signals at all of these intersections. A great resource with more detail on the benefits of LED traffic signals is available here.

Transit-Oriented Development

The Village of Mundelein’s Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan is a unique opportunity to redevelop the area surrounding the Mundelein Train Station with activity that will serve as a focal point for the entire community. The TOD Plan weaves together retail, residential, and civic uses into a mixed-use development. The first development in Mundelein’s TOD plan, Cardinal Square, is currently under construction. The entire TOD plan is available online here.

Bike trails

The Village of Mundelein and the Mundelein Parks and Recreation District continue to offer opportunities for the residents of Mundelein to use bicycle trails for leisure and transportation. A new bike trail will be under construction this summer along Washington Boulevard to link parks, businesses and residents to the Libertyville and Lake County trail systems. In addition, the Lake County Forest Preserve maintains nearly 100 miles of bicycle trails. You can find out more about Lake County’s bike trails by clicking here.

Environmental Friendly

The Fire Department recently switched to environmentally friendly cleaning supplies or “green supplies”. The Department switched approximately half of their cleaning supplies to green products. The larger garage bags that are used are also green products. According to the supplier, the bags will begin to break down in about 90 days in the landfill. These are the garage bags are used in the training rooms. The Fire Department is planning to use more green products in the future.

What more can we do?

If you have any ideas that the Village of Mundelein can use to make the community a more sustainable place to live, or if you have found a website that you think is especially helpful, please contact us at, info@mundelein.org. We welcome all of your suggestions.

What can you do?

Curbside Recycling

The benefits of recycling include: cutting waste disposal costs, saving energy, conservation of the environment and reducing the amount of garbage in landfill sites. Curbside recycling for Mundelein is provided by Mundelein Disposal. The Village encourages all residents to use the 64 gallon recycling carts offered by Mundelein Disposal for a small additional charge. If your garbage hauler is Waste Management and you would like to sign up for recycling services please call Mundelein Disposal at, 847-566-5159, to set up service.

The following items are accepted during collection: Plastic coded #1-7; aluminum, metal, and aerosol cans; newspaper; office paper; junk mail; cardboard; chipboard (cereal and food boxes); telephone books; magazines; paper bags; six-pack rings; and glass jars and bottles. Click here for more information about the Mundelein recycling program.

Electronics Collection Events

Residential Household Electronics Collections are scheduled at various locations around Lake County. These collections are a great opportunity to dispose of unwanted appliances, televisions, computers and more. Any Lake County resident may dispose of unwanted electronics at the Village of Mundelein Public Works Facility from May 1 to October 31, Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. For locations and dates on other collection sites throughout Lake County, along with a list of acceptable items, click here.

Household Chemical Waste Collections

Residents now have two ways to dispose off their household chemical waste at SWALCO's Household Chemical Waste Collections: mobile events held at locations throughout Lake County, and the new Public Drop-off Days (by appointment only) at the Gurnee facility. For information on what items are accepted and to find dates for the mobile events or to set up an appointment visit the SWALCO website.

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A great guide for items with special disposal requirements can be found online here.

The Mundelein Fire Department has put together a disposal guide for Fluorescent Light Bulbs. You can view the guide here.

Recycling opportunities for other materials and their drop-off locations can be found below.

More information on recycling and waste management can be found at the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) website.

Energy Conservation

Energy conservation and efficiency go a long way towards preserving our planet’s rich natural resources and promoting a healthy environment. There are many simple things that all of us can do to help reduce energy consumption. We can all reduce demand, cut energy costs, and protect our precious natural resources. To find some of the ways you can help conserve energy visit here.

Light Bulbs

An easy way to conserve energy is to use Energy Star qualified light bulbs. Compact fluorescent light bulbs use only about one-quarter the electricity and last several years longer than conventional light bulbs. If every American home replaced just one light bulb with an Energy Star qualified bulb, we would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes for a year, that is more than $600 million in annual energy costs. More information can be found here.

Native Plants

Native plants are better for the environment because they have adapted to the local conditions and once established they do not need pesticides, fertilizers, or watering. In addition, a native landscape does not need to be mowed like a conventional lawn. Landscaping with native wildflowers and grasses helps return the area to a healthy ecosystem. Diverse varieties of birds, butterflies and animals, are attracted to the native plants, thus enhancing the biodiversity of the area. Please visit the EPA website for more information on the benefits of planting native plants.

Green Tags

Green Tags are renewable energy certificates which help fund ways to replace traditional polluting sources of electricity with clean, secure, and sustainable renewable sources of energy that come from solar and wind power. One Green Tag represents enough renewable energy to offset a typical home for a month with clean wind and solar power. While there are many different organizations that market Green Tags, more information can be found by visiting here.

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Practicing the 3 Rs is a great way to produce less waste. Reduce the amount of trash you discard. Reuse containers and products; repair what is broken or give it to someone who can repair it. Do not throw re-useable items away. Many items can be donated to organizations such as Goodwill, the Salvation Army, and many others. Many local church groups accept donated items as well. Recycle as much as possible. Be sure to click here to find out more about how you can use the 3 Rs.

Purchase Recyclable Content

There's more to recycling than setting out your recyclables at the curb. In order to make recycling economically feasible, we must buy recycled products and packaging. When we buy recycled products, we create an economic incentive for recyclable materials to be collected, manufactured, and marketed as new products. Buying recycled has both economic and environmental benefits. Purchasing products made from or packaged in recycled materials saves resources for future generations. More about buying recycled products can be found here.

Public Transportation

Using public transportation is a great way to help reduce the pollutants from vehicle emissions. The Village of Mundelein is served by the Metra rail system and the PACE bus service. Route schedules and service information for PACE and Metra can be found online.

Water Conservation

Every Drop Counts! Our county is known for and named after its many water bodies including Lake Michigan and 170 other lakes and rivers, along with 400 miles of streams, and thousands of acres of wetlands. But, population projections show the Lake County population at 786,000 by 2020 and this population growth will place demands on our future water supply. Planning for our future water supply is becoming increasingly important. There are potential water wasters throughout our homes; the following guides provide simple tips for reducing water use.

Rain Garden

A rain garden is a planted depression that is designed to absorb rainwater runoff from impervious urban areas like roofs, driveways, walkways, and compacted lawn areas. This reduces rain runoff by allowing stormwater to soak into the ground. Rain gardens can cut down on the amount of pollution reaching creeks and streams by up to 30%. Native plants are recommended for rain gardens because they generally don't require fertilizer and are more tolerant of local climate, soil, and water conditions. A guide to creating your own rain garden can be found on the Village of Mundelein’s website here.

Composting

Composting is nature's process of recycling decomposed organic materials into a rich soil known as compost. Anything that was once living will decompose. Basically, backyard composting is an acceleration of the same process nature uses. By composting your organic waste you are returning nutrients back into the soil in order for the cycle of life to continue. Finished compost looks like soil–dark brown, crumbly and smells like a forest floor. A further look at composting can be viewed here.