E-Newsletter: November 26, 2021
Recycle Cooking Oil into Fuel this Thanksgiving

The City of Elmhurst, in partnership with SCARCE (School & Community Assistance for Recycling and Composting Education), is hosting a Cooking Oil Recycling event on Saturday, Nov. 27th from 9 am – noon at the City of Elmhurst Public Works Facility (985 S. Riverside Drive). 

Recycle your cooking oil into fuel this Thanksgiving by bringing your liquid cooking oil (no bacon grease or other solid animal fats) in a closed container. The oil collected will be recycled into biodiesel. This is a one-day event with the goal to make it easier for residents to properly dispose of their leftover or expired liquid cooking oil with temporary drop-off locations. 

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), fats, oils, and grease cause a full 47% of sewer backups nationally. Even small amounts of grease and oil can cause a problem over time. Cooking oil not only causes clogs but can negatively affect wildlife if dumped outdoors or in storm drains. So much so, the EPA regulates cooking oil in the same way it handles petroleum oil. 

If you can’t make it to the collection event, there are several permanent cooking oil collection sites throughout DuPage County. For a list of locations and more information about Cooking Oil recycling, please visit https://www.scarce.org/cooking-oil. 
The City of Elmhurst is excited to announce the Explore Elmhurst Holly Trolley will be back for the 2021 holiday season. Running Saturdays, November 27 through December 18 from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m., the trolley will follow the same route as in the past and can be tracked on ExploreElmhurst.com. 

The Holly Trolley will connect three shopping districts: Elmhurst City Centre, Spring Road and York and Vallette, making stops at the following locations: 

1.     York St. and Park Ave.
2.     York St. and Schiller St.
3.     Second St. and Addison Ave.
4.     Cottage Hill Ave. and Virginia St.
5.     Spring Road and the Illinois Prairie Path
6.     York St. and Vallette St.

Use the Holly Trolley for all of your holiday shopping! In addition to the stores and restaurants in these areas, the trolley will connect residents to holiday events. Enter to win weekly prizes on the Holly Trolley and enjoy special holiday experiences each week.

COVID-19 Safety Measures: The city will adhere to the latest guidelines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Illinois Department of Public Health in regards to COVID-19, and all COVID-19 precautions will be taken. A code of conduct will be placed in the trolley, visible to all riders.
SPECIAL APPEARANCE ON THE TROLLEY
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 27th:
Elmhurst Choral Union Carolers will be preforming
from 3-5 p.m.!!!
Support Local Businesses & Win - Elmhurst Loves Local Bingo Contest 

Elmhurst Loves Local Bingo is a virtual contest where participants fill their Bingo Cards by snapping photos of the ways they show local businesses support and sending those pictures in when they have completed a row on the Bingo Card.

Support: Complete tasks on the bingo card to support local businesses: Dining local, shopping local, seeking a service local, and staying fit local -- as well as supporting community events! Complete four (4) squares in a row to complete a bingo.

Snap: Take pictures of how you, your family, or your pet enjoy supporting local to meet the challenges of the bingo card, as seen in this examples. 

Send: Email pictures showing how you have completed a row on the bingo card. Send the Four (4) pictures that complete your row with along with the business names & your contact information to: econdev@elmhurst.org 

Win: Winners chosen at random weekly 11/27-12/31 for gift cards to local Elmhurst business of Winner’s choice. All bingo Entrants are also eligible to win one of Three (3) Grand prizes valued at $250 drawn at conclusion of contest. 


Holiday Light Disposal
Have your holiday lights lost their twinkle? Instead of sending them to the landfill, drop your dead lights off in one of our containers at Courts Plus (186 S. West Avenue), The Elmhurst Park District Administrative Office (375 W First St.), Wagner Community Center (615 N. West Ave.), or City Hall (209 N. York St.) through Tuesday, January 18, 2022 (look for the bins with the “Holiday Lights” signage.) The City of Elmhurst and Elmhurst Park District are partnering with Elgin Recycling for their annual holiday lights recycling program, with a goal of recycling over 100,000 pounds of holiday lights. Items that will be accepted include mini-lights, traditional lights, extension cords, rope lights, and LED lights in both working and non-working condition. Call Mickey Boyle at (630) 993-8941 or email MBoyle@epd.orgwith any questions.
The City of Elmhurst will have several “Toys for Tots” drop-off locations including City Hall, Elmhurst Fire Station 1 & 2, and the Elmhurst Police Station.

Toys for Tots accepts new, unwrapped toys for boys and girls from infants to age 12. Toys for Tots cannot accept food, clothing, or realistic-looking toy weapons, and unpackaged stuffed animals and gift cards are discouraged. 
City of Elmhurst Mitten Tree Collection 
Help kids, teens and adults stay warm this winter by donating gloves, mittens, scarves and socks to our Mitten Tree. Fasten your donations on the Christmas tree in the center foyer of City Hall (209 N. York St.). Clothes pins are in the basket at the Fire Department Administration counter. Mittens, socks, scarves and gloves will be dristributed by Yorkfield Food Pantry in Elmhurst. The Mitten Tree will accept donations until December 31st.
Keep the Wreath Red Program 
This holiday fire safety program is designed to increase fire safety awareness. A holiday wreath will hang on the outside of both fire stations. In the event of a holiday-related fire, firefighters will replace one of the red bulbs with a white one. The goal is to keep the bulbs on that wreath red. Fire safety reminders for a safe holiday season include keeping live Christmas trees watered, making sure all illuminated decorations and your fireplace are in good condition, using candles with caution, not overloading extension cords or outlets with excessive holiday lights, and making sure smoke detectors work.
Update from the O'Hare Noise Compatibility Commission:
Runway 9R/27L Scheduled to Reopen December 2

‍Runway 9R/27L is scheduled to reopen on December 2, 2021. The extended runway will be 11,260 feet long and remains 150 feet wide. The runway is located on the north airfield, approximately 1,600 feet south of existing Runway 9C/27C (as measured from centerline to centerline).

The 3,293-foot extension of Runway 9R/27L is the last airfield construction project of the O’Hare Modernization Program (OMP).

Runway 9R/27L will be an Airplane Design Group (ADG) V runway. Runway 9R/27L will be used mostly as a departure runway in all weather and wind conditions, and as an arrival runway when operationally necessary. It will be able to accommodate most aircraft that fly today, except for the largest aircraft such as the B747-8 and A380.
 
It is important to note that while the runway is reopening on December 2, it will not initially have full capability; the runway will be used in both directions for departures, while arrivals will come later. The FAA needs to install navigational aids for arrivals. These aids are an important tool that allow planes to land in poor visibility conditions. The first set of Instrument Landing System (ILS) navigational aids (CAT I) is scheduled to be installed by July 2022; the second set (CAT II/III) is targeted for completion by July 2023, possibly sooner. The installation of these tools will impact arrivals on this runway. The runway will be able to be used for departures; in the OMP it is designed primarily for use as a departure runway. 
City of Elmhurst
630-530-3000 
Weekdays: 8:30am - 5pm