Trash, Recycling, Organics

Last Yard Waste Collection – November 24 or 25


Problems with curbside collection?
Need to make changes to your service?
Please contact WM (Waste Management) directly:



New WM Contract Starts December 1

The Village of Vernon Hills contracts with a single provider for Village-wide garbage, recycling and yard waste/organics collection. The current Waste Management (WM) contract expires November 30, 2025. The Village has agreed to a new five-year contract with WM that begins December 1, 2025. This agreement covers single-family and multi-family residences (in general, those homes with garage and driveway). Note that businesses and commercial residential properties are not covered by this franchise agreement.  Visit the WM Contract webpage for details, including actions to take if you want to make service changes.


WM NOTICES

  • Yard waste, organics and food scrap collection season runs from April through late November. The last Seasonal collection will be November 24 or 25, depending on your garbage collection day.
  • Holidays may impact your collection, moving it by one day. Check WM.com for specifics. In general, WM observes New Year's Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day.


INFORMATION ABOUT GARBAGE SERVICE

  1. Services: Residents may opt for a 95, 65, or 35 gallon containers (carts with wheels and lids, provided by WM) for garbage, as well as for recycling. Pricing is dependent on the size of container, the number of pick ups per week, and any additional services, such as subscription yard waste/food scrap collection. Waste must be placed in WM-provided containers. Items outside of the containers will not be collected, or will be charged an additional fee.
  2. Village Contract: As outlined earlier on this webpage, the Village enters into a multi-year Village contract, which then sets the franchise fee schedule. Learn more by visiting the WM Contract webpage or viewing the fee schedules: 2020-2025 Fee Schedule, 2025-2030 Fee Schedule
  3. Start/Change Service: Contact Waste Management directly at 800-964-8988 to set up or change any of your services. You may also visit WM.com and initiate a live chat or send an email. In addition, WM rolled out a Vernon Hills-specific online customer service request page to support the new Village-wide contract that begins December 1, 2025. Learn more by viewing the WM Contract webpage or using the WM Vernon Hills Customer Service Portal, available through January 2026.
  4. Curbside Collection Day: WM collects based on a neighborhood schedule. The current schedule has most residential collections happening on Monday or Tuesday, with an option to purchase an additional collection on Friday. On the main collection day WM will also collect recycling and yard waste/food scraps.
  5. Placement/Timing: Trash, recycling and yard waste/food scraps should be placed at curbside by 6 a.m. on your scheduled collection date. WM provided carts should be placed at the end of your driveway (not in the street) with the opening toward the street and hinge lid toward the house. Please allow at least three feet of space between items to allow for the mechanical arm to access your containers. Please promptly remove and store containers once empty.
  6. Container Storage: Trash and recycling containers (carts) should be stored inside the garage, if possible. If this is not possible, containers should be stored out of sight. Ordinance indicate that containers may be stored in a side yard beside the house back 15 feet from the front corner, screened by bushes or fencing. 
  7. Bulk Items/Special Pick Ups: To schedule a special pick up, please contact WM directly at 800-964-8988 to arrange for payment and collection. You may also visit WM.com and initiate a live chat or send an email.


OTHER SERVICES

In addition to curbside garbage and recycling collection, the Village contract with WM also provides the following:

  • Seasonal Curbside Yard Waste/Organics Collection – available from April through November by subscription or single-use sticker (more info follows).
  • NEW Off season Curbside Organics Collection Option – New service December through March curbside organics collection, $120 for season. Please note that a minimum of 150 registered participants is required to begin this service. Interested residents are asked to complete the Village's online Organics Collection Survey.
  • Electronics Drop Off – Free collection at Public Works, 490 Greenleaf Drive.
  • Medical Sharps Drop Off – Free collection hosted by Countryside Fire. Note that due to construction at the Deerpath Drive station, sharps collection will move to CFPD Station #1 at 801 S. Midlothian Road, Mundelein starting November 1, 2025.
  • NEW Organics Drop Off – The Village has a free collection point at Public Works, 490 Greenleaf Drive. The site is open Monday through Friday from 7:00 AM to 3:00 PM. The following items are accepted here:  Accepted Food Scraps

SEASONAL YARD WASTE/ORGANICS

  1. Seasonal Yard Waste/Organics Subscription Service: Residents may sign up with WM for seasonal weekly yard waste/food scrap pick up, which coincides with your main trash collection day. Grass clippings, leaves, food scraps, etc., may be placed in Kraft paper bags or in containers (such as plastic garbage cans) marked with an "X." You may place up to six Kraft bags/containers of yard waste/food scraps for collection each week during the collection season, which generally runs from April through late November. 
  2. Seasonal Yard Waste/Organics Sign Up: Sign up for subscription collection by contacting WM in March or April. Note that WM has indicated that residents who have previously been seasonal subscribers will automatically have this service included when invoices go out in the spring. If you do not want to continue, please contact WM directly to make the change.
  3. Seasonal Pay As You Go for Yard Waste: If you have not signed up for subscription yard waste, you may receive service as needed by tagging bags/containers with a single-use Yard Waste sticker and placing at the curb on your regular collection day during the yard waste season of April through late November.  Organics collection service is not eligible for single-use stickers and requires a subscription.
  4. Yard Waste/Organics Sticker Sales: Single use Yard Waste stickers are available for purchase directly from WM as well as at  Village Hall, Mariano's, the Vernon Hills Park District and other local home improvement stores. 
  5. Yard Waste Season: Yard Waste season runs from April through the end of November. The last collection for the 2025 Season will be November 24 or 25, depending on your collection schedule.
  6. Brush and Branches: Small branches and tree limbs less than 2 inches in diameter will be picked up as Seasonal Yard Waste if they are tied with twine or string into bundles no more than 4 feet long and 2 feet in diameter, with each bundle weighing less than 50 pounds. Trees, stumps and branches larger than 2 inches in diameter cannot be collected as yard waste (they cannot be combined with the yard waste stream). Each bundle will need to display a Yard Waste sticker if you are not signed up for the seasonal Yard Waste program.

RESOURCES

Community Recycling Programs
The Village of Vernon Hills partners with the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) to provide a variety of recycling programs, including:

Clothing & textile recycling
Shoe recycling
Residential electronics recycling
Pharmaceutical collection
Food scrapping
Chemical waste disposal

For information on these programs, please visit the SWALCO / Vernon Hills web portal online.

swalco