Gov. Quinn Visits Naperville to Announce Construction of $1.18 Million Recycling Center

Gov. Pat Quinn visited Naperville Friday to announce the construction of a new environmental collection center in Naperville. 

The $1.18 million project will receive $900,000 in state funds and will serve as a center for area residents to recycle everything from plastic to fire extinguishers.

Gov. Quinn joined Naperville and state officials Friday at the city's Public Works Center, 180 Fort Hill Dr., for a groundbreaking ceremony near a vacant portion of land north of the center, which is were the project will be constructed.

"I wanted to come here today because recycling and conservation and energy efficiency, that means jobs for our state," Gov. Quinn said Friday. "We don't have anything to waste." 

"Naperville is showing us how to (recycle) and how to do it right," Quinn added. 

Naperville Mayor A. George Pradel called the project a "first of its kind" and noted that the city has been on the forefront of recycling considering that Naperville was the first city in the state to offer curbside recycling for residents.

Naperville will invest $285,000 in the new environmental collection center and a grant from the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will fund $900,000 for the project. Construction is set to begin before the end of 2013. 

"Thanks to a generous grant form our partners, the city will be able to construct a one-stop location that will provide the public all its recycling needs," Pradel said.

Once completed, the center will accept recyclable items such as paper, plastic and glass as well as batteries, propane tanks, oil, paint and lightbulbs.

Gov. Quinn stressed the importance of expanding local recycling programs and that recycling should be a bipartisan topic. 

"There's no such thing as Republican recycling or Democratic recycling, it's Illinois recycling and it's something we all believe in," Quinn said. 

The city invested more than $430,000 into two recycling locations this year, but the "demand has exceeded the city's capacity," according to a press release. 

City Manager Doug Krieger added that the city's current recycling location is also difficult to get to and is undersized. 

"We believe that the ease of use for the new location will increase usage by about 30 percent," Krieger said.