Lisle turns storm debris into mulch, saving village thousands of dollars a year

For the fourth time this year, storms have torn through the western suburbs, and one village is turning the wreckage into something useful.

The Village of Lisle is taking downed trees and branches from recent storm damage across the Chicago area and northwest Indiana and turning them into mulch the park district can use — sustainable work that officials say also saves taxpayers money.

Piles of storm debris collected by the village translate to more than 5,000 bags of mulch, according to public works officials.

Crews in Lisle are still cleaning up debris from the storms, but the work doesn't end there. They're using the downed trees and branches to create mulch for the village.

"It's a nice, recyclable, sustainable practice for the environment," said Jason Elias, public works director for the Village of Lisle. "We are always looking for ways to become more efficient and make practices that are good for the environment and help reduce costs on the community." 

Extra pickups in Lisle neighborhoods have led to about 25 truckloads of debris since last week's storm — the equivalent of about 5,000 bags of mulch that would otherwise be bought from a store. Those are bags the village won't have to purchase.

"It's several thousand dollars a year that we have in mulch savings," Elias said.

Crews will return to Lisle in the spring and fall to determine which parkway trees need to be replaced, and will do so for residents who lost trees in the storms, Elias said.

The wood chips are being dropped off and processed nearby at the Morton Arboretum. Because conditions have been so wet, Lisle does not currently have a place to store the material itself.

Lisle resident Faby Galvez said the storms were scary. "They came so fast," Galvez said.

Galvez said she's thankful for the pickup and glad to hear the tree limbs she lost will be put to use.

"We're so thankful. We didn't even think they were gonna come and pick this mess up," Galvez said.

The mulch will be used by the Lisle Park District throughout the village and by the Morton Arboretum throughout its property.