Fire sweeps through recycling facility in Little Village
A fire broke out Thursday at a recycling facility in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, officials said.
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A fire broke out Thursday at a recycling facility in Chicago's Little Village neighborhood, officials said.
Chicago is marking 30 years since it started its first citywide recycling program, which began with a problematic kickoff, and continues to lag behind other major cities in terms of performance.
December 2025 marked 30 years since the City of Chicago introduced its first citywide recycling program. It was scrapped in 2008, but despite improvements, recycling rates remain stubbornly low.
On Dec. 4, 1995, the Chicago's Blue Bag recycling program began to much fanfare. First, Burleigh Hines reports on people preparing the day before. Then, we see a family pitching in on the first day, and the inside of a waste sorting facility.
In this series of Channel 2 News special reports from May 1989, Adele Arakawa reports on the garbage disposal crisis in Northeastern Illinois and what to do about it. Arakawa talks with then-Chicago Deputy Streets and Sanitation Commissioner Tim Harrington, then-Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County executive director Bill Abolt, and other experts. Original airdates: May 17-19, 1989.
Organizers expect that of the 10,000 pounds of lights they have collected, they estimate they have saved about 3000 pounds of copper alone from inside the wires.
For people who are looking for more eco-friendly ways to get rid of those lights and trees, some groups are offering help.
Live trees can be dropped off at one of 27 drop-off locations around the city between Jan. 3 and 17.
Before doing so, all decorations must be removed before recycling.
Before doing so, all decorations must be removed before recycling.
Did you know electronic waste makes up 70% of all toxic waste in the United States? So, on Saturday, the chamber of commerce is putting on a tech recycling event on the Southport Corridor from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The events and marketing director, Teresa Hull, talks more about it.
Most of the labor and cost of managing textile waste falls on thrift stores, charities, and local governments. California is now making sure textile and clothing producers are doing their part.
Why does so much of what gets tossed into those blue recycling bins end up in the trash? CBS News Chicago visited the city's largest recycling facility for some answers.
Tara Molina got an inside look at Chicago's largest recycling facility for some answers about recycling and how Chicago is falling short.
In the U.S., one of the biggest users of single-use plastic cups is Starbucks Coffee. While Starbucks encourages customers to place those cups in recycling bins, it turns out most of the cups never get recycled. National Environmental Correspondent David Schechter reports.
"I was so excited to be on the news, knowing that lots of people saw what we are doing for the earth."
It started with recycling plastic bags from snack time but is now a full-school initiative. The kids at Corron Elementary School put together a program to keep about 100 pounds of plastic from reaching landfills each week.
Activewear is one of the fastest-growing types of fashion, but the material that gives yoga pants that extra stretch can be harmful to the environment.
The event will take place from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the zoo's main parking lot, which is located at 8400 31st Street.
Throughout the week, the plastic is assembled in bags that are placed in front of every classroom. It all ends up in Mr. Robinson's classroom – which doubles as a recycling hub.
The fifth graders from Corron Elementary School have put together a recycling program that is keeping about 100 pounds of plastic from reaching landfills weekly in their community. CBS 2 Climate Watch Reporter Tara Molina reports.
Participants are reminded to remove all the ornaments, lights, and tinsel from the tree before dropping it off. Read more
In a now annual tradition in Sweden, volunteers chuck Christmas trees into Stockholm's icy waters. This project aims to help restore endangered ecosystems.
"We have several large buckets, trays and they fill up within two or three days."
The exchange stocks everything from books and ink toner to tools and trophies - a supply treasure-trove this group tries to keep out of the trash.
Friday's jobs report showed employers shed jobs last month, rather than adding 95,000 new hires that had been forecast by economists.
Just over two weeks until more than a million students across Illinois will head back to their classrooms.
Two people were injured after a crash involving an ambulance on I-57 in Calumet Park on Thursday night.
The Boston Red Sox rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-11 Thursday night in a game that lasted more than four hours.
University of Illinois researchers have found a correlation between more green spaces and less violence in neighborhoods. A group in Chicago is planting trees with the mission to bring beauty and safety to the whole city.
As Chicago's civilian police oversight body begins the process of searching for a new police superintendent, it has scheduled a series of meetings to gather public input.
Federal officials who want immigration agents to detain and deport Cook County Jail inmates have threatened Sheriff Tom Dart with prosecution if he doesn't give them access.
The Supreme Court in June struck down President Trump's earlier executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.
Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky was hospitalized on June 14.
The Senate Homeland Security Committee voted to hold Dr. Anthony Fauci in contempt of Congress over his refusal to answer questions during testimony before the committee last week.
The Trump administration is taking aim at power grid operator PJM Interconnection over rising electricity bills that affect Illinois and Indiana residents.
Chicago remained the most bed bug-treated city in the country, according to Orkin's latest annual rankings covering a full year of residential and commercial treatment data.
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul this week warned residents cleaning up from last month's storms to be on the lookout for scams.
Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker on Thursday signed several new consumer protections into law, including a ban on junk fees.
CBS News Chicago has learned that Illinois home insurance premiums are not only higher than the nation's average, but going up faster too.
With the cyclosporiasis linked to iceberg lettuce growing and consumers wary of the products on grocery shelves, many in Chicago are turning to local farmers market for fresh and safe greens.
East Chicago, Indiana is being placed on a precautionary boil water advisory starting Monday morning for planned installations that could affect water safety.
A new Northwestern Medicine study on long COVID shows women show more neurological symptoms than men.
A lettuce supplier to fast-food giant Taco Bell has been linked to a nationwide cyclosporiasis outbreak that has sickened thousands of people, the CDC said.
Chicago just barely made the top 20 in the American College of Sports Medicine's 2026 ranking of the country's fittest cities.
The Shops at North Bridge on the Magnificent Mile announced plans Thursday for a multimillion-dollar renovation project.
While the building that housed the flagship Ann Sather restaurant on Belmont Avenue has been torn down, the renowned Chicago restaurant chain is now set to open a new Lakeview location.
Nationally, data centers used 17.4 billion gallons of water in 2023 — a figure projected to reach 72.6 billion gallons by 2028, raising concerns about states' water supplies.
Chicago's Wishbone Restaurant will soon be closing after 36 years in business.
The Old Town Pour House isn't in its namesake neighborhood anymore, but it's returning to the central area of Chicago — specifically in the Loop.
Crews need about a week and a half to tear down the festival site before the city can begin its own inspection — and past cleanup costs have topped $1 million.
Vincent Pastore played Salvatore "Big Pussy" Bonpensiero on all six seasons of "The Sopranos," which aired from 1999 to 2007.
If weather forces an evacuation, shelter sites are located at Grant Park North, Grant Park South, and Millennium Lakeside Garages, accessible through the vehicle entrance on Michigan Avenue.
Grant Park was filled with tens of thousands of people Thursday for the start of Lollapalooza, as warm weather greeted festivalgoers on day one of the four-day music festival.
Academy Award-winning Irish singer-songwriter Glen Hansard has died in a motorcycle crash.
Chicago authorities are investigating a Chicago funeral home after more than 50 decomposing bodies were found in the facility. "I live right next door," Neighbor Valkiery Velez told CBS News Chicago. "I lived there for like a year, so like I could smell it the whole year."
As students head back to the classrooms, the state sales tax drops starting Friday.
Meteorologist Laura Bannon is tracking rain in the Chicago area.
Chief meteorologist Albert Ramon has the latest First Alert Weather forecast.
University of Illinois researchers have found a correlation between more green spaces and less violence in neighborhoods. A group in Chicago is planting trees with the mission to bring beauty and safety to the whole city.
An investigation was underway Thursday evening at a Far South Side funeral home, after more than 50 decomposing bodies were found in the facility.
Just over two weeks until more than a million students across Illinois will head back to their classrooms.
Federal agents who want to detain and deport Cook County Jail inmates have threatened Sheriff Dart with prosecution if he doesn't give them access.
Friday's jobs report showed employers shed jobs last month, rather than adding 95,000 new hires that had been forecast by economists.
Two people were injured after a crash involving an ambulance on I-57 in Calumet Park on Thursday night.
University of Illinois researchers have found a correlation between more green spaces and less violence in neighborhoods. A group in Chicago is planting trees with the mission to bring beauty and safety to the whole city.
Security video captured the moment a utility pole fell in a parking lot behind a La Grange Park, Illinois, animal hospital, igniting a fire that destroyed multiple cars.
An Illinois Tollway glitch that left thousands of drivers with unexpected warnings about unpaid tolls stemmed from an extra digit in codes within the system's computers, according to records obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.
A South Holland woman said she was left high and dry after paying thousands of dollars to have her swimming pool fixed, only for the contractor to vanish.
An Elgin man has seen what he thought was the deal of a lifetime turn into weeks of frustration after a fake tracking number scam left him without goods or a refund after buying a game system on eBay.
The Boston Red Sox rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox 12-11 Thursday night in a game that lasted more than four hours.
Pete Crow-Armstrong scored on a throwing error in the 11th inning after Alex Bregman hit a two-strike, two-out homer in the ninth, and the Chicago Cubs rallied for a 3-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Wilyer Abreu homered for the fourth time in three games and the surging Red Sox beat the White Sox 4-0 on Wednesday night.
Chicago Bears right tackle Darnell Wright is very grateful for his historic four-year, $116 million contract extension. Wright thanked general manager Ryan Poles, who used his first 1st round draft pick to pick Wright 10th overall in 2023.
Chicago State University's new football team is just a couple weeks away from the first game of the Cougars' inaugural season.
A man has been charged with breaking into a home in west suburban Darien before leading police on a high-speed chase to his own home in southwest suburban Homer Glen.
Police in the southwest Chicago suburb of Lockport were investigating a crash-and-grab burglary at a pizzeria early Thursday.
Chicago police on Thursday were investigating a break-in at a bar in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood.
A candy store in Chicago's West Ridge community was burglarized early Thursday morning.
The Milwaukee mosque leader's former Israeli attorney testified in immigration court that Sarsour was coerced into confessions and was never convicted of any charge linking him to a terrorist organization.
