Find Help in Lake County
Connect with Lake County services 24 hours a day, seven days a week at www.FindHelpLakeCounty.org. Find and access health and human services using this free, web-based, searchable database right now! Help be a link by passing www.FindHelpLakeCounty.org to your neighbors, co-workers, friends and others.

Health Department Re-Activates West Nile Virus Hotline
Now that spring is here, the Lake County Health Department/Community Health Center is urging residents to protect themselves against West Nile virus. West Nile virus is contracted from the bite of a mosquito infected with the virus. Click here for a PDF of entire article.

Please visit www.co.lake.il.us/health/ehs/westnile.asp or call 847-377-8300 if you have any questions or concerns about the West Nile Virus or dead birds. The Village of Riverwoods does NOT pick up dead birds and the Lake County Health Department only picks up certain types and numbers of birds. Any birds not picked up should be thrown out with your regular trash pick-up.

Avian Influenza (Bird Flu) and West Nile Virus
As warmer weather approaches, bird activity in Lake County is increasing as are the chances of seeing a dead bird in your yard, park, or forest preserve. Given the recent presence of West Nile virus (WNV) in Illinois and the worldwide media coverage of bird flu, many assume a dead bird may have died from one of these two diseases. However, there are numerous other diseases, as well as accidents, that kill birds. Click here for a PDF of entire article.

Please visit www.co.lake.il.us/health/chs/influenza or call 847-377-8002 if you have any questions or concerns about the West Nile Virus or dead birds. The Village of Riverwoods does NOT pick up dead birds and the Lake County Health Department only picks up certain types and numbers of birds. Any birds not picked up should be thrown out with your regular trash pick-up.

Illinois Tollway
Click here for up-to-date information about highway projects in Illinois.

SWALCO Household Chemical Waste Collections will Accept Unused Medications from Residents
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, IL (SWALCO) will begin their Household Chemical Waste (HCW) collection program in March to help residents dispose of their chemical wastes safely and conveniently. Old prescription medications as well as unused over-the-counter medications are accepted at all HCW collections. Latex paint is no longer accepted at HCW collections. These free events are open to Illinois residents ONLY from 8:00 AM to 2:30 PM:

September 29, 2007
Lake Forest - Lake Forest Municipal Services Center
110 E. Laurel Ave.

Scientists have recently discovered everything from pain killers to anti-depressants to antibiotics in our water supply. These drugs can harm the wildlife that rely on our rivers and lakes, as well as kill the beneficial bacteria in our septic systems. Therefore, please do NOT flush away old and unused medications in your sink or toilet.

To help residents dispose of Latex paint, SWALCO provides bags of crushed corn cobs at various locations around Lake County. Crushed corn cobs are very absorbent, and can dry out a can of paint in as little as 30 minutes. After equal parts of paint and crushed corn cobs are mixed together and allowed to dry, the cans of paint can be disposed of with the rest of the resident’s trash.

There will be collections in other parts of the county throughout the year. Residents can call the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County at (847) 336-9340 or check the agency's website www.swalco.org for further information about the HCW collection events and the availability of crushed corn cobs for Latex paint disposal.

SWALCO facilitates Compost Bin sales
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) is making compost bins available to county residents through a variety of sales dates and locations this year. Residents can choose from two different compost bins: the "Earth Machine" stationary model ($20) and the "Tumbler" model ($70).

The Earth Machine rests in a typical backyard and accepts food scraps, grass clippings, leaves and other organic wastes while waiting to be manually stirred by its owner. The Tumbler is a barrel-shaped container that rotates around a metal stand when gently pushed. Both models are easy to operate and come with a 10-year warranty. The main difference lies in the amount of time it takes to generate usable compost - 3 weeks for the Tumbler versus 6-8 weeks for the Earth Machine.

The Earth Machine composters are 33" tall, 33" in diameter and will hold approximately 1 cubic yard of material while the Tumbler model is 44" tall, 22" in diameter and will hold just over 7 cubic feet of material. They are adequately sized to accommodate organic food waste from a typical family.

Composting at home requires a mix of materials high in nitrogen (such as grass clippings and leaves) and materials high in carbon (such as vegetable and fruit peelings). Each composter comes with an educational booklet that describes the process of getting started and producing high quality compost.

For more information check out the SWALCO website (www.swalco.org) or contact the SWALCO office at (847) 336-9340.