In the parking lot of Evanston Township High School, lines of cars navigated a maze of orange cones. Workers in neon yellow vests greeted residents in their vehicles, collecting recyclable materials ranging from televisions to paper documents.

At Evanston Recycles, the city took electronics for recycling, documents for shredding and medication for disposal Saturday. For the free, annual “drive up, drop off” event, participants were asked to remain in their cars, as workers removed items from trunks and back seats.

“We’ve done (Evanston Recycles) for so many years. We’ve had it pretty fine-tuned here,” Kevin Johnson said. “Our biggest challenge only is the amount of cars that come through … it does create a traffic jam.”

Johnson, Evanston’s recycling and environmental maintenance supervisor, said between 1,000 to 1,200 vehicles pass through the event every year.

Brian Zimmerman, Evanston’s solid waste coordinator, said the event provides residents a way to recycle materials that are harder to manage. He hopes participants can see the utility of the city’s services, he said.

Recycling these items at the event also prevents greater harm to the environment, Zimmerman said.

“If you are disposing of those things (yourself), they’re going to landfills or going down the sewer,” Zimmerman said. “They provide a burden on the environment that we want to mitigate as much as possible.”

The event was supported by the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, and various vendors stopped by to collect recycled items.

NorthShore University HealthSystem secured medication for removal, while electronics recycler COM2 Recycling Solutions handled technology equipment, Zimmerman said. Mobile shredding company Accurate Document Destruction received paper material.

“(Evanston Recycles) is a provided service that comes together through regional partnerships,” Zimmerman said.

In the parking lot’s section for technology collection, large brown cardboard boxes were filled to the brim with wired devices — printers, computer monitors and more.

Zimmerman said the event can offer electronics another life through reuse. On secondary markets like eBay, laptops and televisions resell at a lower cost than in a retail store, which he said makes them more accessible for purchase.

On the other side of the parking lot, workers set up a tent where residents could drop off medication for disposal. Glenbrook Hospital pharmacy technician supervisor Sandy Vitor helped collect medicine. As cars approached the tent, workers received and separated medication into bins accordingly, Vitor said.

“Certain medications have certain potencies,” Vitor said. “You want to make sure that you’re separating out … things such as controlled (prescriptions).”

Bonnie Wilson, who participated in the event, came to shred financial documents and dispose of medication. Wilson has been attending Evanston Recycles for about the past 13 years and only missed the event once, she said.

It’s helpful to know there’s a place where community members can shred documents, Wilson said, instead of letting papers accumulate in their homes. The event also promotes community care, she added.

“The fact is that people come out (for the event),” Wilson said. “It’s very nice that the city has been doing this.”

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Twitter: @JessicaMa2025

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