Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful opens new recycling plant in South Beloit

SOUTH BELOIT, Ill. (WTVO) — Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful has opened a third recycling plant, this one in South Beloit.

A ribbon cutting at the new center, at 634 Eastern Avenue, was celebrated by city officials. Keep KNIB Director of Education Corrine Sosso said, “We’re so impressed that this part of Illinois cares enough to recycle that we can open a third place and keep it busy.”

The new location is in an area that City Administrator Sonya Hoppes said was badly in need of recycling services.

“Really, I think that northern Winnebago County was just sort of underutilized, underserved, and Keep Northern Illinois Beautiful has always had it on their market to try to have three sites,” she said.

The new location will allow KNIB to serve more of Winnebago County.

“I think any public works department in our area, in our county, and the region will tell you it’s not fun to pick up things like TVs from the side of the road. So, yeah, I think if you make it easier for people to properly dispose of these things and properly recycle them, it’s a win-win,” said Hoppes.

“Studies show that a clean neighborhood is a safer neighborhood, that when people care about where they live and make sure that it stays neat, there is a physical bond there between the people and the place, and it builds that community even stronger,” said Sosso.

The new South Beloit location will be open the second Saturday of each month, from 9 a.m. until noon.

A list of items that KNIB takes in for recycling can be found here.