Forest Preserve’s Recycle Your Bicycle Program Kicks Off Sept. 12

The Forest Preserve District of Will County is rolling out its annual “Recycle Your Bicycle” event a little earlier this year, opening drop‑off stations on Sept. 12 and keeping them running through Sept. 27.

It’s not just a one‑off thing anymore. A few years back, the only spot you could leave a bike was at Monee Reservoir. That single site got so many donations that the Preserve added four more locations for the fall season. “The program proved to be wildly popular, and the bikes end up supporting a good cause, so we expanded,” said Cindy Wojdyla Cain, the district’s public information officer.

Here’s where you can drop off a bike (or even just a rusty chain, crank, or tire):

• Hidden Oaks Preserve, Bolingbrook – open from 8 a.m. until sunset; drop‑off point on the southwest side of the parking lot.
• Isle à la Cache Museum, Romeoville – 8 a.m. to sunset; look for the bin in the far‑west parking lot near the restrooms.
• McKinley Woods – Kerry Sheridan Grove, Channahon – 8 a.m. to sunset; located centrally in the Four Rivers Environmental Education Center lot.
• Monee Reservoir – 6 a.m. to sunset; the visitor‑center parking lot houses the collection area.
• Sugar Creek Preserve – 8 a.m. to sunset; the north end of the far‑west parking lot is where the bikes go.

All the bikes are routed to Working Bikes, a Chicago‑based nonprofit that has been rebuilding and redistributing bicycles since 1999. They fix up the donations and ship them to people who need reliable transportation, both around the Midwest and in far‑off communities worldwide.

Don’t worry if your two‑wheeler looks more like a relic than a ride. The Preserve’s staff say no bike is too old, too rust‑covered, or too broken to be useful. Even spare parts are welcomed – a busted derailleur or a bent wheel can find a second life somewhere else.

Since the program launched in 2011, the effort has grown from a single‑day drop‑off to a spring and fall series across multiple preserves. Over 3,000 bicycles have been collected so far, and the numbers keep climbing each year.

“No matter how many times we run the program, more bikes get donated,” Cain noted. “It feels good to know that something that would sit in a garage or gather cobwebs ends up helping someone get where they need to go.”

So if you’ve got an unused bike gathering dust, swing by one of the listed sites before Sept. 27. It’s a quick, free way to do a good deed and clear out some space in your garage.