If you searched for a trash hauler in Homer Glen, you were almost certainly looking for your village garbage service, so here is the straight answer first. Homer Glen has a village-wide agreement with NuWay, and every home inside the village limits is on that route automatically. The agreement is written as take-all service for refuse, recycling and yard waste, which covers far more than most residents realize. It also stops at some firm limits. Here is where those limits sit.
Who Actually Picks Up Garbage in Homer Glen
Residential refuse, recycling and yard waste in Homer Glen run through an agreement between the Village and NuWay. NuWay works the weekly route and bills the quarterly rate. The Village negotiated the terms and handles complaints about the service. Onit Junk Removal is not your garbage service and cannot add you to that route, so if that is what brought you here, this section is the part you needed.
Questions about your weekly pickup, a missed collection, a cart or a special pickup go to NuWay customer service at (708) 798-1004. NuWay runs out of 14933 Founders Crossing right in Homer Glen. Questions about the agreement itself go to the Village at (708) 301-0632, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. What we handle is the material that falls outside those rules, and the rest of this page shows where that line falls.
What the Village Agreement Covers, and the Carts You Get
The Village describes the NuWay agreement as take-all, or unlimited, refuse, recycling and yard waste service for all residents. Each home gets a light green 95 gallon cart for garbage and a dark green 95 gallon cart for recycling, both covered and wheeled. A yard waste cart comes with the service as well. One of the better parts of the deal is that it did away with yard waste stickers, so Homer Glen residents do not buy a sticker for every bag the way many nearby towns still do.
If you would rather use your own containers, you can set out bags or personal cans instead, up to three a week, with nothing over 50 pounds. That 50 pound ceiling matters more than people expect, and it is why a can half full of tile or soil gets left at the curb while a can packed to the lid with cardboard goes. From December 1 through March 31 you can also put extra garbage in the yard waste cart, which helps during the holidays.
Bulk Items, Mattresses and Carpet
The Village code defines bulk items as large household goods, and the list is generous. It names couches, chairs, mattresses, box springs, bed frames, sofas, tables, bookcases, fixtures, bicycles, sleds, swing sets and other furniture. Bed frames have to be broken down into pieces before they go out.
Carpet has its own arrangement. Up to four rolls of carpet and four rolls of padding count together as a single bulk item, as long as each roll is cut and rolled to four foot lengths, tied, and kept under 50 pounds. So a single bedroom of carpet usually fits the rule and a whole first floor usually does not.
Appliances, and the Rule About the Door
Appliances sit in their own category. Homer Glen follows the state definition of white goods, which covers refrigerators, ranges, water heaters, freezers, air conditioners, clothes washers, dryers, boilers and similar large household appliances. They do not count as one of your bulk items, and they do not ride along inside a cart.
There is one rule people miss and it carries a penalty. Village code makes it unlawful to put out a refrigerator or freezer unless the door has been taken off first. Anything holding refrigerant also has to have it recovered by someone certified before the unit gets scrapped, and that happens at the disposal end rather than in your driveway. Call NuWay before you drag an appliance to the curb so it goes on the route properly.
Remodeling Debris Stops at Two Cubic Yards
This is the limit that sends most Homer Glen remodels looking for help. Village code lists construction and demolition material in excess of two cubic yards as a restricted item, and it names drywall, lumber, roofing materials, fencing and posts, and permanent swimming pools. Two cubic yards is roughly what fits in the bed of a pickup truck. A bathroom tear-out passes that before the tile is out.
Two more caps sit alongside it. Any rigid item over four feet long is restricted, which rules out most lumber, fence panels, doors and countertops. So is any single item too large for one person to reasonably manage or too large for a compactor truck, which is where hot tubs, pianos, sheds and above-ground pools land. The Village has negotiated rates with NuWay on roll-off containers for bigger projects, and you are also free to use the hauler of your choice.
Yard Waste Runs April Through November
Yard waste season in Homer Glen runs April 1 through November 30, and it is collected weekly on the same day as your garbage and recycling. Grass clippings, leaves and branches all go. Dirt and rock do not. Illinois law keeps landscape waste out of the garbage stream, so it cannot be mixed in with your refuse at any point in the year.
Branches have to be cut to four feet or less, tied with string or twine rather than wire, and kept under 50 pounds a bundle. Brown paper yard waste bags work, 95 gallon carts work, and your own can works once you put the yard waste identification label from NuWay on it. During January, NuWay collects Christmas trees separately so they get chipped or composted instead of landfilled.
What Will Not Go on the Truck, and Where It Goes Instead
Village code keeps a restricted items list, and it is worth reading before you stack anything at the curb. It covers automotive tires, more than two cubic yards of broken concrete, rock or soil, household hazardous waste such as explosives, oil-based paint, liquid latex paint, oils and solvents, potentially infectious medical waste, other medical and biohazard waste, and material from evictions.
Electronics have been banned from Illinois landfills since 2012, which covers televisions, computers, monitors, printers, keyboards, laptops, fax machines, scanners, hard drives, cable and satellite receivers, and game consoles. The Village points residents to Lockport Public Works at 17112 Prime Blvd in Lockport, open Tuesday and Friday only from 6 a.m. to 11 a.m., with a limit of two televisions per vehicle. The line closes at 11 and you need identification showing Will County residency. For chemicals, the household hazardous waste facility at 156 Fort Hill Drive in Naperville opens Saturdays and Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. and takes material from any Illinois resident. Will County also runs electronics and hazardous waste collection events through the year, and the current dates get posted at willcountygreen.com.
We do not take the hazardous side of that list either. Paint, stain, solvents, pool chemicals, pesticides, motor oil, gasoline, aerosols, propane, ammunition, asbestos, biohazard and medical waste are not material any junk hauler should offer to put on a trailer.
Outside the Village Limits and on Agricultural Property
Homer Glen sits in Will County and the land around it was Homer Township long before the village incorporated in 2001. Plenty of properties carry a Homer Glen mailing address while sitting outside the village boundary, and those homes are not part of the NuWay agreement. They arrange their own hauler and set their own terms. If you are not sure which side of the line your address falls on, the Village can tell you at (708) 301-0632.
There is also a carve-out inside the village. Village code lets owners of agricultural units, meaning homes in the A-1 Agricultural or A-2 Rural Residential districts, elect not to receive refuse service under the agreement. If you own acreage out toward Will-Cook Road or Cedar Road and you have never had a NuWay cart, this is probably why.
Common Questions
Who is the garbage company for Homer Glen?
NuWay holds the village-wide residential agreement in Homer Glen, covering refuse, recycling and yard waste for every home inside the village limits. You do not sign up for it, because the service comes with your address and gets billed quarterly. NuWay customer service takes missed pickups, cart requests and special pickups at (708) 798-1004, and the Village handles questions about the agreement at (708) 301-0632.
Does Homer Glen have a limit on how much garbage I can put out?
The Village describes the NuWay agreement as take-all, or unlimited, refuse, recycling and yard waste service, so volume is rarely the problem in Homer Glen. Weight and size are. Your own cans and bags cannot go over 50 pounds each, with a limit of three a week, and any single item one person cannot reasonably manage falls outside normal collection.
Can I put remodeling debris in my Homer Glen garbage?
Limited amounts, yes. Village code lists construction and demolition material in excess of two cubic yards as a restricted item, naming drywall, lumber, roofing, fencing and posts. Any rigid item longer than four feet is restricted as well. Two cubic yards is about a pickup bed, so a Homer Glen bathroom or kitchen tear-out runs past it well before the job is done.
Will NuWay take my old refrigerator in Homer Glen?
Refrigerators count as white goods in Homer Glen rather than bulk items, along with freezers, ranges, water heaters, air conditioners, washers, dryers and boilers. Call NuWay at (708) 798-1004 before you move one to the curb. Village code also makes it unlawful to put out a refrigerator or freezer with the door still attached, so take the door off first.
Do I need yard waste stickers in Homer Glen?
No, and that is one of the better terms in the agreement. The Village states that the NuWay agreement eliminated yard waste stickers for Homer Glen residents. Yard waste season runs April 1 through November 30, collected the same day as your garbage. Branches need to be cut to four feet or less, tied with string rather than wire, and kept under 50 pounds per bundle.
Homer Glen gets a lot of service for the money, and it still leaves a gap. The gap is the kitchen tear-out that runs past two cubic yards, the hot tub nobody on the route is going to lift, the shed that has to come down, the basement that has been filling since the nineties, and the estate that has to be empty before a closing. That is the work we do. Text a photo of the pile and your Homer Glen address to (815) 240-0735 and you get the number before anything goes on the trailer, with our crew doing the carrying and donation and recycling sorted out on the way. We are insured, and we run Homer Glen out of Plainfield.
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