Evanston Student Recycling Truck Design Contest Returns For Fifth Year

EVANSTON, IL — Evanston is launching the fifth year of its Recycling Truck Design Competition, this time with a regional tie-in aimed at boosting recycling awareness.

The city is partnering with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County, known as SWANCC, to connect the contest to Feed the Cart, a broader outreach campaign.

According to the city, Feed the Cart is a collaborative effort meant to get residents excited about recycling, increase curbside participation, reduce confusion about recycling rules and improve the quality of materials placed in recycling carts. The campaign draws on thsubmit their designssubmit their designse expertise of DuPage, Kane, McHenry and Will counties, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County, SWANCC and the City of Chicago.

The partnership also gives Evanston a way to promote the grant, support regional messaging and introduce local students to the campaign mascot, Loop the Cart. According to the city, Loop is described as a small cart with a big appetite for recyclables, known for a silly voice and enthusiasm for helping residents recycle more.

This year's contest includes several rules for student entries. Designs must be original and not AI-generated, follow a 2.34:1 aspect ratio, be submitted in PDF format and include Loop the Cart. The mascot requirement is new this year.

Students have until Oct. 16, to submit their designs. Public voting is scheduled for Oct. 19 through Oct. 26. The city said two winning designs will be selected this year instead of one, thanks to grant participation, and the artwork will be displayed on two Evanston recycling trucks.

Students looking for ideas are encouraged to review the city's shared resource folder for reference images of Loop the Cart and past winning designs. They can also visit feedthecart.org to learn recycling basics before creating an entry.

Last year's winning design was created by Taylor Hardin of Nichols Middle School. That artwork now appears on an Evanston recycling truck.

The contest builds on an outreach approach the city said it has already used with its Cart Tagging program. For students, it offers a chance to put artwork on city vehicles. For Evanston, it ties a local competition to a larger regional campaign focused on what goes into the recycling cart and how well residents follow the rules.