Like Throwing Money in the Trash

Armed only with bags of frozen ice, many Algonquin residents who remain without power are fighting a losing battle against the heat to keep their food from spoiling.

“I’ve gone through a hundred pounds of ice and it’s melting faster than I can keep replacing it,” said Leanne Busko, a resident of Algonquin’s East Side.

Busko has been without power for more than 30 hours and is left with $500 worth of spoiled food in her refrigerators and freezer.

Her trash was collected by Waste Management on Monday and won’t be back for six more days. She didn’t throw anything out yesterday because she didn’t think she’d be without power this long.

Fearing that if she left the spoiled food in the trash it might attract rodents and unwanted animals, she called the village of Algonquin to see what her options were.

Luckily for Busko and all the other residents out there who are left with food gone bad, the village is providing a Dumpster to dispose of spoiled food before their next curbside collection date.

The Dumpster will be available at the Public Works Facility, 110 Meyer Drive, on Wednesday and Thursday for residents to get rid of bad food that otherwise could draw maggots, rodents and animals tearing through the garbage bags.

Annie Cline, also an East Side resident without power and a , said she had just gone to the grocery store Sunday and spent $240 on food that she was forced to throw out.

“The garbage comes on Tuesday for me,” Cline said, “so last night I went home and threw it all out.”

Cline said tossing the food was a huge relief and now she can enjoy staying with her friend who has working power and air conditioning until hers is turned back on.

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Editor's Note: You may be able to get ComEd to reimburse you for spoiled food. ComEd has a claim form on its site that states: “If your claim is for food spoilage, your documentation should include an itemized list of spoiled items shown with the price of each and the total for all items, and copies of receipts or canceled checks, if any.”