Two student designs will roll through Evanston neighborhoods on recycling trucks this year, twice the usual number of winners for the city's annual art competition.

The city opened its fifth annual Recycling Truck Design Competition with a new twist. For the first time, two winning entries will appear on trucks instead of one. The expansion comes through a partnership with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) and its Feed the Cart regional recycling campaign.

Designs are due Friday, Oct. 16. A public vote runs Oct. 19–26.

The Feed the Cart campaign is backed by a $2 million grant the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) awarded in 2024 to the Metropolitan Mayors Caucus and partners across six counties, according to city records. The campaign's goal is to boost recycling tonnage across the Chicago metro region by 15% before 2030.

For Evanston students, the grant money means a new creative wrinkle. This year's entries must feature Loop the Cart, the campaign's googly-eyed recycling cart mascot. That requirement is new. Designs must also be original, not generated by artificial intelligence, and submitted in PDF format with a 2.34:1 aspect ratio.

Last year's winner was Taylor Hardin of Nichols Middle School, whose artwork now appears on an Evanston recycling truck. In 2022, a Chute student named Zeynep B. won after more than 400 public votes were tallied, according to District 65.

The city's recycling program serves about 14,600 residential units. Data since 2023 show that eight of 10 Evanston households use their recycling cart each week, according to city records.

Students can find reference images of Loop and past winning designs in the city's shared resource folder and learn more at feedthecart.org. Submissions go through the city's online form, as the Evanston Roundtable reported. Residents can also call or text 847-448-4311 or dial 3-1-1 for details.