Did you know that beginning January 1, 2012, you will no longer be allowed to dispose of electronic equipment in the trash? Illinois has passed the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act, which mandates that most consumer electronics be recycled. Trash collection agencies will no longer accept these items and will incur fines from the Illinois EPA if they do.
Banned electronic items include: computers, monitors, TV’s, MP3 players, stereos, and more.
The Act states that, “In 2007, 3,000,000 tons of electronic products became obsolete yet only 14% of those products were recycled.” Illinois hopes to keep landfills from collecting electronic equipment that commonly contain hazardous materials such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and hexavalent chromium.
Recycling centers are available throughout DuPage County. You can drop off your electronic items, for free, to be recycled. You can find a list of DuPage County electronics recycling collection locations here.
Be aware that some villages in DuPage County may use the Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act as a means of generating revenue. For example, Warrenville has indicated publicly that, “the City’s Code Enforcement Officer will be monitoring for electronics that are left at the curb or dumped on other properties. Anyone violating the property maintenance code with respect to electronic refuse will be ticketed accordingly.”
