Naperville to suspend electronics recycling

Faced with what Naperville officials say is an unmanageable stockpile of materials, the city announced Friday it will suspend its electronics recycling program effective Sept. 21.

The city and DuPage County entered an 18-month contract in January with New Life Electronics Recycling to dispose of materials brought to the Electronics Recycling Drop-Off Center at 180 Fort Hill Drive.

But New Life reported that a record 629,000 pounds of electronics was brought to the facility in the first four months of the contract - an amount officials said is equal to roughly 60 percent of the total volume of 985,300 pounds collected all of last year.

Despite limits and bans on certain materials, the company has been unable to manage the volume, officials said, and unclaimed materials are piling up at the city's public works service center. That, officials said, puts the city at risk of having to pay to have the leftover electronics picked up and properly recycled.

"We are looking at potentially tens of thousands of dollars to remove electronics that are currently on site," public works Director Dick Dublinski said in a news release. "We were happy to run the center as a convenient way for area residents to comply with the law, but the city did not sign up, nor do we have the money budgeted, to subsidize this program."

The Electronics Recycling Drop-Off Center will remain open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesdays and Saturdays until Sept. 21, officials said.

The city will continue to operate its Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility, officials said, and to accept curbside recycling and scrap metal.

Residents still will have options to recycle electronics through participating retailers, area one-day collection events or directly through area electronics recyclers. Residents can find electronics recycling options at www.willcountygreen.com/greenguide/electronic.aspx or www.dupageco.org/EDP/Waste_Recycling_and_Energy/1549.