Batavia likely to leave Kane County electronics recycling program
Batavia aldermen generally agree that the time has come for the city to drop out of Kane County's free drop-off electronics recycling program.
They gave the go-ahead Tuesday for a formal resolution to be written, giving the county the required 60-day notice called for in the city's agreement with the county.
But the mayor and several aldermen cautioned that they expect problems once the self-service site in the public works yard closes, as options for people to dispose of items for free continue to decrease.
State law prohibits disposing of electronics, including television sets and computer monitors, in landfills. Manufacturers are required to take back a certain amount for recycling, but demand has exceeded those requirements.
“I hate to say it, but we are going to see TVs lying in ditches alongside the side of road,” Alderman Dave Brown said.
Public works director Gary Holm is recommending leaving the program because city workers have had to devote time to keeping the area orderly, as people leave items outside the trailers. Sometimes people drop off large TVs, but only push them part way to the back of the trailer, blocking others from putting more items in. Holm said city workers end up moving heavy items, sometimes up to 90 pounds, and he is worried about the potential for employees to be injured.
Alderman Kevin Botterman asked if the agreement could be restructured, so that county employees would handle the duties of stacking and securing items on pallets and putting them in trailers. Holm said he doubted it, as the county has just one person working in its environmental program.
“And our crews are going to be picking them up anyways, and in a less favorable situation,” Botterman said, if people dump them illicitly.
“It's (electronics recycling) not going to go away, but the solution is going to cost money,” Brown said.
Mayor Jeff Schielke suggested that the city may want to work with Geneva and St. Charles eventually to come up with a program where people would have curbside pickup of electronics, for a fee. And the Geneva and St. Charles self-serve drop-off sites are likely to see an increase in use once Batavia shuts its site down, he warned.