Vernon Hills electronics recycling event expected to attract a crowd
Organizers of an upcoming Vernon Hills electronics collection event say they are preparing for a heavy turnout as options dwindle for consumers looking to dispose of unwanted devices.
"We're getting callers from all over Lake County already," said Marty Walsh, special events supervisor for the Vernon Hills Park District, one of several sponsors of the April 16 collection and paper shredding at the Metra parking lot on Route 45.
At past events, the most recent in 2014, about 400 to 500 visitors discarded enough electronic devices to fill one and a half to two semitrailers, Walsh said. Three trailers have been ordered for this event, which runs from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
"We're expecting 800 to 1,000 cars to come through in four hours," Walsh said. "Hopefully, it's not the last chance before the (permanent) sites close,"
There is a limit of two boxes of paper shredding per vehicle, and no chemical waste recycling will be allowed at this event. Items to be collected include CRT monitors, laptops, CD/DVD players, cellphones, televisions, printers, computer towers and small appliances. Visit www.vhparkdistrict.org/ for details.
Interest is high because the economics of electronics recycling has changed and many collection sites throughout the suburbs have closed. As the value of the materials recovered from those devices has dropped, the amounts paid by equipment manufacturers no longer covers the costs, according to those associated with recycling the products.
In 2014, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County underwrote the recycling costs for 17 permanent drop-off sites at local public works or other facilities, not including $150,000 in in-kind labor and equipment to operate the programs. The number of sites has dropped to five, and, although a reprieve is expected, they are scheduled to close May 1.
That has heightened interest in any collection events. In this case, the park district, village, Vernon Township and Mitsubishi Electric will split the associated costs. State Sen. Terry Link and state Rep. Carol Sente are included as "community partners."
Though also listed as a partner in the Vernon Hills collection, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County has kept a low profile, according to Executive Director Walter Willis.
"We're not really promoting it because we're concerned it will get too big," Willis said.
But the cat already is out of the bag.
"We are encouraging people to come earlier rather than later because we have a finite capacity," Walsh said.
Meanwhile, it appears likely communities will cover a projected $62,000 shortfall that will enable the solid waste agency to contract with a recycling company to keep the programs going through 2016. Grayslake has pledged $20,000 and about a dozen others have pledged varying amounts, Willis said.
The agency board is expected to make a determination April 14 on the future of the five permanent sites.
"We're already seeing a little more illegal dumping of the TVs," Willis said. "We're concerned if the five sites close, it could get worse and we could spend a lot of money on the cleanup effort."
The agency and others argue local governments should not be responsible for covering costs of electronics recycling that were never envisioned by the state law requiring manufactures to do so. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency has suggested changes in the state law, and talks among various interests involved in the issue are ongoing.
Willis said there appears to be shift among agency members to continue operating the five sites through the end of 2016 to allow that process to continue and then reassess the outlook.