Electronic recycling event draws huge crowd to Schaumburg
The chance to recycle household electronics - from PCs, keyboards and monitors, to television sets - drew thousands of cars on Saturday to Motorola's Schaumburg campus.
Motorola officials estimate 2,460 cars came through during the six-hour event, most waiting in line more than an hour as they snaked their way around the Schaumburg campus before they reached the drop-off point.
"We've had a tremendous response from the community," said Tama McWhinney, Motorola senior communications manager.
For the 10th year, Motorola partnered with the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County to hold the event, and many of the residents coming through the line came prepared.
Frank Overman of Lake in the Hills came loaded with computer monitors, laptops and even an espresso maker.
"We watch for this to come up every year," Overman said. "We'd rather put it here than in a waste dump somewhere."
Likewise, Jeff Gregory of Hoffman Estates brought old PCs, monitors and DVD players to the event.
"We didn't know it would take this long," Gregory said, "but we're glad to have a place to bring them."
When cars reached the end of the line, employees of Supply-Chain Services Inc., a Lombard-based electronics recycler, unloaded their cars before packaging the electronics and filling semi-tractor trailers.
Officials said this year's recycling event yielded far more television sets than recent years, presumably before the conversion to digital broadcasting in February. The size and weight of the televisions prompted officials to predict they would collect more than 120 tons of electronics, 2 tons more than last year.
In Lombard, the electronics will be disassembled by hand, Supply-Chain officials said, retrieving reusable parts, including plastics, metals and transformers, while disposing of the hazardous waste.
Jade Lee, president of Supply-Chain Services, said the company specializes in managing special waste, including handling the lead and cadmium in circuit boards, leaded glass in computer monitors, as well as embedded batteries, toners, and other mercury-containing devices.
Officials with the solid waste agency who monitored the event said while many of these electronics could be disposed of in landfills, it makes sense to try and dispose of them prudently.
"It just makes sense to reuse or recycle when you can," said Mary Allen, the agency's education and recycling director. "Our motto is, 'Why waste, when you can recover?'"