Electronics banned from landfills
Electronics are some of the most popular gifts around the holiday season, but what do you do with last year’s gadgets and all the old technology and equipment you are replacing?
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County offers residents an opportunity to drop off broken or unwanted electronics, at no cost, at one of its residential electronics recycling collections held at various locations.
In 2011, SWALCO recycled approximately 2 million pounds of electronics. Visit www.swalco.org for a list of accepted items and an updated list of drop-off locations and events.
If your equipment is in good condition, the agency encourages you to consider donating it to a charitable organization.
Beginning Jan. 1, the Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act landfill ban for certain electronic devices will take effect.
The following is a list of electronic items that can no longer be disposed of in the regular trash: televisions, monitors, printers, computers (including tablet computers), electronic keyboards, facsimile machines, videocassette recorders, portable digital music players, digital videodisc players, video game consoles, small-scale servers, scanners, electronic mice, digital converter boxes, cable receivers, satellite receivers and digital videodisc recorders must be taken to a registered Illinois Environmental Protection Agency collector such as SWALCO.
Residents should direct these items and other unwanted and broken electronics to one of the many collection locations coordinated by SWALCO.
Don’t know what to do with household batteries or last year’s broken holiday lights? SWALCO is now accepting alkaline batteries, rechargeable batteries and holiday lights at its electronic collections on a year-round basis.
In addition, several Lake County municipalities have collection sites for holiday lights available through Jan. 31, as listed on the agency’s website.Green Tip: If you#146;re purchasing new lights this year, consider investing in energy-efficient LED lights, which can last up to 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs and are 80 percent to 90 percent more efficient than traditional bulbs, using only one-tenth the amount of electricity. They also produce less heat and will continue to glow after one burns out.
For more information about recycling or greening your holidays, visit www.swalco.org or call (847) 336-9340.