Electronics banned from landfills beginning Jan. 1

SPRINGFIELD — A ban on disposing old computers and other electronics in the trash takes effect Jan. 1 in Illinois.

Illinois residents will be required to take electronic devices to a registered recycler. The ban is part of a law that took effect in 2008 requiring manufacturers to start recycling programs for discarded and unwanted electric products. The new phase of the law applies to consumers.

The goal is to keep metals that could threaten groundwater out of landfills and to reduce the need to mine new metals.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency maintains a list of registered collectors where consumers can take old electronics, including computers, monitors, electronic keyboards, scanners, fax machines. The list is available on the EPA’s website.