Lake County to lose a popular electronics drop-off site
Antioch-area residents who want to get rid of unwanted electronics will have to find another option, as one of the most popular collection sites in Lake County is taken out of service.
Effective Jan. 1, the Waste Management North location on Route 173 in Antioch, no longer will accept electronics drop-offs.
"As a company, we have moved to other collection offerings rather than drop-offs," said Lisa Disbrow, Waste Management spokeswoman. "Drop-off locations have a high contamination rate, as trash and other items are dropped off in addition to the intended collection item."
Scheduled electronic waste pickups, such as one offered in Lake Villa Township and another coming to Wauconda, are the preferred method, Disbrow said.
Antioch is the only Waste Management facility with a collection site.
"We're trying to get the word out to our residents," Village Administrator Jim Keim said of the change. Residents can arrange to have up to six items, including a television weighing less than 50 pounds, picked up for a $30 fee by calling Groot Industries Inc., the village's waste hauler.
The free drop-off in Antioch was made available in 2012. It consists of several empty pallets and an identifying sign in the parking lot off Route 173.
"It's one of our top sites with Grayslake and Grant Township," said Walter Willis, executive director of the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County. "We don't have a backup plan to replace that site right now."
As it does at other locations, the agency provides a recycling vendor that picks up loaded semitrailers of electronics.
In 2014, the Antioch Waste Management site topped SWALCO's list with 654,000 pounds of electronics collected. Willis said a loaded semi holds about 18,000 pounds.
Through the third quarter of 2015, the agency reported 2.8 million pounds of electronics collected at its six full-time sites, with Waste Management accounting for 615,000 pounds, he added.
Willis said the cost of such an operation includes moving, sorting, loading and storing items, which requires space and a dedication of manpower.
In recent years, the number of electronics recycling sites will have dwindled from 30 to five without Waste Management. Wauconda Township also stopped accepting this year, but the operation was assumed by Cuba Township. Visit www.swalco.org for a list of locations that accept electronics in Lake County.
Willis urged residents not to use the Antioch site as of Jan. 1. "We want to minimize illegal dumping," he said. "I expect that site to get a mad rush."
Electronics have been banned from landfills in Illinois since Jan. 1, 2012. By state law, manufacturers that sell in Illinois must recycle or refurbish a certain weight of what is sold and pay to have the items collected and recycled.
Essentially, that allowed for free programs but once the weight limit was met, SWALCO had to make up the difference. Willis said the agency is good for the next six months but does not have a long-term contract with its recycling company, Vintage Tech Recyclers.