Electronics recycling may start costing Kane County residents
If Kane County residents want convenient means to recycle their electronics, someone is going to pay more. And county officials are trying to position themselves to not be the bearers of that additional cost.
It was only about a year ago that county residents had six options for electronics recycling. There were permanent drop-off locations in communities such as West Dundee and St. Charles. And the county hosted a countywide recycling event on the second Saturday of each month from April through November.
After April 8, only the one-day, countywide events will remain. That's far less convenient, but it is still far more than most areas of the state offer, according to Jennifer Jarland, Kane County's recycling program coordinator.
"We are one of only four Illinois counties with a program of any kind still remaining," she said. "No one will have permanent drop-off left by the end of April, including us."
Old, giant TVs and electronics manufacturers are the two main villains, Jarland said. Old TVs are just one of 17 electronics banned from landfills since 2009. But county residents dumped up to six TVs at a time at the former drop-offs. The heavy, bulky electronics quickly created unmanageable mountains at the locations.
What's more, the TVs weigh so much that all of the drop-offs hit the weight limits for what electronics manufacturers would fund way before the end of the year. That would leave the drop-off locations or recycling companies responsible for the remaining costs.
Indeed, Kane County's electronics recycling events transformed from a profitable endeavor into a $100 loss by the end of last year. Jarland said she is confident the county program can live on with just the monthly events. However, the fact that all the drop-off locations overflowed with items shows the demand is high for everyday recycling options.
There are a few solutions on the table in the local recycling world.
One solution involves charging residents $10 for each TV they want to recycle. Another solution involves changing legislation to either increase the weight cap for what manufacturers must fund or remove the cap altogether. Yet another possible answer, Jarland said, is getting local municipalities and townships to all chip in and fund one drop-off site each in the north, central and south portions of the county.
"All of the municipalities and townships are benefiting from this county program," Jarland said. "So the question is how can we work together to continue to improve this service? If we could get only a little bit (of funding) from everybody, it will add up to enough to keep this going."
A TV recycling fee looks to be the first change to come. Jarland said she'll bring that proposal to the full county board for a vote in May. In the meantime, county board members will continue to lobby state lawmakers for a change in the recycling demands placed on manufactures. For her part, Jarland will reach out to the municipalities to measure interest in kicking in funding to revive the drop-off locations.
County residents bursting with unwanted electronics can get relief as soon as April 9. That's the date of the county's first recycling collection event. It runs from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. at 540 S. Randall Road in St. Charles.