Electronics recycling planned in South Elgin, West Dundee, Batavia
Kane County is planning to restart its electronics recycling program with drop-off locations in West Dundee, South Elgin and Batavia, possibly as early as next month. It would charge fees of up to $35 for monitors and TVs.
The three locations would be staffed Monday through Friday and monitored by video cameras to curtail illegal dumping. Fees would be $25 for screens up to 20 inches and $35 for screens 21 inches and up, county electronics recycling program coordinator Jennifer Jarland said.
“We are planning to phase it in quickly, one (site) at a time over three weeks,” she said. “We hope to start in September.”
The program was halted after it was overwhelmed in May by large quantities of TVs following the closings of satellite locations in St. Charles, Geneva, Batavia and West Dundee, and the announcement that the county would start charging fees for TVs.
County officials have been working on relaunching a more sustainable program, Jarland said.
South Elgin trustees gave a preliminary thumbs-up to establishing an electronics recycling site in the parking lot of the public works building at 735 Martin Drive, which will be vacated when the village's new public works building opens at 1000 Bowes Road.
It's important to publicize the recycling fees, Trustee Mike Kolodziej said, noting “you could have some angry situations and confrontations if it's not communicated clearly.”
South Elgin trustees are expected take a final vote on an agreement with the county in early September.
Last week, the West Dundee village board approved an agreement to restart electronics recycling at its public works facility at 900 Angle Tarn, as long as two other sites open for daily collection and the county resumes monthly recycling events in St. Charles.
The third recycling site is slated for 517 Fabyan Parkway in Batavia, on the parking lot of the old county jail, Jarland said. After extensive talks, the city of Aurora decided not to establish a site there, Jarland said. “They said it was a lack of ideal site,” she said. “The thing is, you make a site work.”
The county's recycling contractor, eWorks Electronics Services, would provide a staff member to monitor and operate the sites, Jarland said. The agreements also state the county would give West Dundee and South Elgin a financial incentive of $1,000 per month.
Electronics were banned from landfills in Illinois beginning in 2012 due to toxic components such as lead, mercury, cadmium and more. Since then, escalating costs have lead recycling sites and processors throughout the state to close down.
Kane County, along with Lake, Will and northern Cook counties, has “hung in there” to provide daily drop-off sites, albeit fewer than before, Jarland said.