No more dumping of electronics in Illinois landfills | Environment

Electronics can no longer be disposed of in Illinois landfills.  As of Monday, a new law was enacted  that has drastically limited the types of items that can be disposed in landfills. The Illinois Recycling Association says it worked with the Environmental Law and Policy Center to ensure that this new law did not result in extra costs to consumers, while addressing the increasing amount of electronics in the waste stream.

USEPA estimates that 85% of electronics are currently not recycled; these items contain mined materials that can be reclaimed, reused and recycled. Recycling rather than dumping these items saves resources and creates jobs, many of them right here in the US.

“Many members of the Illinois Recycling Association are electronic recyclers and since 2010, they have been working with electronic manufacturers to fund the recycling of residential items," said Paul Jaquet, President of IRA. "With the passage of the 2011 law, more items are included and the goals for recycling are higher. This ensures recycling opportunities throughout the State of Illinois,” 

The law requires manufacturers to pay the cost of recycling; therefore, residents using drop-off sites will not be charged.

“The glass in televisions and monitors is expensive to handle and some of the plastics are difficult to separate. There is a cost to recover these items, but the environmental benefits far outweigh any disadvantages,” explained Mike Mitchell, Executive Director of IRA.

IRA was part of a statewide task force that worked to improve the law passed in 2009, originally setting the Jan. 1, 2012 disposal ban. The new law, signed this past summer, bans 17 specific items although most electronic recycling programs accept more than what is listed here. Televisions - Electronic Keyboards - Video Game Consoles - Digital Converter Boxes, Monitors - Facsimile Machines - Electronic Mice - Videocassette Recorders, Printers - Scanners - Small Scale Servers - Portable Digital Music Players, Cable Receivers - Satellite Receivers - Computers (including desktop/laptop/tablet) Digital Video Disc Recorders & Players For information on recycling locations, check the Illinois Recycling Association website at www.illinoisrecycles.org.