Will County electronics recycling sites remain closed, set to open later this year

LOCKPORT – Will County's electronics recycling program brought in a record-breaking 4.4 million pounds of TVs, monitors, computers and other items last year.

In the first two months of 2016, the county collected more than 800,000 pounds.

March was a different story.

“We’re getting a lot of calls, a lot of emails saying, ‘Hey, we hear your sites are closed,’ ” said Marta Keane, recycling specialist with Will County’s Resource Recovery and Energy Division.

March 1 was the day the county program – including its 13 drop-off sites – dismantled after its longtime recycling vendor exited its contract prematurely. That left officials scrambling to find a new one and consumers without an outlet to drop off old electronics.

Sites are still closed, Keane said. But there are plans to reopen some and possibly create new ones. The city of Lockport is the only community so far that’s agreed to reopen a drop-off site, but that won’t happen until May at the earliest, Keane said.

Electronics have been banned from landfills in Illinois since 2012.

Will County residents eager to rid their homes of bulky TV sets and old computers will have to hold onto them a little longer, she said. The reopening is pending approval of intergovernmental agreements and county hires to man the site.

“I know this is difficult to understand, why we can’t just have this up and running again,” Keane said.

New restrictions, responsibilities

Lockport Public Works Director Joe Cronin said it is unrealistic for Lockport to be the only community with a drop-off site over the long term, and urged other cities to sign on.

“I hope some of our neighboring towns hop back on the bandwagon. I think it’s an important benefit for the county,” Cronin said. “[My staff] is already picking stuff out of ditches, so we’re going to wind up stuck with them either way.”

When the site in Lockport does reopen, there will be limited hours and more restrictions. The site will be open 6 to 11 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, and staff will check identifications, limit services to county residents only and limit acceptance to two TVs per car.

Before, the sites were somewhat of a free-for-all with few restrictions, he said.

As part of the new vendor’s $200,000 contract with Will County, California-based Electronic Recyclers International is requiring county staff to sort, shrink-wrap and load the materials onto pallets and into a truck. Before, Vintage Tech Recyclers – the county’s former vendor – did that work at no additional charge, Keane said.

The county will be charged fees if workers improperly pack trailers or load electronics that, while not banned from landfills under Illinois law, are accepted by Will County’s program.

It’s those new requirements that have communities shying away from being a part of the county’s program once it’s up and running again.

‘Turnkey’ operation

Keane said she is trying to establish some type of “turnkey” operation so more communities are willing to sign on. The county would provide the staff and communities can provide a site.

She said she also hopes communities will consider one-day collection events. Plainfield earlier this month worked out an agreement with its waste hauler to recycle residents’ electronics. Households are billed $1.15 monthly for services.

The county itself anticipates hosting one-day collections in summer and fall 2016.

In the meantime, consumers can turn to Best Buy or Staples for electronics recycling needs if they’re willing to pay. However, Best Buy no longer accepts cathode ray tube (CRT) TVs and computer monitors – which are costly to recycle – from Illinois and Pennsylvania because state law forbids the company from collecting fees.

A chronic problem

Keane said the fear is that the bulky TV sets and old computers will end up in ditches and landfills.

Lockport Township Highway Commissioner John Cielenski said littering is a chronic problem in his community.

“My guys, they pick up everything they can off the side of the road,” he said.

Now, if he finds a TV, his department knows to hold onto it until Will County gets its program back up and running.

The Forest Preserve District of Will County dealt with illegal dumping issues when it closed its two sites in February at the Monee Reservoir and Sugar Creek Administration Center, but “people seem to be getting the message,” district spokeswoman Cindy Cain said in an email.

“Most of the items were left shortly after the program ended and the number has waned in subsequent weeks,” she said.

In Joliet’s Pilcher Park, at least three dozen computers, televisions and other electronic items have been collected since January.

The park for years has served as a magnet for illegal dumping, but it’s becoming more of an issue, said Larry Burich, superintendent of planning with the Joliet Park District.

“It has increased,” Burich said. “Instead of taking care of playgrounds, we’re picking up people’s trash.”

Burich said he’d be happy to work with Will County to find a central drop-off site near Pilcher Park.

“I’d love to have [a central drop-off site] versus them going to dump in the park. We can tell them ‘Ride through the park with your appliance, but please drop it off here when you’re done,’” he said.

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How we got here

• Electronics have been banned from Illinois landfills since 2012, and under a state program, manufacturers that sell products in Illinois must recycle a certain weight of what is sold and pay to have those items collected and recycled.

• Declining commodity prices, increased costs and lack of contracts with electronics manufacturers resulted in Will County’s longtime recycling vendor – Vintage Tech, now under the Kuusakoski name – exiting out of its contract a year ahead of its expiration date.

• Will County’s electronics recycling program was forced to dismantle earlier this year as local officials scrambled to find a new vendor that provides similar services. Thirteen drop-off sites were discontinued.

• The California-based Electronic Recyclers International was the only bidder. ERI is requiring that drop-off site staff sort, shrink-wrap and load the materials onto pallets and into a truck. Because of the added responsibility, communities once in the program have shied away from rejoining.

• Illinois’ growing, unsustainable program appears to becoming a victim of its own success as e-recycling programs are discontinued statewide. State and local officials continue to push for changes to Illinois’ electronics recycling law so that collection costs do not continue to fall on the shoulders of local governments and taxpayers.