Lake County residents will have to look somewhere else to recycle their old computers, TVs, DVD players and cellphones.
Citing rising costs that aren’t covered by contributions from the private sector, the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) plans to suspend its free electronics recycling program while exploring funding options.
SWALCO officials said late last week that the collections — which have taken place year-round at eight drop-off sites around the county and periodically at more than 30 other communities in the agency — will begin to shut down on Thursday, Dec. 18, and be closed by Dec. 30.
“Until recently, SWALCO has been fortunate to have secured contracts with electronics recyclers who were able to provide their services at no cost,” officials said in a bulletin sent to member communities. “This was in part was due to a state law (that) requires manufacturers that sell products in the state to fund the cost of collecting and recycling certain electronic devices from residential generators.
“Unfortunately, the funding provided by manufacturers is not sufficient, and recyclers of electronics are now requiring collectors such as SWALCO to augment the funding from manufacturers. This problem is impacting government collectors throughout the State, (and) Lake County is not alone on this problem.”
Under the program, which dates to 1999, SWALCO communities collect the residential materials, and the agency then ships them to contracted recycling firms that “de-manufacture” the discarded components into raw materials.
Other items accepted in the program include monitors, keyboards, printers, fax machines, cable-television equipment and VCRs.
Among the sites that have hosted Monday-through-Friday drop-off bins are public-works facilities in Grayslake, Round Lake Beach and Waukegan. Communities like Round Lake have hosted collection events on individual dates. Other sites include Antioch, Grant Township, Round Lake Beach, Vernon Township and Warren Township.
According to the bulletin, SWALCO officials have approached recycling businesses about continuing the program and estimate that the agency would have to commit $200,000 in funding to do so.
“We have seen a program change from one that generated revenue for SWALCO and its collection partners,” the statement added, “to a program with a cost that exceeds the agency’s funding ability.”
The SWALCO executive board is scheduled to meet this week to discuss funding options, and the agency is also joining an effort to have the State Legislature amend the Electronics Recycling and Reuse Act increase the amount of recycling weight that manufacturers are required to cover.
Until the matter plays out, officials asked that “residents be respectful and not deliver electronics to the locations that were formerly collecting. Not only will illegal dumping of electronics create an expense to the local units of government but violators run the risk of being prosecuted.”