Since the landfill ban on electronic equipment in Illinois (PA 097-0287) became effective at the beginning of this year, electronics recycling opportunities have expanded greatly. There are several free drop-offs in Kane County, including the ongoing monthly collection event.

While some companies offer to pay you for your electronics, it is good to be informed about their processing and data security practices, and to make sure they are registered electronics recyclers. The Illinois EPA registration is a good guide to which recycling companies or collectors are managing and recycling end-of-life electronic equipment in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, including assurance that your data will be securely erased. You can view the IEPA list of Registered Collectors, Recyclers and Refurbishers at: http://epadata.epa.state.il.us/land/eWaste/crr-list.asp.

In 2011, the county collected 850,000 pounds of electronics and 46,000 pounds of books from around 8000 households. This year will likely show an increase in recycling due to the new landfill ban. At our monthly event on Jan. 14, on a 12-degree day, we served 660 vehicles between 8am and 2pm, collecting 65,000 pounds of televisions, computers, monitors, printers, mice, keyboards, game consoles, VCRs, DVD players, cell phones, small household appliances and more. The Kane County Electronics Recycling Events are on the Second Saturday of every month, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., at 540 S Randall Road in St. Charles. For more information, please see: www.countyofkane.org under R for Recycling, or contact Jennifer Jarland, Kane County’s Recycling Coordinator at recycle@countyofkane.org or 630-208-3841.

Kane County is currently contracting with Sims Recycling Solutions, Inc (SRS) for our monthly electronics recycling events and for the permanent drop-off at the City of Batavia Public Works. Sims Recycling Solutions is registered with the EPA and has the R2 (Responsible Recycling) certification. SRS completely staffs the collection events and unloads your car for you, so you don’t even have to get out of your vehicle! The Batavia drop-off is self-serve but is collected by SRS for processing. You can be assured that all data stored on computer hard drives will be completely erased or destroyed by SRS, under the highest privacy protection standards as required by the legislation (PA 097-0287, Sec. 50.d.15) so you don’t need to wipe your drives before recycling, unless you choose to do so.

Drop-offs in Kane County include (but are not limited to):

Kane County—Monthly Electronics and Book Recycling Collection Event

540 S. Randall Rd., St. Charles

630-208-3841

Hours: 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 2nd Saturday of each month

Batavia Public Works Department—Self-Serve Electronics Drop-off

200 N. Raddant Rd., Batavia

630-454-2310

Hours: 8 a.m to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday

ReStore—Electronics Recycling Drop-off

800 N. State St., Elgin

847-742-9905

Hours: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday to Friday & 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday

West Dundee—Electronics Drop-off

900 Angle Tarn, West Dundee

847-551-3815

Hours: , 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday to Friday

City of Aurora—Monthly Drop-Offs 

Westside: Central Garage, 720 N. Broadway Ave.

Eastside: Customer Service Center, 3770 McCoy Dr.

Call for hours: 630-256-4636

Elgin Recycling

660 Schiller St., Elgin 

847-741-4100

46 E. End Dr., Gilberts

847-741-4100

Hours: 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday

Information provided by the Kane County Division of Environmental Resources.