Wandering Through My Mind 28 APR 12

It's illegal to put electronic waste into Illinois land fills. DeKalb County runs a recycling program to collect and recycle electronic waste: http://www.dekalbcounty.org/health/environmental/waste.html

I participated in April and noted that there were hundreds of cars in line to get to the deposit area, manned by volunteers. I waited in line for 45 minutes, and was unable to shut off my car's engine because the line moved a few inches every few seconds. I asked for some details.

Crystal Springmede of the DeKalb County Health Department provided details:

928 automobiles were serviced. That was the count before the Health Dept. workers stopped counting due to very heavy demand. The program ran from 0830 to 1400 (?), but was not rigidly scheduled - when the trucks were full, the county would stop the program. I didn't get details on program termination.

The last recycling program serviced about 600 vehicles.

109,574 pounds of electronics devices were accepted.

2,000 pounds of batteries were accepted.

700 pounds of Compact Fluorescent light bulbs were accepted.

Electronic waste is expected to last 70 years.

A company in Pontiac, Illinois receives computer equipment and attempts to rebuild computers. Unusable components are shredded and smelted to remove usable elements and isolate toxic material.

A company near Janesville, Wisconsin accepts TVs and computer monitors for recycling.

There will be another recycling drive in the fall.

Springmede also pointed out that we can commit three crimes by improperly disposing of electronic waste. The consumer who attempts to put electronic waste into garbage, the disposal company that accepts the waste, and the landfill that processes such waste are all liable under the law. 

If you've read this far, you're waiting for the "but" statement. I won't disappoint you. The questions I have are, "how much fuel did we use by sitting in line for 45 minutes? How much toxic exhaust did people breathe during the project? Why does the county have to incur this expense? Don't we pay Waste Management for this "service," or do they only contract for things that are profitable (yes, rhetorical, but intentionally so).