Electronics collection reaches record numbers

For nearly five years, Grundy County residents are showing their “Green” side by stepping up to the right thing with their old or outdated electronics.

This year’s Electronics and White Goods Collection event collected 33,457 pounds of electronics.

“Even though the event started at 9 a.m., there were cars starting to line up as early as 8:30 a.m. to drop off items,” states Lisa Kneller, solid waste technician.

“We hope this is a sign that people are taking those extra steps to do what is right with their electronic scrap.”

This is just an example of how the Office of Solid Waste works hard at connecting the residents of the county with proper disposal/recycling alternatives. Vintage Tech Recyclers assists in the event collection and takes many steps to ensure that the equipment they collect is handled in a safe and secure manner.

Vintage Tech meets, and in some cases exceeds, all EPA and State of Illinois requirements. From this event, the company will either re-furbish the equipment, use it for its part or shred/deconstruct.

The bottom line is that it keeps electronics out of our landfills.

The June 20 event was the only E-Waste event planned for 2009, however, the county is open to scheduling another, should the public demand it.

“It has been just a few short weeks since our last event, but the calls still keep coming in as to how people can dispose of their old computers and televisions,” states Karen Campbell, assistant at the Solid Waste Department.

If the demand is high, the Grundy County Environmental Committee will look into the possibility of scheduling another event later in the fall. 

This year’s event was scheduled one week after the final digital conversion for televisions, in hopes that it would allow a place for residents to bring their old outdated televisions.

The Grundy County Office of Solid Waste Management would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for generously donating their time, resources, material and efforts in support of this community collection effort:  Environtech Landfill – Site Manager Jim Allen for allowing use of the site and employees, Robert Romanetto, Brian O’Connor, Juan Delava and Cornelius Bonner;  Vintage Tech Recyclers – Karrie Gibson and  Matthew Gatz, for handling the E-Cycle portion of the event;  Cardinal Recycling – Mike Reinert for handling and removing all of our white goods and providing equipment for handling;.  Resident – Tim Beck; and Grundy County Staff — John Watters, Karen Campbell, and Heidi Miller for their help and equipment.

For more information, call Grundy County Office of Solid Waste at 815.941.3365.