Electronic Information
Summary of Residential Front-Door and Drop-Off Electronic Recycling:
- Electronic items are the fastest growing segment of the waste stream.
- Electronic items contain materials that can be recycled countless times.
- Some of the materials in electronic items are considered hazardous.
- Some items may also be taken to retail outlets for proper disposal and recycling services.
- Will County offers 13 free of charge permanent drop-offs in partnership with municipalities and townships.
- On April 1, 2011 Will County began offering FREE Front-Door Collection of Electronics to ALL residents of Aurora, Bolingbrook, Crest Hill, Channahon, Elwood, Homer Glen, Joliet, Lemont, Lockport, Minooka, Naperville, New Lenox, Plainfield, Rockdale, Romeoville, Shorewood and Woodridge.
- Front-Door Service expanded to Braceville, Braidwood, Coal City, Diamond, Godley, Manhattan, Symerton and Wilmington September 1, 2011.
- Front-Door service expansion was completed on November 15, 2011 with the addition of Beecher, Crete, Frankfort, Mokena, Monee, Orland Park, Park Forest, Peotone, Sauk Village, Steger, Tinley Park and University Park.
Electronic Household Front-Door Service Instructions:
As of April 1, 2011, Will County's contractor, Vintage Tech, began offering free, convenient "Front-Door" collection service for residential electronics in a large portion of Will County. As the year progressed, the service area expanded to cover all of Will County. This is a three-year "Pilot Program" with funding from electronic manufacturers thanks to the Illinois Electronic Products Recycling and Reuse Act.
To schedule a pick-up from your front door, please contact our contractor, Vintage Tech Recyclers. This may be done by telephone or through e-mail.
Call (866) 631-1707 Monday-Friday 9:00am-5:00pm
Please include your name, address and telephone number
Please provide a type and number of each electronic item
There is a limit of ten items per collection. If you accumulate more items, additional pick-ups may be scheduled at that time. For more detail, please click to visit our contractor's website.
Will County Electronic Recycling Drop-Off Partners:
- Village of Bolingbrook
- Channahon Township
- Forest Preserve District of Will County - Laraway in Joliet
- Forest Preserve District of Will County - Monee Reservoir
- Village of Homer Glen/Homer Township
- City of Lockport
- Manhattan Township
- Village of Mokena
- New Lenox Township
- Reed-Custer School District/Reed Twp
- Village of Romeoville
- Troy Township Highway Department
- Washington Township/Village of Beecher
Anything With A Computer Chip WILL Fit
This program protects Will County water and air resources, while reducing the materials going to local landfills. Some computers have a shelf life of only 3 to 5 years. It is often less expensive to purchase a new electronic item instead of repairing it. This increases the amount of waste generated and increases the amount of natural resources needed to make new products.
The EPA states that electronics contain hazardous materials, such as lead, mercury, and hexavalent chromium, batteries and color cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Televisions and CRT monitors contain an average of 4 lbs of lead (depending on size). Mercury from electronics has been cited as a leading source of mercury in municipal waste. Lastly, brominated flame retardants are commonly added to plastics used in electronics. If discarded, these toxins can be released into the environment through landfill leachate.
Worldwide, an estimated 20-50 million tons of electronic waste is generated annually, and an estimated 85% of it ends up in landfills. Recycling electronics avoids air, water and land pollution. It reduces the need to extract valuable and limited resources from the earth. It also reduces the energy and other resources used in new product manufacturing. Many of the components recovered can be used in new items.
Items Accepted (Broken or Obsolete)
| Personal Computers (PCs)* |
Printers (laser, ink jet, dot matrix, etc.)* |
Telephones / Cell Phones |
| Laptops* |
Televisions* |
Typewriters/Word Processors |
| Monitors* |
VCR, DVD, Laser Disc Players** |
Copy/Fax/Scanner Machines** |
| Keyboards** |
Portable Radio/CD Players |
Adding Machines |
| Electronic Mice** |
Speakers/Stereo Systems |
Postage Machines |
| Modems** |
CB's/Two -way radios |
Digital Clocks |
| Hard Drives** |
Cameras (film, magnetic tape, digital) |
Calculators |
| CD ROM/Zip/Tape Drives** |
Palm Organizers/Hand Held Games** |
Paper Shredders |
| Cords & Cables (power, USB, etc.) |
Video Game Players** |
Pagers |
| CDs, DVDs, VHS Tapes, Floppies, etc. |
Joysticks / Game Controls |
Answering Machines |
| UPS (Battery Backups) |
String Lights (holiday lights on wires) |
Microwaves |
| Cable/Satellite Receivers** |
Digital Converter Boxes** |
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* Items in Blue are banned from Illinois landfills as of January 1, 2012 per 2008 Illinois Electronic Recycling and Reuse Act
* Items in Dark Blue are banned from Illinois landfills as of January 1, 2012 per SB 2106 enhancement of the Electronic Recycling Act
Protect Your Personal Data When Recycling
Computers often contain highly personal information from bank data to tax records. Before donating your computer or bringing it to a recycling program of any kind, clean the hard drive.
Reformat the hard drive or purchase a program that writes over the hard drive. The process can be slow, because such a program writes to the disk repeatedly. Prepare to run it overnight.
It is the duty of the user of the recycling program to ensure data erasure. Will County assumes no responsibility to protect any electronic data remaining in electronics deposited in the electronic recycling program If you need more detailed instructions e-mail or call the County Land Use – Resource Recovery & Energy offices.
Either way, please be aware that the contracted electronic recycling company cleans the hard drives of all types of computers with Department of Defense approved software.
If the hard drive is damaged and cannot be cleaned with software, it is wiped clean with a magnet and shredded for recycling.
Electronic Drop-Off Instructions and Locations:
- Bring only residentially generated electronic items. No Business electronics can be taken. Businesses are encouraged to call Will County or go to their website for recycling/reuse information.
- Clean off any personal information on hard drives (Reformatting the hard drive or rewriting the disc is recommended.)
- Take materials to the drop-off ONLY during operational hours.
- Please place materials carefully in boxes as indicated by signs at the site
- DO NOT TAKE any items that have already been dropped off. Once items have been placed in the box they are part of the Recycling Program.
Beecher
Beecher-Washington Township
30200 Town Center Road
708-946-2026
Hours:
Tuesdays & Thursdays 9am-3pm
2nd Sat of the Month 8am-12pm
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Bolingbrook
Village of Bolingbrook
299 Canterbury Lane
630-226-8800
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7am-3:30pm
Small items accepted 24/7
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Braidwood
Reed-Custer School District/Reed Twp
162 S, School Street
(behind school at Maintenance Garage)
815-458-2307
Hours:
Wednesday 7am-2:30pm
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Channahon
Channahon Township
25461 S Fryer Street Seven blocks South of Rt. 6 (turn at Subway)
815-467-2699
Hours:
Wed 3pm-7pm March—Oct. ONLY
Sat 8am-2pm year-round
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Homer Glen
Homer Glen-Homer Township
14400 W 151st Street
708-301-0246
Hours:
Opening August 16, 2011
Tue, Wed, Thur 8am-3pm
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Joliet
Forest Preserve District of Will County
17540 W Laraway Road (Sugar Creek-between Rt.52 & Rt. 53)
815-727-8700
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7am-3pm
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Lockport
City of Lockport
17112 Prime Blvd (East of I-355 overpass)
815-838-0549 x8
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7am-3pm
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Manhattan
Manhattan Township
24645 S Eastern Ave
815-478-3123
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7am-3pm
1st & 3rd Sat 8am-Noon
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Mokena
Village of Mokena
19004 Wolf Road
708-479-3927
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7:30am-4pm
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Monee
Monee-Forest Preserve District of Will County
27341 Ridgeland Ave (Monee Reservoir)
708-534-8499
Hours:
7 days a week 8am-4pm
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New Lenox
New Lenox Township
1100 S. Cedar Road
815-485-6431
Hours:
Monday-Friday 8am-3:30pm
4th Sat of the Month 9am-Noon
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Romeoville
Village of Romeoville
195 S Budler Road, Romeoville
(East of I-55)
815-886-7200
Hours:
Wednesdays 6pm-8pm
1st Sat of the Month 11am-3pm
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Shorewood
Troy Township Highway Department
25358 Seil Road(West from River Rd & Seil)
815-744-7760
Hours:
Monday-Friday 7am-3pm
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Please view our Green Guide Database for retail and other additional Electronic recycling locations!
The Residential Electronic Recycling brochure may be printed double-sided on 8.5 X 14 paper.