Solution to electronics recycling crisis making headway in Springfield | The Herald-News

 

By LAUREN LEONE–CROSS - lleonecross@shawmedia.com

JOLIET — The effects of the state's electronics recycling crisis played out last weekend during Will County's Recyclepalooza event, where attendance was "overwhelming."

More than half of the 1,000 people surveyed at the event said they were there to drop off electronics, said Marta Keane, recycling program specialist and green business relations coordinator for the county's Resource Recovery & Energy Division.

Most electronic devices — televisions and computers included — have been banned from Illinois landfills since 2012, so there is nowhere for them to go without these programs, Keane said. But last week's event was so overwhelming that county officials had to turn people away.

"Never in our history have we had to turn people away," Keane said. "We had to close it down at 2 p.m. The last car was serviced after 5 p.m. The last [contractors'] truck pulled away at 9 p.m."

The good news is that new legislation making its way through Springfield is aimed at saving underfunded electronics recycling programs statewide, Keane said.

Short-term fix

A key change to House Bill 1455 addresses a major issue faced by electronics manufacturers: The expensive process of shipping cathode ray tube glass — a toxic material used in old TVs and monitors — overseas or out of state.

The bill also adjusts the funding formula used by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to determine how much manufacturers pay into these programs. If nothing is done, the steep cost of recycling could shift to consumers or local governments.

Local and state officials and the Illinois Manufacturers Association are onboard with these changes, said Mark Denzler, vice president and chief operating officer for IMA.

Solving the CRT glass issue

Complicating matters is CRT glass, which is heavy and difficult to recycle.

Most manufacturers ship CRT glass overseas or out of state due to the lack of certified CRT recycling facilities in the U.S., Keane said. The latest proposal provides manufacturers the cheaper option of sending the leaded material to Peoria Disposal Company, where it would be stored at a landfill until it could be properly recycled.

“While we don't favor landfilling the material, we see this a crisis,” Keane said. “This is not a final fix. This is a Band-Aid fix.”

The move is estimated to save costs to manufacturers. The stored material would also count toward recycling goals.

The Illinois House and Senate passed resolutions earlier this month supporting the move, noting "stockpiles of abandoned CRT glass have been discovered at several former electronic waste processing facilities across the U.S."….

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