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Recycling Events

ElectronicS Recycling:

Electronic waste, or e-waste, contains toxic materials such as lead, cadmium, mercury, etc. that can contaminate groundwater or present other environmental issues if not properly recycled or disposed. 
 
Effective January 1, 2012, the State of Illinois prohibits the disposal of electronics in landfills. E-waste placed at residential curbsides, or designated refuse locations (i.e. through property management, businesses) will not be collected by Waste Management and must be recycled by a registered collector, recycler and/or manufacturer.
 
E-waste items that are prohibited from the landfill include, but are not limited to, televisions, computer monitors, computers (PCs and laptops), computer peripherals (mice, keyboards, drives), fax machines, printers, scanners, VHS or DVD players/recorders, mp3 players, PDAs, video games consoles, DVRs, digital converter box, mobile phones, cable/satellite receivers.  These items must be recycled by a registered collector, recycler and/or manufacturer. 
 
The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) has contracted with Supply-Chain Services (SSI) for a permanent drop off location for its member residents.  Wheeling residents may bring acceptable electronics, at no charge, to:
 
                        Glenview Transfer Station
                        1151 N. River Road (Across from Maryville Academy)
                        Saturdays, 9:00 am – 11:30 am
                        847-724-9205
                        (Closed on 12/31/11 and 01/07/2011)
                       
                        Winnetka Public Works 
                        1390 Willow Rd
                        Tuesdays: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
                        Thursdays: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
                       
                         Collection locations will be closed on national holidays. 
 
Residents may also participate in SWANCC’s At Home Pick-Up program and one-day events (which will be posted in Spring 2012).  Please visit http://www.swancc.org or contact 847-724-9605 for additional information on acceptable and unacceptable e-waste items, SWANCC’s At Home Pick-Up program, permanent locations and one-day events.
 
Residents may also drop off electronics at electronic retail stores.  Some electronic retail stores may charge a small fee for larger electronic items.  Another recycling, or reuse option includes donating good, working condition electronics to charitable organizations.
 
Information on the electronic landfill ban can be found on the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) website at http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/electronic-waste-recycling/index.html For other questions, residents may contact the Public Works Department at 847-279-6900.

To donate electronics that are useable and in good working condition, residents can visit http://www.swancc.org/directory/computerdonation.html for organizations and locations.

At Home Computer Pickup Program

SWANCC provides residents with the option to have electronics collected at the front door.  For a charge of $25.00, residents can recycle up to six (6) items.  Additional items are $5.00 each with a maximum of fifteen (15) items.  For more information on the At Home Computer Pickup Program, the items that are allowed for pickup, or to schedule a pickup, please contact SWANCC at 847-724-9205 or at http://www.swancc.org/recycling/computerelectronicsrecycling.html.

For further electronic recycling information, please contact SWANCC at 847-724-9205 or www.swancc.org.

RAIN BARRELS

Rain barrels are containers that collect and store rainwater from rooftops via downspout that would otherwise be lost to runoff and diverted to storm drains, creeks and rivers. Because it does not contain minerals, chlorine, fluoride or other chemicals, the stored rainwater in barrels provides a supply of water that is ideal for gardens, potted plants/flowers, lawns, and even bicycle and car washing. Rain barrels reduce storm water pollution and conserve water.
 
As part of their ongoing water conservation program, the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District (MWRD) has rain barrels for sale for $50.00 each.  There is a limit of two (2) barrels per household.  MWRD only accepts orders that are placed on their website and purchased with a credit card.  No cash or check sales at pick-up locations.  There are also no returns or exchanges.  Rain barrels are 55 gallons with diameter at 21 inches and height at 34 inches.
 
Residents are required to print their receipt when purchasing their rain barrel online and bringing their receipt and a vehicle to pick-up locations.  Rain barrel distribution takes place during the first Saturday, Tuesday or Thursday of each month only at:
 
North Side Plant, 3500 W. Howard, Skokie
Saturday 9am-1pm
Tuesday 4pm-7pm
 
Stickney Plant, 6001 W. Pershing, Cicero
Saturday 9am-1pm
 
Calumet Plant, 400 East 130th Street, Chicago
Thursday 4pm-7pm
 
To order a rain barrel or receive more information, please go to www.mwrd.org and follow the link for rain barrels. Residents are reminded to please keep barrels hidden or camouflaged (behind bushes, etc.) if possible and to keep them along the side or rear of lots.

HOUSEHOLD HAZARDOUS WASTE

Household products, such as cleaners, lawn or garden care, hobbies, antifreeze, pesticides, etc., can contain hazardous ingredients that can be harmful to human health and the environment and require proper and safe disposal.  It is highly recommended, whenever possible, to purchase limited quantities of household hazardous products so that the amount of hazardous waste produced is limited. 
 
Annually, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) offers residents one-day Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collections throughout Illinois during the spring and fall months.  These events are at no charge to Illinois residents.  For more information on the IEPA one-day collections, please visit http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/hhwc-schedule.html  or contact 217-785-8604.
 
Long term (permanent) drop-off facilities are also available to Illinois residents for household hazardous waste disposal.  Below are long-term facilities.  It is recommended to contact the facilities prior to visitation as hours may change during the year.  Latex paint is not accepted at at any drop-off facility (please see below information on latex paint disposal).
 
Naperville Fire Station #4
1971 Brookdale Road
Saturday & Sunday, 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM
630-420-4190
 
Rockford Rock River Reclamation District
3333 Kishwaukee
Sat., 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Sun., 12:00 PM to 4:00 PM
815-387-7400
 
City of Chicago/IEPA
1150 N. Branch Street
Tues., 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Thurs., 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM
1st Sat of each month:  8:00 AM to 3:00 PM
312-744-7606
 
Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO)
1311 N. Estes, Gurnee
By Appointment Only.
847-336-9340
 
Acceptable items include:  aerosol paints and pesticides; lawn chemicals; antifreeze; mercury; cleaning products; old gasoline; drain cleaners; oil-based paints; fluorescent lamp bulbs; paint thinners; herbicides; pesticides; hobby chemicals; pool chemicals; household batteries; solvents; insecticides; used motor oil.
 
Unacceptable items include:  agricultural waste; fireworks; business/commercial waste; institutional waste; explosives; farm machinery oil; smoke detectors; latex paint.  Lead acid batteries, propane tanks, and fire extinguishers may be accepted depending on contractors.  Please contact IEPA to verify if these items will be accepted at facilities.
 
LATEX PAINT
 
Because latex, or water-based, paint is not hazardous due to water replacing most of the oil based components in paint, they are not accepted at any Illinois drop-off facility.  The following are disposal alternatives for latex paint.
 
Donate extra paint to an organization or another individual that may use it.  These may include charitable/non-profit groups, religious organizations, theatre groups, family or neighbors.
Host a Paint Swap where leftover paints can be swapped for other leftover or unused paints from family, friends, or neighbors.
Keep painting.  Place another coat of paint on or use as a primer.
Paint other items or areas such as lumber pieces, inside of garages, or even furniture pieces.
Store the paint for future use. Covering the top with a plastic wrap and securing the lid will help ensure that the paint will not leak and may maintain better.
Proper disposal.  If other alternatives can not be used and disposal is necessary, residents must open paint cans in well-ventilated areas (i.e. outdoors) and add an absorbent such as kitty litter, sand, oil-dry, or shredded paper into the paint cans.  When the liquid paint is absorbed, and the paint is hardened, place lids back on the paint cans and dispose closed paint cans in regular refuse containers (not recycling!).  If paint cans are full, residents must divide the paint into empty cans to solidify or repeat the absorbent process.
 
 
For additional information on other possible drop-off locations for various household hazardous waste, please visit http://www.swancc.org/hcw/hcwcollection.html and http://www.swancc.org/greenPages/greenpages.html. 

DOCUMENT DESTRUCTION EVENTS

The Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County (SWANCC) provides one-day document destruction events for SWANCC member communities, of which Wheeling is a member.  These events are only for residentially generated paper such as medical forms, bank statements, personal files, retired tax form, records and receipts.  Materials from businesses, schools or institutions will not be accepted. 
 
At events, documents are placed in a toter and loaded to a shredder onsite.  Documents are cross-shredded, baled and recycled.  It is not necessary to remove paper clips and staples; however, binders must be removed.
 
To find a local one-day document destruction event, please visit www.swancc.org or contact 847-724-9205. 
 
For businesses, schools and institutional document destruction, please also contact SWANCC.