SWANCC Offers Electronic Waste Pickup

Buffalo Grove residents can recycle electronics without leaving their home through the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County's At Home Pickup program.

Any SWANCC resident who has front door access (no apartments or condos) can arrange for a pickup. Residents will pay $30 via credit card to offset program costs, and can recycle up to six items per pickup. Additional items (maximum of 15) will be picked up for $5 apiece. Cell phones and calculators are accepted at no cost and do not count toward the total.

Acceptable items include computers, monitors, DVD players, DVR/cable boxes, fax machines, cell phones, mp3 players, PDAs, mice, keyboards, drives, printers, scanners, televisions, VHS players and video game consoles.

No individual item can exceed 50 pounds and televisions are limited to 27 inches.

On the scheduled pickup day, items must be placed on the front porch or steps, tagged with provided signage, by 7:30 a.m. Since the program began in 2007,  196,933 pounds of computer e-waste have been recycled.

“As Illinois legislation bans certain electronics from the landfill due to their potentially harmful and recoverable components, SWANCC has provided convenient outlets for residents to recycle their items, to include three permanent drop off locations, one-day events and the At Home Pickup Program,” said Mary Allen, SWANCC’s Recycling and Education Director. SWANCC contracts with Lombard-based Supply-Chain Services, Inc. to pick up and recycle all e-waste.

The program runs through September. To schedule a pickup, visit swancc.org/athome. For other electronics recycling options, visit swancc.org.