Mounting e-waste volumes leads to suspension of Naperville recycling program

NAPERVILLE (Scrap Monster): Naperville City’s 180 Fort Hill Drive drop-off centre will not accept electronic waste starting September 21^st. The decision comes in the wake of unmanageable stockpiles of electronic waste at the facility. New Life Electronics, the hired e-waste recycling contractor has been unable to process the City’s larger-than-expected e-waste drop-off volumes.

Earlier the City had offered permanent electronics collection sites, which allowed residents to drop off their unwanted electronics completely free of cost. The funds collected from electronic manufacturers were enough to subsidize the recycling of dropped-off electronics. However, due to high cost of recycling for certain items such as CRT monitors, the funds collected had become insufficient, forcing City to pay the difference. Consequently, many permanent collection sites had to close.

In January this year, the City of Naperville had partnered with DuPage County to sign an 18-month agreement with New Life Electronics Recycling to dispose all the discarded electronic devices brought to the City’s Recycling Drop-Off Centre. Nearly 629,000 pounds of electronics were brought to the facility over a four-month period in 2015.

Until September 21, the Electronics Recycling Drop-Off Center will remain open Wednesdays and Saturdays from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

New Life Electronics Recycling is a local electronics recycling and Asset Recovery Company based out of the Chicago area servicing all communities, businesses, municipalities, and school districts nationwide.