Where do old computers go to die? Not landfills, please

Where do old computers go to die? Not landfills, please
By Kelly Heyboer, Newhouse News Service.
Copyright © 2007, Chicago Tribune - Tribune Home&Garden editor Elaine Matsushita contributed to this report
Published January 21, 2007

This holiday season Americans gave one another more electronic gifts -- iPods, cell phones, computers, televisions, video game systems and other gadgets -- than ever before.

As the holiday decorations come down, they now face the inevitable question: What to do with the old stuff?

The rapidly falling price of electronics means the amount of electronic waste is rising at what environmentalists say is an alarming rate. Computers are getting cheaper and cheaper, tempting users to dump their old models. People are swapping their cell phones, BlackBerrys and iPods for newer models every year. Flat-screens are replacing old tubes by the millions.

Manufacturers and municipalities have been slowly setting up recycling programs.

In Chicago, the city's Department of Environment opened the Household Chemical and Computer Recycling Center at 1150 N. North Branch St. on the North Side in late November. There, old computers, computer-related equipment and cell phones -- as well as chemical waste such as antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, paints, paint thinner, herbicides -- are accepted; old televisions are not. The electronic waste is either broken down into parts or refurbished and donated to low-income families, schools and non-profit organizations. (For hours of operation, see accompanying story.)

Another option for recycling obsolete electronics is Chicago's Computers for Schools program. This non-profit organization (part of a national program) accepts private and corporate computer donations, refurbishes the equipment and makes them available to schools and other non-profits in the city and the suburbs. Drop-off is at 3350 N. Kedzie Ave., dock 2. Call 773-583-7575 for more information.

Statistics show the majority of old TVs, computers and cell phones -- and the dangerous lead, mercury and other toxic materials inside them -- are sitting in basements and closets or ending up in landfills.

"It's a spiraling problem," said Barbara Kyle, national coordinator of the Computer Take Back Campaign. "E-waste is the fastest growing waste stream in the U.S. ... This is a wave that continues to break and it's just gaining momentum."

Part of the problem is consumers don't know what to do with their old machines. If you have a pile of old keyboards, monitors and a CPU or two gathering dust in your basement, you are not alone. Federal government researchers estimate 75 percent of all computers ever sold in the United States are still sitting somewhere, waiting to be thrown out.

Under pressure from environmental groups, Dell, Apple and Hewlett-Packard have set up computer recycling programs that allow users to send their old computers and components back to the manufacturer to be recycled for free or a small fee.

Many municipal and county governments also have added monthly or annual e-waste collection days to their recycling programs. But Kyle, whose California-based Computer Take Back Campaign is seeking to raise awareness, says state governments need to pass laws requiring every old computer and obsolete electronic device to be recycled.

"It's not happening adequately on its own," Kyle said.

Though environmentalists dream of a day when people can set a "gray container" with electronic waste beside their regular recycling buckets at the curb for pickup, officials say they have not figured out a way to make mass electronic recycling economically feasible.

In some states, including California, consumers pay a few dollars every time they buy a computer to fund a state recycling program. Other states have passed legislation requiring electronics manufacturers to cover some of the cost of recycling.

In Illinois, no such legislation yet exists. In October, Gov. Rod Blagojevich signed an executive order that mandates all state agencies, commissions and boards recycle obsolete electronic equipment. He also urged the General Assembly to adopt statewide electronics recycling laws.

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Where to take e-scrap

What: Household Products and Electronics Collection and Training Center accepts computers, computer-related equipment and cell phones, as well as household hazardous waste such as antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, paints, paint thinners, herbicides, etc.

Where: 1150 N. North Branch St.

When: From 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. the first Saturday of each month, 7 a.m. to noon Tuesdays, 2 to 7 p.m. Thursdays.

For info: Call 312-744-7672 or visit www.cityofchicago.org (click on Environmental Initiatives, City of Chicago Department of Environment, Waste Management and then Household Hazardous Waste).

-- Elaine Matsushita

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Tribune Home&Garden editor Elaine Matsushita contributed to this report; ematsushita@tribune.com.