Illinois

Illinois

Thank you for visiting Earth911′s Illinois page. Below you can find more resources offered in your state, as well as recent news from your neck of the woods. If you’re looking for where to recycle in your area, please use the Earth911 recycling location search.


  1. Katy Warner

    posted on June 19th, 2011 at 6:22 pm

    Can I recycle a vinyl pool liner in Chicago Blue Cart?

  2. Arlen Pietrowski

    posted on June 19th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

    Looked it up. Pool liners cannot be recycled. They go into regular trash.

  3. Dori Cox

    posted on June 28th, 2011 at 9:01 pm

    Need to know where to recycle old lightbulbs and the new CFL ones near Robinson, Illinois.

  4. Earth911

    posted on June 28th, 2011 at 11:51 pm

    Hi Dori! Did you try our Recycling Search at the top of the page?

  5. Dori Cox

    posted on June 29th, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    yes, and the closest center is in O'Fallon, IL, which is 3 hours from me. So, I guess I will just keep the bulbs and take them to a nearby Lowe's store, which is just 30 minutes away.

  6. Larry Turner

    posted on July 15th, 2011 at 11:02 pm

    I am frustrated but my real name is Larry, ha. I have one mercury filled thermostat to get rid of but no where to go. Please help! Olympia Fields, IL.

  7. Catherine Wright Hurley

    posted on July 20th, 2011 at 9:00 pm

    The web has conflicting information on recycling old photographs. Most sites say they are not recyclable and should be put in the regular garbage. But some sites mention the dangers of the silver used in the developing process. Are there any real concerns for tossing out old photos in the garbage?

  8. Carey Liss

    posted on September 4th, 2011 at 2:33 pm

    Still is not easy to recycle certain things do not have a paint recyling locations in enough areas, still trying to get rid of old paint, hopefully I will get more help from the Department of Enviornment.

  9. Earth911

    posted on September 7th, 2011 at 3:56 pm

    Hi Carey! Did you try our recycling search at the top of the page? If you type in "Paint" or what kind of paint you have such as "Latex Paint" and where you live, you can search for options in your area.

  10. LuAnn Kowar

    posted on September 27th, 2011 at 9:36 pm

    It used to be that the HHW events sponsored by the State would at least take the PVC material, to keep it from getting in the regular landfill. Now there aren't HHW Events, except for electronics. Since I assume some electronics also fabricate some of their housings out of PVC, I certainly believe there are PVC recyclers somewhere on the planet. Problem is where?

  11. Megan Johnson

    posted on September 28th, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    I have one small oxygen tank and two small acetylene tanks to recycle. Can anyone tell me where to dispose of them safely in the NW suburbs of Chicago?

  12. Vickie Devenport

    posted on October 3rd, 2011 at 7:48 pm

    Can you tell me if there are centers that take vinyl albums?

  13. Earth911

    posted on October 3rd, 2011 at 8:39 pm

    Hey Vickie, did you try our recycling search in the green bar above?

  14. Jennifer Williams-Schilling

    posted on October 31st, 2011 at 4:07 pm

    I have about 3/4 lb of bulk liquid mercury that we found when cleaning out a garage. Where can I take it? I'm in Illinois, but 15 min from St. Louis, Mo. Going there is definitely an option.

  15. Dawn Dankowski

    posted on October 31st, 2011 at 4:22 pm

    Oooh! Blow it up!

  16. Diane Zydlo

    posted on November 9th, 2011 at 5:35 am

    We have 2 old fire extinguishers. Where can we get rid of them?

  17. Earth911

    posted on November 9th, 2011 at 6:49 pm

    Hey Diane! Did you try the green search box on this page? You can just type in fire extinguishers, your city/state, and you should be all set

  18. Michael Tallarico

    posted on December 9th, 2011 at 7:31 pm

    I have a 35 inch television in good working condition. Does anyone know who will pick it up free?

  19. Mary Duffy

    posted on January 4th, 2012 at 7:13 pm

    I have a lithium 10-year battery smoke detector; where can I get rid of it?

  20. Stephanie Wolfe

    posted on February 25th, 2012 at 4:33 pm

    I have two tvs that dont work. There arent any recycle centers in my area(IL, 62040) well from what I know & the searchs on this site & on WasteMangements site. What do I do? Where can I get rid of em?

  21. Leah Cook

    posted on February 25th, 2012 at 9:33 pm

    Put them out front. Im sure someone will pick then up

  22. Stephanie Wolfe

    posted on February 26th, 2012 at 8:37 pm

    I found out that Goodwill takes electronics & recycles them now I need a truck to drop this big thing off

  23. posted on February 26th, 2012 at 4:25 pm

    where can I dispose crt tv's in McHenry, IL area?

  24. posted on May 6th, 2012 at 9:48 pm

    have a dehumidifier - does not work. your site does not come up with anyone that will take it. Garbage company will not take it. EPA does not list anyone in area that takes it. Zip code 62951. Short of taking it apart and disposing of the parts in the garbage, where can I take it?

  25. Sarah Bright

    posted on May 7th, 2012 at 9:25 pm

    Can you tell me where to recycle styrofoam coolers (the blue one)? When I enter styrofoam in your search box it just returns pages and pages of listings of UPS stores, which only take the styrofoam peanuts (still useful to know). Thanks!

  26. James Harkness

    posted on May 17th, 2012 at 12:27 pm

    trying to find out if there's any harm to putting lots of old photos and negatives in the regular trash or is there a better way to dispose of them. I'm scanning and putting them on hard drives and truly have over 20 yrs of pictures I want to discard. any advice?

  27. Heather Rich Hart

    posted on May 22nd, 2012 at 7:41 pm

    I have a treadmill that is about $500 to repair..... so looking into where I can recycle it. Our local garbage pick up won't take......... what do I do?

  28. Monika Urbanowicz Seger

    posted on May 23rd, 2012 at 1:54 am

    Try posting on Craigslist. Someone handy might want it.

  29. Heather Rich Hart

    posted on May 23rd, 2012 at 2:39 am

    the only problem is that it needs a whole new motor and I only found a new motor for it from 1 place..... all the other places didn't have the motor anymore because it is over 10 years old.

  30. Susan Stewart

    posted on May 23rd, 2012 at 3:21 pm

    you could try freecycle or just putting it on the curb to see if someone picks it up.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.

38 Archived Comments

  1. Tina

    posted on March 18th, 2010 at 9:31 am

    I am trying to find a place where I can buy used or salvaged building materials.
    I am near Springfield Illinois if anyone knows a place like that.
    Thank you!

  2. Judee

    posted on March 29th, 2010 at 3:36 pm

    Looking for a resource to recycle both cell and cordless phones and their respective batteries in Chicago or Southwest Suburbs. Thanks!

  3. John

    posted on April 7th, 2010 at 12:56 pm

    Anybody have information of where a person can recycle or properly dispose of tires? I live in central Illinois Please help

  4. Pam

    posted on April 9th, 2010 at 10:18 am

    John,

    Most tire stores will take your tires to recycle. Call around before you go because some of them charge you a nominal fee for this service.

  5. Claudine

    posted on April 23rd, 2010 at 10:24 am

    Now that we convert our light bulbs to CFL, we have to get rid of our old regular light bulbs. Where do we recycle them?

  6. Karen

    posted on April 29th, 2010 at 12:27 pm

    Looking for the right way to dispose of old useless mattresses in the McLean County area. 2 twin size with springs poking through so useless.

  7. Mike

    posted on May 6th, 2010 at 12:56 am

    I am trying to find somewhere to take mixed automotive fluids. I have done a ton of work to my vehicles, and didnt know it but mixed the fluids, and didnt know it was a bad thing to do. Now i know, but I cant figure out where to take it! Thanks everyone!

  8. Sara

    posted on June 3rd, 2010 at 2:14 pm

    Is it possible to recycle kitchen knives? They’ve collected over the years.

  9. Maria Ortiz

    posted on June 5th, 2010 at 7:16 am

    Where do we recycle used car oil and old latex paints? It seems nowadays no one wants to recycle them…Can someone help?

  10. Sharon

    posted on June 10th, 2010 at 9:11 pm

    I am looking for a place to recycle old car tires, in and around the Chicagoland area. Please help.

  11. Allan Gdalman

    posted on June 12th, 2010 at 5:31 pm

    Looking for how dispose of Mercury. Can someone help?

  12. Gloria

    posted on June 21st, 2010 at 7:47 pm

    Trying to recycle 2 console tv’s.

  13. Donald Ostling

    posted on July 7th, 2010 at 8:16 pm

    Gloria Best buy will take in tv’s. call first they do have an ewaste program.

  14. Mary f

    posted on July 15th, 2010 at 9:04 am

    looking to find a place to properly dispose of microfilm and microfiche

  15. Kate

    posted on July 15th, 2010 at 10:39 am

    Pep boys will take automotive oil, Target now takes a variety of batteries along with Radioshak and Ikea.
    Does any know of a place I can take silicone baby nipples?

  16. Mary b

    posted on July 18th, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    I am looking for a place to recycle or properly dispose of a television and a lap top computer in northwest Illinois near Wisconsin boarder.
    Some Wal-marts will take automotive oil and filters.

  17. Geno

    posted on July 21st, 2010 at 12:28 pm

    Unless there’s monetary or personal benefit, our Illinois government isn’t interested in providing a solution to your recycling requests.

    I have been chasing my tail with them for over 10 years now trying to expand their horizon on different recycling catagories. It appears that our Illinois government is too overwhelmed with other issues to be helping those who are trying to do their part.

  18. Red

    posted on July 25th, 2010 at 5:30 pm

    goto: http://www.illinoisrecycles.org/byteback_text.html

    I found this web-site in about one minute after reading these posts. I’m not sure if this is actually a state of Illinois governmental program, but whatever; it beats a sharp stick in the eye and a swift kick in the rear.

    Check it out…

  19. Mark

    posted on July 31st, 2010 at 9:01 am

    Looking for a place to recycle a styrofoam cooler in the Chicago Southwest Suburbs.

  20. Rebecca

    posted on August 12th, 2010 at 8:48 am

    Looking for a place to recycle driveway sealer. It is being stored in buckets right now. I live in Orland Park, IL

  21. Gerry

    posted on August 29th, 2010 at 9:12 am

    I recently bought a Coleman stove that uses the propane canister. The canisters talked about recycling the canisters but I can’t find any centers to takes the spent canisters. HELP! they’re piling up!

  22. Nancy

    posted on August 31st, 2010 at 8:10 am

    I have a set of land-line phones that don’t work and am wondering where I can bring them to recycle them.

  23. John

    posted on September 15th, 2010 at 11:48 am

    I just dropped off my old window air conditioner at the Best Buy on Elston Avenue for recycling. No problem. They even let you use one of their carts to bring it in.

  24. MTC

    posted on September 21st, 2010 at 5:56 am

    For the propane canisters, Behr Recycling accepts them. They have several locations in Illinois. http://www.jbehr.com/

  25. TONY CONKLIN

    posted on September 23rd, 2010 at 7:28 am

    I am looking for a place the recycles baled cardboard I am in wheeling il

  26. sandy

    posted on October 3rd, 2010 at 1:30 pm

    I live in Edwardsville….where can I recycle aa aaa hearing aid batteries?

  27. Ben

    posted on October 11th, 2010 at 5:56 pm

    Where can I recycle an above ground rubber swimming/’wading pool and cover?

  28. Anton

    posted on November 1st, 2010 at 11:53 am

    Hello for the city of Joliet,IL. do we have a location were railroad ties that have often been used to make a faux fence for a garden can be discarded?our local hauler cannot take these items.

  29. Dr.Ali

    posted on November 6th, 2010 at 7:58 am

    Dear Sir,

    Do you have any recycle center near Tamms,IL ,thank you.

  30. Eleanor

    posted on January 24th, 2011 at 2:22 pm

    We want to clear out 50 years of living in the same house. Where can I get rid of:
    paint cans with paint still in them; microwave, treadmill, well pump motors; land-line telephones, TV’s, a water softener, florescent light bulbs? HELP! I live in central Illinois

  31. Bernie

    posted on March 8th, 2011 at 1:57 pm

    how about old photographic film? Wolf Camera or Ritz Camera?

  32. Louise

    posted on March 13th, 2011 at 12:26 pm

    I would like to know how to get rid of some big pieces of styrofoam and cfl bulbs

  33. Carrie

    posted on April 10th, 2011 at 11:25 am

    Is anyone aware of how I can recycle my broken breadmaker? Best Buy doesn’t take them I found out. Thanks!

  34. carolyn

    posted on April 30th, 2011 at 8:57 am

    I need to remove my old 40 gallon water heater. I live in Greyslake, a nw suburb of Chicago

  35. Vicki

    posted on May 9th, 2011 at 7:23 am

    Have old empty oxygen tanks the issuing company will not take back – where can I dispose of it. Lombard Il

  36. Michael A. Madison

    posted on May 9th, 2011 at 1:19 pm

    Where can I recycle old garden hose?

  37. JGarner

    posted on May 18th, 2011 at 1:47 pm

    Does anyone know where I can recycle my 36 inch tube tv? Best Buy does not take tube tvs over 32 inches. Im in downtown Chicago.

  38. Barb

    posted on May 27th, 2011 at 3:03 pm

    I also am trying ot dispose of a large tube tv. I think there’s a place downtown according to this website that may take them. http://www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/streets/provdrs/san/svcs/house_chemical_electronicsdisposal.html

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