IL Eight-County Recycling Partnership A Success

An eight county recycling partnership in Illinois announced last week that more than one million pounds of electronics and paint have been collected, according to the Daily Review Atlas.

The three-year-old program makes sure all the donated electronics are recycled, reused or demanufactured. So far, more than 630,000 pounds of e-waste, and 356,000 pounds of paint has been collected.

The program was started to encourage the recycling of e-waste. By 2012, electronic items such as computers will be banned from Illinois landfills, and officials wanted people to get in the habit early. The paint drop-off was added as a “carrot,” according to Chad Braatz, solid waste coordinator for Warren, Mercer and McDonough counties.

Many residents have brought paint that had been sitting in their house for years. While oil-based paint cannot be used, latex paint is remixed and sold. A variety of colors, including eggshell, cream, cocoa mix brown, mauve and plum are available.

Use Earth911 to find locations to recycle your paint or electronics.

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