Counties FAQ

Will the county have to absorb any costs? 

This depends on if the county acts as a collector. Counties that hire a third party to collect CEDs will likely have to absorb the third party’s costs. These expenses may be covered or minimized by the fees that collectors can charge for accepting televisions and monitors.

Counties that serve as collectors are primarily responsible for staffing, equipment (forklift, forklift operator, pallet jack, etc.), and advertising. Under these circumstances, electronics manufacturers provide the county packaging and shipment materials, bulk transportation, and recycling of collected CEDs. The county may be assessed a prorated transportation fee if loads of transported CEDs do not average 18,000 pounds.

Counties can keep costs low by working with local departments to staff sites or events. Contact your ILCSWMA Regional Representative to see if they have any other ideas that have worked in the past.

• ILCSWMA Northern Region Representative – Pete Adrian – padrian@swalco.org or 847-377-4952
• ILCSWMA Central Region Representative – Chad Braatz – chad.braatz@cityofmonmouth.com or 309-255-5075
• ILCSWMA Southern Region Representative – Andi Yancey – anyancey@co.madison.il.us or 618-296-4616

What is the Illinois Electronics Recycling Program?

The Consumer Electronics Recycling Act (CERA) establishes a statewide system for recycling and/or reusing a specific set of electronic devices (CEDs) from Illinois residences. CERA requires CED manufacturers to financially support the recycling of collected CEDs.

What is the county responsible for if it opts-in to the program? 

Participating counties are awarded a certain number of sites based upon population density, this is broken down below. The county will work with the manufacturer electronics recycling program contact to determine the specific collection sites or events for the upcoming program year. Section 1-45 of CERA outlines the additional responsibilities for counties that operate their own collection sites.

*One site is equivalent to four-one-day events

Note: Municipality with over 1,000,000 residents receives 10 additional sites (located in that municipality)

What is the benefit for a county to participate in the Illinois Electronics Recycling Program?

The Illinois Electronics Recycling Program provides residents of participating counties an environmentally safe outlet for their unwanted CEDs and helps prevent open dumping of electronics.

What does a county need to do to participate in the next program year?

Submit a completed Opt-In Form to the Illinois EPA and the designated manufacturer representative by March 1 of the preceding program year. The Opt-In Form should include a list of proposed collection locations that are likely to be available to support an electronics recycling site or event during the next program year.

What can a county expect after opting-in? 

Participating counties should be contacted by a manufacturer program contact after opting-in to the Illinois electronics recycling program. The manufacturer program contact will work with participating counties to identify the collection sites or events that will be listed in the manufacturer program plan and connect the counties with assigned recyclers. These contacts should take place before July 1, when the manufacturer program plan is due to the Illinois EPA.

What are the covered electronic devices that manufacturers are responsible for recycling?

CED Peripherals, Computers, Computer Monitors, Televisions, Printers, Fax Machines, Scanners, DVD Players, DVD Recorders, VCRs, Video Game Consoles, Digital Converter Boxes,  Cable Receivers, Satellite Receivers, Electronic Keyboards, Electronic Mice, Small-Scale Servers, Portable Digital Music Players (Memory Capability & Battery Powered), Home Audio Components

What are the benefits and limitations of selecting collection sites or one-day collection events?

What about the electronic devices that the manufacturers do not have to recycle? 

Individual collectors may decide to accept non-CEDs, such as cell phones, microwaves, and other common household devices that have an electronic component. Collectors must separate any accepted non-CEDs from the collected CEDs before those items are removed from the collection site. Collectors may be charged a fee by their recycler to cover the cost of recycling non-CEDs.