As many of you know, on January 1st a new law went into effect in Illinois – Public Act 97-0287 – Electronic Products Recycling & Reuse Act. My 30 second summary of the bill is that landfills are no longer allowed to take electronics, including laptops, cell phones, TVs, computers, printers, etc.
The reason behind the law is simple. According the US EPA, 438 million tons of new consumer electronics were sold in 2009, and only 25% of this weight is being recycled. Not only are our landfills getting filled up, but there are quite a bit of precious metals inside them. Gold, silver, and copper prices have been increasing year after year, and those are the more common metals found.
What this means to consumers and businesses is that when you have electronics to get rid of, you must recycle them.
There has been a number of places that consumers have been able to take their electronics for some time – a lot of towns have drop off points (including the Town of Normal), Habitat for Humanity Restore’s take them, Apple, Dell, and Best Buy have all been offering to take stuff for a while.
However, most businesses have been left out in the cold. The reality is that businesses all over have stuff in piles in their basements. In McLean County, a new company aims to change that. Bloomington-Normal Recycle Collection Center, Inc., (BNRCC) under the management of Mark Anderson is pretty new on the scene around town. They came in to sit down with Mavidea CEO Erik Barnlund and I last week and made a great impression on us.
The angle that is taking is that they will schedule an appointment, come to your office, pick up your electronics, and then pay you for the materials they take out. Yes, you read that right – BNRCC will pay you.
When I asked about it, Mark said it was because “there is value in those recycled goods, and it’s only fair I share that with my customers. It’s just good business.” We at Mavidea like that attitude!
BNRCC is certified with the Illinois EPA and will pick up most forms of electronics from businesses. Initially they are going to service the Bloomington-Normal and Peoria areas, but they have plans to provide pickup service in Champaign, Decatur, and Springfield as well. Their preferred method of scheduling a pickup is to call them at 309-433-6739. You can also email Mark at mark@bnrcc.com.
For a complete list of all certified recycling centers in Illinois, check out this list on the Illinois EPA webpage:
http://epadata.epa.state.il.us/land/eWaste/crr-list.asp
Jamie
