On Saturday, April 30th, the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County will once again co-sponsor the county-wide Earth Day celebration with the McHenry County Conservation District from 11 am–4 pm at MCCD’s Prairieview Education Center, 2112 Behan Road, Crystal Lake.
A regular service by the Defenders at this annual event is offering the opportunity for people to bring in hard-to-recycle items. With the help of their partners - Computer Recycling Center and Ken Santowski of Chicago Logistic Services – the Defenders will accept athletic shoes, electronics, white Styrofoam™ block, packing peanuts, re-useable bubble wrap, fluorescent tubes, and household batteries. A donation is requested to offset the cost of recycling computer monitors, televisions, and fluorescent tubes. For questions on what electronics will be accepted check the web site www.computerrecyclingcenter.net or call the Defender's office at 815-338-0393.
The Defenders are still amazed at the amount of materials brought in to drives like this. They are proud of the efforts made to keep certain materials out of the waste stream. Volunteers at the last Woodstock recycling drive saw it as one of busiest days they can remember. At times there were 8 cars lined up waiting to drop off electronics, Styrofoam™, fluorescent tubes or batteries. Despite the wait to be unloaded, all the folks bringing recyclables were patient, helpful and generously donated to help defray costs. One of the Defender volunteers thought it must be that everyone was doing “spring cleaning” considering the warm nice day.
When that collection closed at noon, the workers were left trying to figure out how to jam all the materials into the box truck and Defender trailer. The combination of large old televisions and big chunks of block Styrofoam filled up every space possible. Long-time recycling coordinator Dwight Dalton said he had never had a day like that before. One thousand forty seven pounds of car batteries were collected and sold at market. Fluorescent tubes that were collected were taken to Fluorecycle, Inc. in Ingleside where mercury gas is safely removed. The Styrofoam is shipped to a company that chemically makes hard plastic “silverware” type objects. The electronics are stored until a full load can be taken to Ecotronics in Carol Stream for recycling.
The Defenders’ recycling team is looking forward to doing it again at the Earth Day Celebration! That's tomorrow!
The Environmental Defenders of McHenry County are a 41-year-old not-for-profit citizen organization dedicated to the preservation and improvement of the environment. Recycling activities began almost from the organization's inception, because it seemed (and still does) to be the best way to handle the solid waste problem. It also served as a source of funds for the group’s educational activities.
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