Recycling Resource Guide
For Households and Businesses

This guide provides information about how to recycle various items in the Wilmette area most efficiently. The easiest way to get rid of most things is through our regular curbside pick up program in Wilmette (see Wilmette.com for more information). Recycling bins and lids can be purchased at Village Hall for $5 and $3. Remember: aerosol cans, used car batteries and used motor oil (placed in clear plastic container) are part of the curbside pickup program. Plastic labeled #6 are now being recycled in the Wilmette program but this includes only Styrofoam cups and plastic clamshell food containers. Plastic bags and paint are not part of the regular pick up program. See inside for ideas for recycling these and many other items – locally! Visit gogreenwilmette.org for more information about GGW and our scheduled recycling events.

Appliances
Goodwill (708-442-3606 or 847-566-0636) or Salvation Army (773-477-1300) accept working appliances. Or contact the Steel Recycling Institute (800-YES-1-CAN, www.recycle-steel.org) or C&R Scrap Iron & Metal (773-585-3030) to recycle them.

When purchasing a new appliance from Abt (1200 Milwaukee Avenue, Glenview, 847-967-8830), they will remove and recycle old appliances for a small fee.

Athletic shoes (No dress shoes, boots or sandals)
SWANCC conducts an athletic shoe collection each spring. See swancc.org or call 847-724-9205 for drop off schedule.

Sports Authority accepts up to 10 pairs at the following local outlets:

Nike’s Reuse-a-Shoe program turns old shoes into playground and athletic flooring (www.nikereuseashoe.com).

One World Running will send still-wearable shoes to athletes in need in Africa, Latin America and Haiti (www.oneworldrunning.com).

Batteries
Millen’s Hardware at 1219 Wilmette Ave (847-251-3060) will recycle single use batteries and rechargeable batteries for free when you purchase new batteries.

All Walgreen’s stores in Chicago and the 900 Dodge Ave. store in Evanston will accept single use and rechargeable batteries for no charge. The Wilmette Walgreen’s does not accept batteries at this time.

The Recyclery (735 Reba Place, Evanston, 847-424-1419) is a non-profit organization that seeks to build community through restoration of donated and discarded bicycles. They also give kids an opportunity to learn bicycle maintenance and to save toward their own bike doing this.

Wilmette Bicycle and Sport Shop (605 Green Bay Road, 847-251-1404) will accept used bicycles and provide a discount towards a new bicycle. They also sell used bikes.

CDs
To repair damaged CDs, DVDs and Playstation or Nintendo video game disks, contact AuralTech (888-454-3223 or www.auraltech.com) for refinishing, and they’ll work like new. Also see Miscellaneous Technotrash below.

Game Stop will buy used games and give credit towards another purchase:

Cardboard Boxes
If your workplace collects at least 100 good quality cardboard boxes each month, contact UsedCardBoardBoxes.com and they will arrange to pick them up at no cost and will resell them.

Catalogs
To reduce the number of catalogs you receive (and to be kind to your mailman!), go to catalogchoice.org to request that your name be removed from the mass catalog mailing lists. The online process takes about 20 minutes to complete. You must repeat it about once a year to stay off the lists.

Clothes
Wearable clothes may be donated to Goodwill (708-442-3606 or 847-566-0636) or Salvation Army (773-477-1300).

Wearable children’s clothes and toys may be traded to Bearly Used at 401 Linden near the Linden L station (847-256-8700).

Wearable women’s business clothing may be donated to Dress for Success (212-532-1922 or www.dressforsuccess.org), which gives them to low-income women as they search for jobs.

Composting/Organic Waste Disposal
See wilmette.com for information about composting in the Village of Wilmette. To purchase composting equipment and a wide variety of other ecologically sound products, visit the Ecofriendly Marketplace at swancc.org.

Computers for Schools (pcsforschools.org) accepts all types of computers for use by schools.

Midwest Computer Recycling in Lake Bluff (101 W. Skokie Valley Hwy in Lake Bluff, 847-582-1730 or ez2recycle.com) accepts any electronics with a computer chip. This includes computers, scanners, printers, monitors, mice, keyboards, cables and accessories. It does not include TVs, unless they are in working order. Computer hard drives are carefully erased for a $10 fee using WipeDrive PRO before recycling a computer’s components.

Staples (1509 Waukegan Rd in Glenview and 4825 Golf in Skokie) recycles monitors computers, keyboards, speakers and laptops.

The Wilmette Post Office now has prepaid envelopes for mailing small electronics (like cell phones and MP3 players) for recycling.  Just put the stuff in the envelope, and drop it in a mailbox!

SWANCC (swancc.org) has occasional free drop off days. Or, to schedule a $25 individual household or business pick-up, call 847-724-9205 ext 9. Acceptable materials include personal computers, monitors, CPUs, printers, scanners, fax machines, electric typewriters, answering machines, shredders, postage machines, TVs (maximum 27”), VHS/DVD players, radios, stereo equipment, microwaves, cell phones and calculators. A maximum of 6 items per pick-up is allowed, not counting cell phones and calculators.

Falcon Group (773-807-7604), a local green construction company, will pick up your construction and remodeling disposables or advise you of their recycling contacts for various products.

Document Destruction
Go to swancc.org and visit the RECYCLING tab to look up the complete schedule of document destruction events planned for all of the SWANCC member communities.

To find an on site document destruction company for home or business, visit the National Association for Information Destruction (naidonline.com) or go to ecoshred.com for general information about this industry.

Eyeglasses
The Wilmette Recreation Center has an eyeglass collection box for Hadley School for the Blind at the front desk. Pearle Vision at 9240 Skokie Blvd in Skokie (847-673-3500) also accepts used eyewear.

Exercise Videos
Swap your old videos and DVDs with others at www.videofitness.com.

Foam Packing Peanuts
Most UPS Stores will accept used packing peanuts and clean bubble wrap for reuse. There are three convenient locations:

Hazardous Chemical Waste
Contact SWANCC at 847-724-9205 (swancc.org) for the list of upcoming local collections or go to www.epa.state.il.us.

Holiday Lights
You can mail in your old energy-inefficient holiday light strings to receive a 15% off coupon for LED light purchases. Go to holidayled.com or environmentallights.com.

Ice Skating Rink Tarps (e.g. used for lining home-made ice skating rinks)
Local construction company Witt Brothers (847-251-4250) will recycle tarps for use at their construction sites.

Most Wilmette school lobbies have recycling bins for ink cartridges. The cartridge deposit fees are collected by the school and used for school programs.

The following local office supply stores accept cartridges for a discount:

Light Bulbs - CFL and Fluorescent
Compact fluorescent light bulbs or standard fluorescent bulbs can be dropped off on the second Tuesday each month in the Health Department at the Wilmette Village Hall between the hours of 7:30 AM and 4:30 PM. This is a monitored drop off to ensure safe handling. For information about upcoming Tuesday dates, call Diane Bader at 847-853-7507 or visit wilmette.com. They also accept unused prescription and OTC drugs and sharps.

You may also drop off used bulbs at Millen Hardware, 1219 Wilmette Ave., 847-251-3060. They will recycle them for $.80 if you just drop them off or for free if you buy the same number of bulbs you drop off.

For your information, CFLs contain a trace amount of mercury—about 4 mg on average. For comparison, a mercury thermometer contains about 500 mg. There is no release of mercury at any time unless the bulb breaks. If a CFL does break in your home, clean-up instructions are available at the USEPA’s website http://www.energystar.gov/.

Light Fixtures
The Bellows Shoppe (847-446-5533) at 148 Gage St. in Winnetka and Urban Totem at 1937 Central St. in Evanston will sell used high end fixtures on consignment. Call for more information.

Miscellaneous Technotrash
For $30, GreenDisk (800-305-GREENDISK or www.greendisk.com) will send you a cardboard box in which you can ship them up to 70 pounds of any of the following: CDs, jewel cases, DVDs, audio and video tapes, cell phones, pagers, rechargeable and single-use batteries, PDAs, ink/toner cartridges. The fee covers the box and shipping and recycling fees.

Paint
Latex paint, or water based paints, can be placed in your own trash receptacles after drying out the remaining product using kitty litter or shredded paper. Dry out empty cans in an open area and place in trash bins. Contact SWANCC at 847-724-9205 (swancc.org) for local drop off locations and dates for other kinds of paint and hazardous chemical waste.

Millen Hardware (1219 Wilmette Ave.,847-251-3060) accepts old paint. You can combine leftover paint and deliver it to Millen for a minimal fee.

Phones
The following local stores collect cell phones:

Motorola allows you to earn money for you company, school or organization by mailing in cell phones (888-390-6866 or www.motorola.com/racetorecycle)

Wireless Foundation has a program called Call to Protect (888-901-SAFE or www.calltoprotect.org) in which they reprogram used cell phones to dial 911 and give them to domestic violence victims. Visit www.donateaphone.com for collection point in the area. Tax receipts are available.

Plastic Bags
Place a recycling bag in your pantry or below your sink for plastics recycling. Drop off the contents every few weeks at any Jewel or Dominicks Food Store or at Wilmette Tailors and Cleaners at 819 Ridge Rd (847-251-2433). Any clean clear or opaque plastic bags can be recycled, including cleaners bags, clean grocery bags, clean sandwich bags or storage bags.

Propane Tanks
Millen Hardware (and many other outlets) will exchange propane tanks when you need a refill. If you have a propane tank to get rid of, Millen’s will recycle it. If the top handle is triangular, they recycle for free. If the top handle is the older round type, they charge $5 to recycle it. Millen’s is located at 1219 Wilmette Avenue and can be reached at 847-251-3060.

Scrap Metal
If you have a large item that is made of steel, try putting it out at your curb for a few days for the scrap metal collectors who troll the neighborhoods regularly. You can also try leaving out large items of furniture for salvage companies to collect at no charge. Or contact one of the following for pick up:

Sharps
Sharps are collected Monday through Friday in the Health Department at the Wilmette Village Hall. Sharps products must be placed in a biohazard container or in a capped liquid detergent bottle sealed with duct tape. The sealed full container may be dropped off from 7:30 AM – 4:30 PM at the Health Department or at Fire Station #1, 1304 Lake Ave. If you have questions regarding the Wilmette sharps collection program, call Diane Bader at 847-853-7507. They also collect CFL and fluorescent bulbs and unused prescription and OTC drugs on the second Tuesday each month. Call for dates or go to the village website at wilmette.com.

Sports Equipment
Resell or trade in your used equipment at Play It Again Sports. Equipment must be clean and in good condition. They will even pick up from your home.

Tarps (e.g. used to line home ice skating rinks)
Local construction company Witt Brothers (847-251-4250) will recycle tarps for use at their construction sites.

Tires
Inquire at your local service station about dropping off tires. Most service stations schedule pick ups of worn tires to be used for playground surfaces.

Tyvek Envelopes
For quantities less than 25, send to Shirley Cimburke, Tyvek Recycling Specialist, 5401 Jefferson Davis Hwy, Spot 197, Room 231, Richmond, VA 23234. For quantities larger than 25, call 866-33-TYVEK.

TVs
For disposal of working TVs, donate to Salvation Army (773-477-1300) or Goodwill (708-442-3603 or 847-566-0636).

For non-working TVs, there are several options. SWANCC (swancc.org) accepts TVS under 27” and will pick them up along with other electronics for a $25 fee.

Abt (1200 Milwaukee Avenue in Glenview, 847-967-8830) accepts items for recycling whether they were purchased at Abt or not. Recyclables are accepted in the loading dock area from Thursday – Saturday 2 – 7 PM. There is a $5 fee for computers, FAX machines and DVDs, a $10 fee for TVs under 32”, a $30 fee for TVs over 32”, a $29 fee for refrigerators and a $15 fee for air conditioners. All SONY products are free of charge. All items are recycled responsibly.

Also, you may visit takebackmyTV.com for a list of manufacturers and retailers that will recycle TVs.

Additional Recycling Resources

To join the free local Wilmette giveaway and recycling program, go to freecycle.org and join the Wilmette user group. You will receive notification of items that people are giving away in Wilmette and be able to post your own giveaway items as well. It is a great way to give and get stuff free and keep stuff recycling locally.

Visit swancc.org for their Recycling resources online guide with many ideas for recycling in the broader metropolitan area.

Visit Wilmette.com for a detailed description of the village household recycling program.

This guide is updated periodically by Go Green Wilmette. If you have suggestions for updates, please email them to Anne Wieboldt at annew@gogreenwilmette.org or Margrit Kuehn at margritk@gogreenwilmette.org.