Science & Nature
Got Hard-to-Recycle Stuff, Like Electronics? Take It to Cook County’s Trash Bash Fair
Electronic waste is pictured in a file photo. (Steve Allen Photo / iStock)
If there’s a drawback to spring cleaning, it would be the pile of cast-offs that lingers, like a hangover, long after the thrill of decluttering is gone.
What to do with all this stuff — especially the stuff that could be recycled somehow or donated somewhere — without turning its disposal into a full-time job?
Take it to Trash Bash, an annual event hosted by the Forest Preserve District of Cook County.
Trash Bash runs from 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, at Miller Meadow-South, near Forest Park, and it’s as close as most Chicagoans are likely to get to a one-stop shop for hard-to-recycle items, including electronics.
Participating agencies and nonprofits include the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, Habitat for Humanity, Working Bikes, Terracycle and SCARCE. Midway Document Destruction will provide on-site shredding services.
Among the items being accepted for recycling, donation or proper disposal (here's the complete list):
— unwanted or expired prescription drugs
— electronics including laptops, computer monitors, TVs (limit one per household) and printers
— car batteries
— tools
— artwork
— new or unused building materials
— working small appliances
— textiles
— adult bikes in repairable condition, gently used children’s bikes, bike parts and tools, and bike accessories
— plastic shopping and grocery bags
— lightbulbs — intact only, no broken bulbs
— batteries
— office supplies such as binder clips, desk organizers, markers and more
— books and vinyl records
— holiday lights
— musical instruments
— hearing aids and eyeglasses
A second Trash Bash event will be held April 26 at Dan Ryan Woods, and a third is scheduled for Sept. 27 at Bunker Hill.
Contact Patty Wetli: @pattywetli | (773) 509-5623 | [email protected]
