Recycling @ UIC
What & Where to Recycle
Click the appropriate letter to learn more on how to recycle a material.
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Aluminum Foil
Since aluminum is a highly desirable material, clean aluminum foil or food container may be placed in any UIC Recycling Bottles and Cans bin around campus.
Athletic Shoes
Nike has created a Reuse-A-Shoe program, visit the website for more details. Over 2,000,000 shoes have been recycled and transformed into basketball court surfaces in low-income urban areas and/or into fluff used in carpet pads. Sneakers of any brand name can be brought to Niketown in downtown:
Niketown Chicago
669 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611
(312) 642-6363
Batteries
Recycling will prevent the hazardous materials contained in the batteries, such as lead, mercury, and cadmium, from incineration or disposal in landfills.
On-Campus Resources
The on-campus program is meant to serve the UIC community and its activities. There are recycling costs associated with this program, so we ask that you minimize the number of batteries that you bring from home for disposal at UIC. If you are a continuous generator of large quantities of spent batteries not related to university activities, please review the off-campus resources.
For on-campus recycling, you may drop off your depleted batteries at the Micro/Station:
West Side Office and Service:
Chicago Illini Union Room B7A, 828 S Wolcott Ave.
Phone: (312) 996-7220 / Fax: (312) 413-9099
Store hours:
Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:30
For more information visit the website.
Separation of Batteries:
Please drop batteries into three separate buckets as required. Notice the signage on the collection containers:
- Alkaline
- Ni-Cd (nickel cadmium rechargeables)
- Almost all other battery types (see the exception below)
The only exclusion from the program is lead-acid batteries. Do not bring lead-acid batteries to the recycling station. If you have lead-acid batteries that are generated by UIC activities, call the Environmental Health and Safety Office at 413-CHEM (413-2436) for disposal instructions.
Off-Campus Resources
Household Hazardous Waste Collections
Will accept all kinds of batteries, including Alkaline, Button Cell, Lithium Ion, Ni-Cd, Ni-Iron, Ni-MH, Zinc Air, Zinc-Carbon, and Lead-Acid:
- City of Chicago Household Hazardous Waste Collections:
These happen twice a year at varying locations. You may call the Department of Streets and Sanitation at (312) 744-4611 for more information, or click on the Illinois EPA link below.
- The City of Naperville's Permanent HHW Collection Facility
Naperville Fire Station Number Four
1971 Brookdale Road (off of Route 59, .75 mi south of I-88)
Contact: Naperville Fire Department (630) 420-6142
Hours: Saturday and Sunday, 9am - 3pm
Periodic one-day collections by the IEPA
Click on the link below for more information:
Illinois EPA Household Hazardous Waste Collections
Additional Battery Recycling Opportunities
Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) only:
- RBRC Helpline, 1-800-8-BATTERY. Sponsored by the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation, this helpline supplies a listing of the nearest locations that will accept Ni-Cd batteries for recycling. For more information, visit their website.
Button Cell only (various chemistries):
- Many shops that replace hearing aid and watch batteries will take old ones for recycling. Be sure to ask if they will be recycled.
Car battery or other lead-acid battery
There are many scrap metal dealers in the City of Chicago that accept lead-acid car batteries. See the Chicago Recycling Coalition’s website for a list of such dealers. Also, most automotive dealers who sell car batteries will allow you to drop off old car batteries for recycling. These can easily be found in any yellow pages directory.
CDs and Jewel Cases
The Micro/Station sends unwanted CDs and jewel cases to Alternative Plastic Services, an organization that grinds them down and sells the CDs and jewel cases as clean scrap. (The cardboard in the jewel cases can be recycled right here at UIC in any paper recycling bin.) Use interoffice mail or walk them in, the Micro/Station will pay for shipping. Send your CDs and jewel cases to:
Tom Kirke
The Micro/Station
Chicago Illini Union Room B7A (M/C 579)
828 S Wolcott Ave, Chicago, IL 60612
Phone: (312) 996-7220 / Fax: (312) 413-9099
Store hours: Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:30
For more information visit the website.
Alternatively, you can send them directly to:
Alternative Plastic Services
c/o DADC Recycling Program
Attn: Joe Parks (812) 462-8323
200 Brown St.
Lawrenceburg, IN 47027
In this case, you pay for shipping.
Please note that Micro/Station no longer accepts 3.5" diskettes for reuse or recycling.
Clothing
Winter Clothes Needed at UICH Emergency Department
UIC Hospital's Emergency Department keeps an unofficial repository of clothing items for patients who need them. The biggest need is for adult males; children's clothing is not needed. During these winter months, they welcome coats, heavy pants or jeans, sweaters or sweat shirts, underwear and socks, gloves, good outdoor shoes, and other warm clothing. Bring your donations to the main Emergency entrance under the el tracks off of Taylor Street, at the east end of the Hospital just west of Paulina. Speak to the charge nurse at the main desk. You can call 996-5815 for more information.
In addition, campus organizations occasionally sponsor clothing drives, which offer a convenient opportunity to reuse unwanted items. Watch for online notices or announcements in the campus papers.
Computers and other Electronic Equipment
On-Campus Resources
Please note that any equipment belonging to the university must be disposed of in accordance with the Office of Business and Financial Services’ Policies and Procedures Manual. Additional information about the disposal of equipment as scrap or surplus can be found within the training and job aids. Questions may be directed to the Property Accounting & Reporting Office at obfsuafrproperty@uillinois.edu or 312-996-2858.
For personal equipment, please refer to the off-campus section below.
Off-Campus Resources
A number of reuse and recycling options exist for your home computer. Although landfilling computers is still legal in Illinois, computer waste contains a number of hazardous materials, including arsenic, mercury, and also several pounds of lead in every monitor. For the full breakdown, visit Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition's website.
Reuse Options
Of course, the most environmentally responsible action you can take is to delay replacing it and instead extend its useful life through upgrading its memory and storage space. Once those options are exhausted, try donating the computer, rather than having it recycled. Below you will find information about two local organizations that accept used computers and refurbish them for further use:
Computers for Schools.
This non-profit organization in Chicago accepts private and corporate computer donations, refurbishes the equipment, and makes them available to schools and other nonprofits, both in the city and the suburbs. Free pickup of 10 computers or more. Computers are refurbished on-site, and unusable equipment is recycled. Looking for Pentium 1 PC's or better and all types of accessory equipment. 3053 N. Knox Ave. Chicago, IL. 60641. Visit their website, or call 773-583-7575.
Assistive Technology Exchange Network (ATEN) – Chicago
This is a program of United Cerebral Palsy Association, where computers are refurbished and then sent to schools throughout Illinois to help children with disabilities. They handle about 3,600 computers a year, refurbishing computers on-site and recycling the unusable components. Free pickup of 4 computers or more. Looking for Pentium and above, Mac Power PC and up, hard drives, cdrom, adaptive equipment, educational software, color VGA monitors and up. 7550 W. 183rd St., Tinley Park, IL 60477. Visit their website, or call 708-444-2836.
Other reuse options include resale shops, such as the Brown Elephant (773-549-5943) and the Salvation Army (773-477-1300). However, these and other resale organizations do not have the same capabilities for refurbishing or distribution as Computers for Schools or ATEN.
Recycling Options
If the computer doesn't warrant re-use, then recycling is the next option. Here are several possibilities.
- Recycling Drop-Off Centers
- The City of Chicago has a drop-off location for computers (and household chemicals), visit the Dispose Household Chemicals & Electronics website for hours and information on the kind of waste they accept. The facility is located at 1150 N. North Branch Street (two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street)
- Electronics/Household Hazardous Waste Collections
- Electronics collection days are held several times a year by the City of Chicago and throughout the suburbs in conjunction with the Illinois EPA, often along with household hazardous waste collections. Computers and other electronic equipment can be dropped off free of charge, but electronics from commercial sources are not accepted. To find dates and locations for electronics/HHW collections in the Chicago area, visit the website, or call the Illinois EPA Waste Reduction Unit at (217) 785-8604, or the City of Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation at (312) 744-4611.
- United Recycling Industries
- Accepts old computers for free if you deliver to them. They are located in West Chicago, and only accept drop-offs M-W-F. Call them at 1-800-270-8220 for directions. Or you can call them for a UPS label to mail in your computer equipment for $27.99 a box load. For more information, visit their website.
Computer Take-Back
Several major computer manufacturers also offer recycling opportunities, where you mail them your no-longer-wanted components. See their websites, listed below, for details.
- Apple
- Recycles Ipods and any cell phones for free. Purchase any qualifying Apple computer or display and receive free recycling of your old computer and monitor, regardless of manufacturer.
- Dell
- Recycles unwanted any Dell-branded Product for free. Similar to Apple, if you buy a new Dell desktop or notebook and select the free recycling option at the time of purchase, they will recycle your old PC and monitor at no cost to you (even if it isn't a Dell-branded Product).
- Hewlett-Packard
- HP will recycle your old hardware for a fee, but will reward a coupon for at least the shipping cost.
More information on electronic equipment disposal at UIC
The University of Illinois complies with state law, which requires elimination of electronic data from scrapped items and environmentally sound disposition practices. As such, the University disposes of electronic scrap equipment through State of Illinois contracted service providers to ensure recycling of usable items and environmentally responsible disposition of unusable items.
Furniture and Office Surplus at UIC
Used, but useful, surplus equipment is available for redistribution at the Laflin Warehouse Building, 1515 W. Laflin St. The hours of operation are 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can call the warehouse staff at 996-2877. An ever changing inventory of computers, monitors, tables, chairs, desks, file cabinets, and shelving is available for transfer to university departments/units. This equipment cannot be redirected for personal use but must be used solely for university business. (Note: the campus shuttle bus does not go by the warehouse. Parking is available on Laflin Street by the front door.
Furniture available for redistribution has a yellow tag attached. If you want to claim a piece of equipment, ask the warehouse staff for a “blue” tag, complete the information and affix it to the equipment you want. You then have two weeks to make arrangements to transfer the equipment from the Laflin Warehouse to your departmental facility. The transfer process begins by going to the OBFS website to find the form, “Interdepartmental Transfer of Equipment”. Complete the form and submit it to the Property Accounting Office by emailing it to obfsuafrproperty@uillinois.edu. Property Accounting will review the transfer and direct you to contact the FM transportation for a work order to schedule the pick-up and delivery of the equipment to your facility.
To dispose of unwanted furniture or equipment, also go to the OBFS website. You will find the “Request to Dispose of Equipment as Scrap or Surplus” form. Complete and submit the form to obfsuafrproperty@uillinois.edu. The Property Accounting Office will review the form for completeness and return it to you. You are to contact Facilities Management Transportation to schedule a pick-up of the items for delivery to the warehouse if usable (surplus). Equipment no longer usable (scrap) will be properly disposed in accordance with campus policy.
You can also call the UIC Property Accounting Office at 996-2858 for more information about the process for redistribution or disposal of university equipment. However, please don’t call them for descriptions of available furniture; you need to visit the warehouse yourself to look over the inventory.
Household Hazardous Waste
Household hazardous waste (HHW) includes materials such as oil-based paints, strippers and thinners, pesticides and herbicides, automotive fluids, mercury thermometers, batteries, fluorescent light bulbs, drain cleaners, aerosols, and antifreeze. (Note that latex paint is not considered a hazardous waste.)
Of course, the best strategy is to create less of this waste in the first place, by purchasing the right quantity or finding benign alternatives for a job. However, you are still likely to have some of these waste products around and need to dispose of them properly. They should not be put into the regular trash; instead, they need to be stored and then taken to a special HHW collection.
The City of Chicago has a drop-off location for computers (and household chemicals), visit the Dispose Household Chemicals & Electronics website for hours and information on the kind of waste they accept. The facility is located at 1150 N. North Branch Street (two blocks east of the Kennedy Expressway at Division Street).
In addition, City of Chicago and the suburbs also arrange annual collections, often combined with electronics waste collections. Each municipality or county coordinates the events with the Illinois EPA. There is no charge to individuals dropping off HHW, but waste from commercial or industrial sources is not accepted. You can find more information and the upcoming collection dates at the Illinois EPA website, or call the Illinois EPA Waste Reduction Unit at (217) 785-8604 for more information.
Inkjet Cartridges
Please visit the Micro/Station to participate in the mail-in InkJet recycling program. Just pick up a plastic mailer at a display and drop in the mail.
Micro/Station:
West Side Office:
Chicago Illini Union Room B7A 828 S Wolcott Ave.
Phone: (312) 996-7220 / Fax: (312) 413-9099
Store hours:
Monday through Friday, 8:00 to 5:30
For more information visit the website.
Junk Mail (Direct Marketing)
Instead of just recycling what you receive, why not take a more proactive approach in reducing the staggering amount of paper wasted on unsolicited junk mail? Simply writing "refused" on the mail envelope is not enough, instead, register with the Direct Marketing Association's Mail Preference Services. They can also remove you from many mailing, telemarketing, and e-mail lists. You can register for free online, or in writing by a mail-in registration form (this will cost you $1).
Office Supplies, etc.
Creative Reuse Warehouse
The Resource Center, the non-profit environmental organization that manages the Creative Reuse Warehouse, has been recycling in Chicago for over 20 years, and helps reducing the amount of waste going into landfills, while teaching reuse as an important component of waste reduction
The Creative Reuse Warehouse is an innovative reuse program, which diverts reusable scrap and waste material from industry and business and redistributes it to artists, teachers and anyone who likes to make crafts or artwork. The materials can help you create imaginative projects without breaking your budget.
Donations are welcome. Needed are: depreciated, excess or surplus goods, equipment, remnants, seconds, samples, leftovers, and reusable materials. There is no minimum or maximum donation size. Because the warehouse is part of a non-profit organization, all donations are tax deductible. At the warehouse you might find textiles, paper, foam core, cardboard, ribbon, tile, wood, wire, or office supplies. The cost is $4.00 per grocery bag full. They have bags available on site. Specialty items are individually priced.
For hours and more information, use the contact information below.
The Creative Reuse Warehouse
222 E. 135th Place
Chicago, IL 60627
(773) 821-1351
Plastic Bags
The best way to avoid plastic bags is to never acquire them in the first place. Bring your own fabric bags, it will be much easier to carry and you won’t end up with a large stock of plastic bags under your sink! Some stores even offer a small gratuity or a raffle ticket for customers who bring in their own bags. Most stores carry their own fabric bags, more generic versions can be found at websites such as reuseablebags.com.
The UIC Library Circulation Desk reuses clean plastic bags from grocery stores and bookstores. Patrons use them to protect their books from the weather. Please donate these bags at the Circulation Desks of either the Richard J. Daley Library, located at 801 S. Morgan, or the Library of the Health Sciences, located at 1750 W. Polk St.
Many grocery and convenience stores now accept plastic bags for recycling, including Jewel, CVS, and Whole Foods.
Plastics
At UIC, you can recycle bottle-shaped plastics of any type, as long as it has a plastics recycling number. Currently we cannot accept any odd-shaped plastics, such as food trays or cups, independently of plastics recycling number.
The City of Chicago’s Blue Cart program accepts any shape of plastic 1-5, and 7. For more information on the plastic numbers, or resins, which is the proper term, check out the Container Recycling Institute’s website.
Styrofoam
Styrofoam peanuts can be taken to your nearest UPS store or similar mail shop. These stores are usually happy to take the donation. If you have an especially large amount, you may want to call ahead to find out how much they are prepared to take.
Another possibility to look into is producer responsibility. In other words, if a computer company or any other company chooses to pack its products in styrofoam, then it should have some mechanism to take back the waste this packaging creates. Of course it's true in some cases that using styrofoam may be hard to avoid, but that doesn't absolve the responsibility. It would be the ideal reuse situation if the company could back-haul the material and use the same pieces several times before using any resources to recycle it.
Toner Cartridges
Each year, American households and businesses consume and throw away over 243 million laser and inkjet printer cartridges. These cartridges contribute over 200 million pounds of solid waste to our nation's landfills. These cartridges are still valuable after use. Over $550 million dollars worth of cartridges are being thrown away each year!
It doesn’t have to be that way. Consumers have a choice both when disposing of old and when buying new cartridges. Some companies recycle used cartridges, some companies sell remanufactured cartridges for less than the original, and some even pay for spent cartridges or offer discounts on the purchase of remanufactured ones! Opportunities abound, and by taking advantage of them, you can help conserve landfill space, energy, and natural resources, and perhaps save a little money along the way!
On-Campus Resources
- Micro/Station
- The Micro/Station (located at 230 CIU) is a recycling drop-off point for inkjet and laser toner cartridges. For inkjet, just pick up a plastic mailer and drop in the mail. For laser, either drop-off or request a collection box for large quantities. Call (312) 996-7220 for more info.
- Purchasing Options
- OEM: OEM stands for "Original Equipment Manufacturer." These are cartridges made or sold by major printer manufacturers such as HP, Canon or Lexmark. These sometimes contain recycled parts, but are considered new. OEM's are the most expensive cartridges available for your machine.
Compatible: These cartridges are basically the generic equivalents to OEM cartridges. They cost less than OEM and may or may not contain some recycled parts.
Remanufactured/Refurbished: These are compatible cartridges that meet OEM specifications. They are built using new replacement parts in combination with durable non-wearing parts harvested from recycled cartridges, and they can cost up to 40 percent less than OEM's. In most cases, the outside casing and a small number of internal parts are reused. Other parts are disposed of in an environmentally safe manner. This process ensures that the refurbished or remanufactured cartridge will perform as well as an OEM cartridge. These are not to be confused with refilled cartridges, which are not recommended because the cartridge has only been refilled with ink or toner and no parts have been updated or repaired. To be sure of what you are getting, always request a written warranty from any company selling cartridges.
Off-Campus Resources
Educational Technology and Conservation Exchange Program
ETCEP is a charity program and an opportunity to connect community, education, and environment. After partnering with a local school, a department recycles used toner cartridges, shipping through UPS. ETCEP tallies the number returned as points the school may use toward the purchase of varied technological equipment. Previously remanufactured cartridges are not accepted. For more information, check out www.etcep.com or call 1-888-88-ETCEP (1-888-883-8237).
Company Return Programs
| Manufacturer | Program Information |
|---|---|
| Canon | For information on recycling Canon toner cartridges through UPS return service, visit the Canon environmental website. |
| Hewlett-Packard | For information on recycling HP toner cartridges through UPS return service, visit the Hewlett-Packard website. |
| Lexmark | For information on recycling Lexmark toner cartridges, visit the Lexmark Cartridge Collection Program website, or call the toll free number 1-800-LEXMARK (1-800-539-6275), ext. 108. |
| Xerox | For information on recycling Xerox toner cartridges, visit the Xerox Supplies Recycling Program website, or call 1-800-828-6571 |