Electronics

Illinois law prohibits the following electronics from disposal at a landfill:

Televisions
Cable receivers
Satellite receivers
Video game consoles
Digital video disc players and recorders (DVDs, BluRay, etc.)
Small scale servers
Digital converter boxes (TiVo, Roku, etc.)
Videocassette recorders

Computers monitors
Computer equipment: laptops, notebooks, netbooks, tablets, desktop towers
Printers, scanners, and fax machines
Keyboards and mice
Portable digital music players


What should Rock Island County residents do with their electronics?
Old and non-functioning electronic materials, also known as e-waste, can be recycled through a special program at the Waste Commission of Scott County. RICWMA currently partners with the Waste Commission of Scott County to accept Rock Island County residents' e-waste materials year round and is FREE to all residents of Rock Island County.

E-Waste accepted at the Scott County Waste Commission:
Computers
Screens
Televisions
Cell phones
Printers
Cartridges
Copiers
Stereos

There are no disposal fees and no appointment is needed to take e-waste materials to the Waste Commission Electronics Recovery Center, which is located at 5650 Carey Avenue, Davenport, IA. Phone number: (563) 823-0119.

May-September Hours of Operation 
Monday: 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

October-April Hours of Operation
7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday-Friday

Open 8:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. year round the first Saturday of every month.

Why does this matter? What is the environmental impact of disposing electronics into the environment without any precaution?

Electronics are complex devices which are made of a wide variety of material constituents. Some of the components, such as lead, nickel, cadmium, and mercury, could pose risks to human health or the environment if mismanaged at their end-of-life. Proper disposal protects both the environment and local residents.

Electronic devices also contain valuable resources, such as precious metals, copper, and engineered plastics, that can be recovered and recycled. All of these materials require considerable energy to process and manufacture. By recycling e-waste, we reduce the environmental impacts of mining and manufacturing new materials. For example:

  • Recycling one million laptops saves the energy equivalent to the electricity used by 3,657 U.S. homes in a year. 
  • One metric ton of circuit boards can contain 40 to 800 times the amount of gold and 30 to 40 times the amount of copper mined out of one metric ton of ore in the US. 

By working together to properly dispose of and recycle e-waste, we can help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and pollution, save energy, and save resources by extracting fewer raw materials out of the earth.