A handy guide to recycling after the holidays
Originally published January 12, 2017
The holidays are over, and the un-decorating is either underway or nearly finished. You may be left with an excess or abundance of items that you may not know how to dispose. Here are a few ideas to recycle, repurpose, or reuse some of the more vulnerable items.
Light string and extension cord recycling
You took down the tree — and the outside lights. Now, the lights and extension cords are in a tangled pile in the garage. Do they work? Are you going to reuse them next year? If not, (working or not) you may drop them at various village of Orland Park Holiday Light Recycling collection bins. Until February 12, you may drop the tangled mess at the Cultural Center, 14760 Park Lane; Recreation Administrative Offices, 14600 Ravinia Avenue; Sportsplex, 11351 W. 159th Street; or Village Hall, 14700 Ravinia Avenue.
Cellphones for Seniors
Did you receive a new cellphone for a holiday gift? If you did not turn in your previous phone to your cellphone provider, consider donating your unused phone to the Cook County Sheriff Thomas J. Dart Cell Phones for Seniors Program. Your old phone could be a lifesaver for a senior citizen. Phones are collected at the Village of Orland Park Sportsplex, 11351 W. 159th Street. For more information on this very important program, call 708-865-7333.
More than 31,200 cell phones have been donated and recycled since 2006 through Sheriff’s Cell Phones Seniors Program, a program that gives Cook County senior citizens a lifeline in case of an emergency.
As provided on their website, “The donated phones collected through the Sheriff’s Office are sent to the 911 Cell Phone Bank in Florida, where they are stripped of personal information and distributed as emergency phones. The phones are not activated. Inactivated phones, however, can still call 9-1-1, and only 9-1-1, as long as they have a charged battery. “The cell phones provide an extra level of security for seniors when they are driving, taking public transit or participating in outdoor activities. Recipients have not only used these phones to help themselves in case of emergency, but also have used them to report vehicle accidents they’ve seen and medical emergencies they have witnessed.” If you are a senior, or know a senior, who does not have a cell phone of their own, call the Sheriff’s Cell Phones for Seniors Program at 708-865-7333 to receive an application.
Electronics and computer recycling
If you received upgraded electronics gifts this season – the conundrum is what to do with your obsolete or outdated “toys”. Best Buy assistant store manager Christopher Dadej provided information on some of the items that their store, located at 15854 S. LaGrange Road will recycle. The list of free recyclable items (up to three each day) can be found at www.bestbuy.com.
Dadej said Best Buy does not accept televisions or CRT monitors at their store. Visit their website www.bestbuy.com for the most current information.
Computer components also may be donated to the Assistive Technology Exchange Network, which is affiliated with Infinitec, located at 7550 W. 183rd Street in Tinley Park. ATEN recycles computers and other donated technology to benefit learners with disabilities. According to their website, “the program has distributed nearly 20,000 complete computer systems, free of charge, to disabled students in public schools throughout the state of Illinois.”
They are happy to accept older equipment even if it is no longer in working condition. Some of the items this site accepts are cell phones, CD-players, printers, radios, toasters, etc. They also accept media devices such as VHS tapes, floppy disks, CD-ROMs, etc. Gregory Grill, UCP Seguin of Greater Chicago director of programs added, “The ATEN program will not accept televisions, window air conditioner units, or large appliances. Mainly we take in computer electronics and the peripherals.”
Donations are accepted from 9 a.m. until 3 p.m., Monday through Friday. Call 708-444-8460, ext. 231, for more information.
Batteries
Batteries are like socks — they either disappear or multiply. Videos online and various articles report that some batteries (9V batteries in particular) may cause fires if they touch fabric or items that may force them to ignite. Batteries are not earth friendly and should not be tossed in with the regular garbage. What to do? Collect your old, used batteries and deposit them at the Village Hall, 14700 Ravinia Avenue; Cultural Center, 14760 Park Lane; Franklin Loebe Center, 14650 S Ravinia Avenue; the Sportsplex, 11351 W. 159th Street; or Recreation Administrative Offices, 14600 Ravinia Avenue.