Online Tool Eases Recycling Process in Illinois

An innovative online tool launched at the recent Illinois Recycling and Waste Management Conference and Trade Show will benefit Illinois hotel owners interested in recycling. EcoPoint Illinois is the first comprehensive database of local and statewide recycling opportunities in the state, providing information from local government, and public and private sector recyclers about where residents can recycle anything from cans to computers. For example, if a hotelier wants to know where to recycle aluminum, paper, glass, or scrap metal, he can go to EcoPoint Illinois, find a recycling center or drop-off location within a few miles of his hotel, and get directions using Google maps. Illinois currently has a recycling rate of 37 percent, higher than the national average of 33.8 percent.

“People look at 37 percent recycling statewide and think that this is great, but we are far behind states like California where the recycling rate is over 50 percent,” said Paul Jaquet, president of Eagle Enterprises, Inc. and Illinois Recycling Association board president. “Actually, we should be recycling and composting at least 75 percent to 90 percent of the solid waste we generate.”

I took at look at EcoPoint Illinois and was impressed. One can search by material type or location as well as distance of your location from a facility. A search on "steel cans" in Chicago, 15 miles radius, produced four drop-off locations. Within 50 miles of Chicago there are 21 locations. Be sure to check out this helpful site. If you are not in Illinois, be sure to use Google to check for a similar site in your state. My state, Ohio, for example, has a site that lists recycling centers throughout the state.