FAQs

What materials are accepted at the facility?
Oil-based paints, Household Batteries, Paint thinners, Used motor oil, Herbicides, Drain cleaners, Insecticides, Lawn chemicals, Pesticides Solvents, Old gasoline, Antifreeze, Pool chemicals, Hobby chemicals, Cleaning products, Aerosol paints and pesticides, Mercury, Fluorescent lamp bulbs, propane tanks, lead acid batteries.

What materials are NOT accepted at the facility?
Agricultural wastes, Business/commercial sector wastes, Smoke detectors, Explosives, Farm machinery oil, Fireworks, Fire extinguishers, Institutional wastes, Medical Wastes (including sharps), latex based paints and working television sets.

What happens with the materials after I drop them off at the facility?

• Recycling - Items with sufficient BTU value, such as used oil and gasoline, are sent to secondary fuel or fuel blending facilities
• Recycling - Items such as batteries are sent to a recycling facility where the metal components are removed and recycled
• Incineration - Some items are sent to specially constructed incinerators with state-of-the-art air pollution control equipment
• Landfill - If items can't be recycled or incinerated, they are sent to landfills specifically constructed to receive hazardous waste.

Why should I recycle my old electronics?
Electronic products often contain hazardous and toxic materials that pose environmental risks if they are put in a landfill or incinerated. Recycling these electronics reduces the amount of toxic and hazardous substances that may enter the environment through disposal. Recycling electronic equipment also conserves energy and raw materials and reduces pollution in manufacturing by allowing product components, such as metals and plastics, to be used in other products.

If my computer is recycled, what's to stop the people refurbishing it from finding out my private information?
All computers dropped off at the facility will have their hard drives wiped clean before any work is done.

Do I have to bring a material to the material exchange room to pick up items, like oils, cleaners and wood stains, or vice versa?
You can either pick up free items, drop-off old items, or do both in the facility's material exchange room.

What is the training center?
Through a partnership with the Illinois Department of Corrections and Computers for Schools, the City of Chicago has developed a training program that will utilize the new Goose Island facility to train ex-offenders in electronics recycling. The 11-week program will provide this traditionally hard-to-serve population with training, internships, and job placement assistance in this growth industry. Computers and other electronics recycled through the facility and program will then be made available to area schools, churches, non-profit groups and low-income families.

What was the site before?
The site was a former animal incinerator operated by the Dept. of Streets & Sanitation. The incinerator ceased operations around 1998. Subsequently, it was used for the storage of city vehicles, such as sewer vacuum trucks. In 2003, DOE initiated plans to convert the facility to an HHW facility. Construction began in September 2005. The total building footprint is approximately 24,000 sf (12,000 sf for electronics recycling and 12,000 sf for HHW).

How much did the building cost and where did the funds come from?
The total cost for the facility construction is $3,800,000. Funding for the project came from the following sources:

• IEPA 319 Grant - $306,000
• Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity - $780,000
• Illinois Clean Energy Fund - $10,000
• City of Chicago - Remainder of the costs