Recycling in the United States has been going on in one way or another since the continent was colonized. In the early 1990s the State of Illinois began to recognize the connection between recycling, waste management, and the potential of economic development. In 1995, the state combined the functions of several of the state's natural resource agencies in order to make their operation more efficient and better focused (Swager).The Solid Waste Management Act (SWMAct) was enacted in 1986 and later amendments assigned DCCA the responsibility of being the lead agency in Illinois in implementing waste reduction programs (Swager). This law allows DCCA to provide grants and loans to business, non-profit organizations, and non-profit entities (SWMAct). Some specific requirements under SWMAct include state procurement of products made from recycled commodities and development by state-funded colleges and universities of comprehensive waste reduction plans.Under the Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act (SWP&RAct), Illinois counties are required to develop comprehensive solid waste management plans. It is this piece of legislation that dictates the specific state recycling and waste reduction goals. These goals are summarized in Chart 1.Both the SWMAct and SWP&RAct legislation have failed to take into account a growing segment of the public waste stream computers. Since and advent of the first widely accepted personal computer (PC) in 1976 the public has been drawn to this new technological innovation. Nationally more than 22 million computers become obsolete every year. Current 2/3 of these computers end up in landfills. Now with new technological innovations computer prices have dropped to levels that almost make them disposable. It is expected that the new and much lower priced computers will increase the rate of obsolesces from 22 million to over 70 million a year alone in the United States. The average cathode ray tube (CRT) i...
