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More help with Recyclables
Office Paper
Check with the nearest recycling business, such as Pacific Steel & Recycling, Allied Waste Industries, and BFI to find out if they accept office and mixed paper for drop-off from individuals and businesses. If one of these businesses is not located in your town, be sure to check with your local recycling organization. Also check the Earth 911.org website for locations by typing in your zip code.
Paper grocery bags can be recycled with cardboard. Please remove any contaminants (trash & non-cardboard items) and put in cardboard collection bins. Also check out: Tips for re-using paper bags.
Plastic Shopping Bags
Most grocery stores will accept back plastic shopping bags for recycling. Look for a barrel just inside their doors that is marked for recycling these bags. Here is a link to a free, online resource for plastic bag and film recycling.
Hint: if you reuse these bags for garbage, please “Tie A Knot” before placing in the garbage. This helps prevent the wind from catching loose plastic bags at the landfill and littering the area surrounding the landfill.
Smoke Detectors
DEQ encourages recycling of smoke detectors because some smoke detectors contain small amounts of radioactive material. Smoke detectors can be recycled by sending them back to the original manufacturer, or taking them to a household hazardous waste collection event. Contact your local public works department to ask about upcoming hazardous waste collection events.
Following is a list of major manufacturers of smoke detectors in the U.S.
- First Alert/BRK brands
1-800-323-9005 - American Sensors
1-800-387-4219 - Code One/Firex/Maple Chase
22820 Thatcher Road
Downers Grove, IL 60515 - Safety's Sake/Funtech
388 N. Elliot Creek Road
Amherst, NJ 14228 - Dicon
3334 Main Street
Skokie, IL 60076 - Life Saver/Frynetics, Inc.
1055 Stevenson Court, Suite 102
W. Roselle, IL 60172
