Looking to get rid of stuff? How to recycle electronics, shred documents and much more in McHenry County

Did you miss the boat on disposing of unwanted documents and electronics during spring cleaning? McHenry County officials have some upcoming events and where-to lists that can help.

Did you miss the boat on disposing of unwanted documents and electronics during spring cleaning? McHenry County officials have some events coming up that can help. Here’s what to know about document shredding and electronics recycling, as well as what to do with paint and batteries.

I have an old TV. What do I do with it? The health department plans to have an electronic recycling event Sept. 12 but residents must register.

Registration opens July 15 at mcdh.link/solid-waste. That link also offers more information about recycling and disposing of items like batteries, paint and hazardous waste. People can bring things like TVs, computers, printers, DVD players and other small household electronics to the event.

Fees apply. Those are $15 for an LCD monitor, $25 for a TV unit 20 inches or smaller and $35 for a TV unit 21 inches and larger. If you can’t make the September event or you can’t register before capacity is reached, you can also recycle electronics at Elgin Recycling, 5114 E. Terra Cotta Ave.-Route 176 in Crystal Lake.

Hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Fees to recycle TVs and monitors are the same as the county event, according to a health department news release. For more information, visit elginrecycling.com or call 847-741-4100.

What about documents? The McHenry County Department of Health will host a residential recycling event for documents July 18. It’s free and open to all McHenry County residents, but not companies or commercial businesses.

The recycling event runs from 9 a.m. to noon, or until the shred truck is filled, at the McHenry County Administration Building, 667 Ware Road in Woodstock. The documents will be shredded in the shred truck before leaving the site. In order to allow for set-up time and for volunteers to arrive, attendees are asked not to show up before the scheduled start time.

There is limit per vehicle of four banker boxes of documents. Papers don’t have to be in a banker box, but they can’t be bigger than bank-box dimensions of about 13 by 15 by 11 inches. The health departments offers tips for “quicker, more seamless” shredding: - No CDs or thumb drives allowed.

- Staples and paper clips are acceptable. - Remove binder clips, three-ring binders and similar items before arriving. - Participants must take back any bags or boxes brought to the event.

Paper Tiger Document Solutions and the Environmental Defenders of McHenry County are partners for the event. What about other items? The Environmental Defenders will accept textiles, including reusable and non-reusable clothing, linens, rags, towels, blankets and shoes tied together by the laces, according to the release.

Alkaline batteries will also be accepted for a fee of $1 per pound. Fluorescent tubes and LED bulbs have fees of 50 cents to $1, depending on length, according to the release. Other participating collection sites for recycling alkaline batteries, including AA, AAA, C, D and 9V, along with rechargeable and lithium batteries, can be found at the Battery Network, batterynetwork.org.

Clean, solid Styrofoam in all colors, packing peanuts and reusable bubble wrap will also be accepted, but pink and blue construction foam insulation and non-solid Styrofoam will not be accepted, according to the release. Those rules also apply to the Stryofoam collection program at the Algonquin Township Road District at 3702 Route 14 in Crystal Lake, which accepts Styrofoam Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. People can visit mcdef.org, email the Environmental Defenders at envirodefmc@gmail.com or call 815-338-0393 for more details. If you are looking to recycle oil-based or latex paint, you can visit PaintCare at paintcare.org to find a nearby dropoff location, according to the release.

Residential and commercial paint is accepted at participating locations. If you’re not sure what belongs in curbside recycling you can visit feedthecart.org. There, according to the release, you can “meet Loop, the friendly recycling cart, for tips on recycling the right items and reducing contamination.”

The McHenry County College “Green Guide” also has more information on recycling in the area and can be accessed at mchenry.edu/green.