DECATUR - Sherri Ludlam, director of the Macon County Solid Waste Management Department, said electronic waste is a big topic as the fastest growing element of solid waste.

With technology improving at a remarkably fast rate, more obsolete electronics, also known as e-waste, are being thrown into landfills instead of being recycled. When placed in a landfill, electronics that contain hazardous materials such as lead and mercury can contaminate soil and drinking water.

"Though it is legal for a person to send their old electronics to a landfill, it's important for them to recycle what they can," Ludlam said.

According to a news release from the Environmental Law and Policy Center, of the 2.6 million tons of electronic waste generated in the United States in 2005, only 330,000 tons were recycled.

A report from the National Safety Council predicts there soon will be more than 300 million obsolete computers in the United States - one for every American - yet less than 10 percent of this equipment will be recycled.

"Technology upgrades so frequently," said Jill Watson, Illinois EPA spokeswoman. "At the same time, there are more options for people to have their electronics recycled."

Watson suggested donating unwanted electronic items that still work to shelters, churches or schools or giving them to long-term collection agencies.

There are also facilities that recycle batteries and refurbish cell phones and computers.

"There's an abundance of sources to take electronic waste, but obviously, it's up to individuals to take the time to seek out these places," Watson said.

"There's kind of a different philosophy with (electronic) recycling than traditional recycling," Ludlam said. "One of the things with electronics is that there are more valuable products inside of them. Chips can often be reused into a lower order of electronics."

Illinois State Sen. Susan Garrett, D-Lake Forest, is working to decrease electronic waste by sponsoring a bill, the Electronic Scrap Recycling Act. The act would "create and finance a collection, transportation, and processing system throughout the state for the convenient, safe, and environmentally sound recycling of electronic products," according to a news release from the law and policy center.

The program would cover computers, monitors, televisions, printers, fax machines, cell phones, calculators and PDAs.

Two years after approval, the bill would make it illegal in Illinois to dispose of any covered electronics in a landfill or incinerator, according to the news release.

Garrett also is sponsoring a bill to push manufacturers of wireless telephones to design products with environmentally friendly material.

Alicia Spates can be reached at aspates@herald-review.com or 421-6986.