Recycling centers in Chicago

Central Metal Recycling is a family-owned scrap yard on Chicago's West Side, on Fillmore Street at Central Avenue between I-290 and Roosevelt Road, buying from residents, contractors, and professional scrappers since 2010. A certified 60-foot truck scale handles every truck size, a material handler grapple unloads oversized loads, and indoor non-ferrous buy stations shorten waits. Each load gets an itemized receipt with grading, weights, and prices, and payment is cash on the spot with no appointment. The yard buys all ferrous grades, aluminum (cast, extrusion, sheet, cans, rims), bare bright, #1, and #2 copper, insulated copper wire, brass, 304 and 316 stainless steel, auto batteries, and e-scrap such as computers, circuit boards, and wire harnesses.

The Goose Island facility on North Branch is Cook County's long-term household chemical and computer recycling site. It keeps Tuesday morning, Thursday afternoon, and first-Saturday hours.

The Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling site (HCCRF) is managed by the City of Chicago, offering residents a place to properly dispose of hazardous household chemicals and computer equipment. This site helps protect the environment and water supplies by ensuring toxic substances are handled safely.

The Department of Streets and Sanitation's Far North Side drop-off center at 6441 N. Ravenswood takes the same materials as the Blue Cart program, open every day during daylight hours. Residents toss paper, plastics, glass and cardboard in loose with no sorting. Plastic bags and other soft plastics stay out of the containers.

The Near South drop-off center at 1758 S. Clark Street accepts everything in the city's Blue Cart program, seven days a week in daylight. Paper, plastics, glass and cardboard go into the containers loose and unsorted. Soft plastics and bags jam the sorting machinery and stay out.

Dart Container's Kostner Ave location in Chicago keeps 24-hour bins for used polystyrene foam. It accepts post-consumer foam cups, to-go containers, egg cartons, and other number 6 foam, but not packing peanuts.

Sims Metal Midwest runs a processing yard at 2500 S Paulina St in the 60608 ZIP, specializing in bus, railcar and aluminum trailer recycling plus stainless steel operations. It buys ferrous and non-ferrous scrap and electronic waste, and the public can drop off scrap without an appointment. A government photo ID is required to get paid.

This Sims Metal yard at 350 N Artesian Ave on the West Side (60612) opens at 6:30 AM on weekdays and runs a Saturday session until 1:30 PM. It buys steel, copper, aluminum, nickel, cast iron and stainless steel, and members of the public can drop off scrap without an appointment. Freon must be removed from refrigerated appliances.

The Sims Metal yard at 9331 S. Ewing Ave in the 60617 ZIP buys steel, copper, aluminum, nickel, cast iron and stainless steel. The public can drop off appliances, air conditioners, water heaters, aluminum siding and gutters without an appointment. Sellers show a government photo ID to get paid, and Freon must be removed from refrigerated appliances.

The yard at 2599 S Wood St takes scrap from collectors, junk haulers, contractors and residents, with drop-off and no appointment. Plumbers and electricians bring copper pipe and fittings, insulated wire, heavy gauge aluminum wire, conduit and HVAC equipment. Residents drop off fencing, yard furniture, siding, gutters, window frames and old appliances, and the yard provides protective equipment.