Maybe a sign of the times as well as the success of the recycling program was the 140,000 pounds of electronics equipment collected at the 2014 Kane County Recycling Extravaganza. The event was held on Saturday, June 14, in St. Charles and was a stellar success.

During this four-hour event, Kane County staff and volunteers served more 2,300 residents, or nearly 10 cars per minute.

While electronics were by far and away the largest volume and weight of material collected, the free document shredding came in second, with more than 700 residents bringing in documents.

Here are the results, by the numbers:

9,500 pounds of books

• Of which approximately 10 percent are reused and 90 percent are recycled.

9,000 pounds of carpet

• That includes carpet and carpet padding.

2,000 pounds of textiles

• Including clothes, shoes, linens, purses, hats, belts, and stuffed toys.

1,800 individual containers

• Amounting to 18,000 pounds of latex paint, which will be recycled into latex plastic products or new latex paint undercoat.

25,000 pounds of confidential documents

• Were securely shredded so the paper can be recycled.

140,000 lbs of electronic equipment

• Includes TVs, computers, household appliances — by far the highest volume ever collected at a single event.

600 pounds of cardboard

• People bring documents, books, and other items to us in cardboard boxes, and Kane County recycles those too.

36 bikes and 2 sewing machines

• Which will be reused.

36 mobility devices

• Includes 10 wheelchairs, eight walkers, 10 pairs of crutches, braces, canes and scooters for reuse.

1,000 fluorescent tube lights

• For responsible disposal.

The grand total of materials collected is well over 200,000 pounds (100 tons) that will be kept from the landfill and will be reused or recycled.

If you missed this event, don’t worry, because most of the items Kane County collects have alternative year-round drop-off options. To find out where you can recycle nearly everything or donate it for reuse, please see the A-Z list on the Kane County Recycles website.

The next Annual Extravaganza will be in the summer of 2015. Kane County will continue to hold monthly electronics and books recycling events on the second Saturday of every month.

Kane County also holds quarterly document-shredding events. All events are always on the second Saturday of the month from 8 a.m. to noon at 540 S. Randall Road in St. Charles.

For exact dates and more information, please see the Kane County Recycles webpages at www.countyofkane.org/recycling.

If you are interested in volunteering for these events, please contact Kane County Recycling Coordinator Jennifer Jarland at recycle@countyofkane.org or on 630-208-3841.