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Annual Landfill Capacity Report

Twentieth Annual Landfill
Capacity Report - 2006

Reporting Period: Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2006

One billion gate cubic yards was the capacity remaining at 48 Illinois landfills as of January 1, 2007. Overall, 19 years of space is remaining for waste disposal. In this, the Agency's 20th annual report on landfill disposal and available capacity in Illinois, we report to you not only the remaining capacity, but many other useful facts about landfills and pollution control facilities throughout the state.

One of the 48 landfills reporting capacity, Lee County Landfill Inc., Dixon recently received permission to expand. That capacity is included in the Jan. 1 capacity figure because it was permitted on June 8, 2006.

The more recent landfill expansion at ADS/McLean County Landfill, Bloomington was not included in the capacity figure as of Jan. 1, 2007 because it was not approved until March 13, 2007.

Since its inception in 1970, the Illinois EPA has overseen the development and operation of a productive system of modern sanitary landfills. The Agency continues to ensure that these facilities meet the strictest disposal standards in history, and that they are engineered to be fully protective of human health and the environment, especially where it concerns any possibility of groundwater contamination.

In 2006, 49 was the number of active landfills in Illinois accepting waste for disposal. Years of waste disposal remaining for these landfills, however, varied tremendously from region to region, ranging from eight years in the Chicago Metropolitan area to 47 years in Southern Illinois.

The big issue for local areas was the closure of two of the state's landfills: Settler's Hill, Batavia, which ceased accepting waste on December 29, 2006, and Tazewell Recycling and Disposal Facility, East Peoria, which closed on December 8, 2006. Landfill closures have an unfortunate resultant effect on revenues available to implement local programs related to recycling and environmental education.

In addition, three landfills near Harrisburg, Jerseyville, and Streator remained inactive through most, if not all, of 2006.

Besides 49 landfills, 107 active transfer stations and 39 active compost facilities are also available to help manage waste generated in Illinois.

Inspections of waste management facilities are conducted by personnel from Illinois EPA's seven regional field offices and our delegated partners. Our delegated partners include 18 counties, Ambraw Valley Solid Waste Agency and the City of Chicago. They have the authority to inspect landfills, transfer stations and compost sites in their jurisdictions, and investigate citizen complaints about illegal dumping of waste.

The Illinois EPA hopes you will find this information useful and instructive and welcomes your comments and suggestions as to how it may be improved.

Douglas P. Scott
Director
Ilinois EPA

These are Adobe Acrobat PDF files. You will need the free Acrobat Reader software, available from Adobe's web site, to view them.

You can download the full report or individual sections.

Full Report (330 pages, 3.9 MB)

Introduction (29 pages, 822 KB)

Regions

Region One: Northwestern Illinois (26 pages, 357 KB)
Region Two: Chicago Metropolitan (111 pages, 803 KB)
Region Three: Peoria/Quad Cities (24 pages, 355 KB)
Region Four: East Central Illinois (28 pages, 299 KB)
Region Five: West Central Illinois (15 pages, 209 KB)
Region Six: Metropolitan East St. Louis (22 pages, 343 KB)
Region Seven: Southern Illinois (18 pages, 275 KB)

Appendices

Solid Waste Landfills: Appendices A,B,C & D (14 pages, 179 KB)
Solid Waste Transfer Stations: Appendices E, F & G (19 pages, 223 KB)
Landscape Waste Compost Facilities: Appendices H, I, & J 11pages, 170 KB)
Solid Waste Planning and Recycling: Appendices K, L & M (12 pages, 93 KB)

Form 272: Report Documentation Page
(1 page, 93 KB)

Executive Summary

This is the Illinois EPA's 20th Annual Report describing the management of nonhazardous municipal solid waste by the state�s solid waste landfills, transfer stations and compost facilities.

The report is divided into sections representing Illinois EPA administrative regions. Each regional section includes specification pages describing the chief physical characteristics of each landfill.

The list of active waste management facilities during 2006 includes 49 landfills, 107 transfer stations and 39 compost sites.

Illinois municipal solid waste landfills are required to report to the Illinois EPA the quantities of solid waste they receive each year, and to calculate and report the amount of remaining capacity on the first day of the following year.

During 2006, 49 landfills reported receiving a total of almost 54.9 million gate cubic yards (more than 16.6 million gate tons) of waste. This volume was almost 2.6 million gate cubic yards less than the total received at 51 landfills during 2005, a five percent decline.

As of Jan. 1, 2007, 48 landfills reported having a combined remaining capacity of more than one billion gate cubic yards (almost 310.4 million gate tons), which is 44 million gate cubic yards more than 51 landfills reported on Jan. 1, 2006, a 4.5 percent increase.

Dividing wastes disposed during 2006 by capacity remaining on Jan. 1, 2007, indicates an overall landfill life expectancy in Illinois of 19 years at 2006 disposal rates and barring capacity adjustments.

Years of waste disposal remaining, however, varied tremendously from region to region, ranging from eight years in the Chicago Metropolitan area to 47 years in Southern Illinois.

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