News Releases - 2002

Illinois Landfill Capacity Remains Adequate

Springfield, Ill. -- The disposal capacity for landfills in Illinois is sufficient for the next 14 years, according to the most recent data from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

The annual report, "Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management and Landfill Capacity in Illinois," provides statistics on landscape waste compost facilities, waste transfer stations, waste generation and recycling and solid waste planning efforts. The number of active landfills in the state dropped by one, to 52, when Wheatland Prairie RDF in Will County, closed in June 2001.

"Even though overall statewide landfill capacity remains good, we must continue to increase our efforts to recycle and reduce waste," Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano commented. Local recycling coordinators continue to report increasing amounts of materials being recycled in the state.

The report details waste management activities in each of seven Illinois EPA administrative regions and it lists the volumes of wastes landfilled. The landfill capacity ranges from six years in the Chicago Metropolitan region to 41 years in the Peoria/Quad Cities region. Regional information identifies each landfill and projects the year each is expected to reach capacity. These projections, completed and provided by the landfills, assume no new capacity will be added.

While the report states that no new landfills opened in 2001, Knox County Landfill #3 was permitted to expand in November 2001 and two new landfills were under development in 2001. One of these landfills, West End Disposal Facility in Saline County, opened in late 2002.

During 2001, Illinois' 52 landfills reported accepting 59.6 million gate cubic yards of nonhazardous solid wastes; up from slightly less than 50 million cubic yards in 2000. The amount of disposed waste increased 5.4 percent and the overall capacity declined more than 3.2 percent. Total capacity dropped 26 million gate cubic yards from the prior year. The amount of capacity reported on Jan. 1, 2002 was 717.3 million gate cubic yards.

About nine percent of solid wastes landfilled in Illinois in 2001, or about 4.8 million gate cubic yards (1.4 million gate tons), came from out-of-state. About 71 percent of this originated in Missouri. Although Illinois haulers also transported solid wastes to other states, they are not required to report this to the state of Illinois; therefore, the Illinois EPA cannot provide the volume exported.

In 2001, 80 transfer stations handled 30.5 percent of the waste landfilled in Illinois. Illinois EPA expects this number to increase in upcoming years. The state's 43 permitted composting facilities processed nearly 334,000 tons of landscape wastes.

This year's report also features information about the permitting process in Illinois, including information about the requirement for financial responsibility of any landfill owner or operator. Activities required for proper closure of a landfill are also described. Another feature is a comprehensive map showing the location of active, inactive and recently closed landfills throughout the state and a map showing those landfills accepting waste from states other than Illinois.

A map of the local agencies delegated by Illinois EPA to inspect pollution control facilities on our behalf is also provided. Illinois EPA's newest partner in this program is Saline County in Southern Illinois.

The report is available for viewing or downloading on the Illinois EPA web site at: http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/landfill-capacity/2001/index.html, or you may request a printed copy by writing to the Illinois EPA Waste Reduction and Compliance Section, P. O. Box 19276, Springfield, IL 62794-9276, or by calling 217-785-8604.