News Releases - 2003

Illinois EPA Releases New Data on Landfill Capacity

State’s Capacity Remains Adequate - With 13 Years of Space Still Remaining

Springfield, Ill. -- The available disposal capacity for landfills in Illinois is sufficient for the next 13 years, according to the most recent data from the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

While this number is down slightly from last year’s estimate of 14 remaining years, capacity has improved significantly since the early 90s, when only six to seven years of landfill capacity remained in Illinois. In addition, many East Coast states currently have little or no remaining capacity.

This information, along with statistics on landscape waste compost facilities, waste transfer stations, waste generation and recycling and solid waste planning efforts are provided in Illinois EPA’s 16th annual report, "Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management and Landfill Capacity in Illinois," for 2002. The report also shows that the number of active landfills in the state dropped by one in 2002 – to 51.

“The Illinois EPA continues to oversee the development and operation of modern sanitary landfills that meet the strictest disposal standards in history,” said Illinois EPA Director Renee Cipriano. “However, solid waste planning that includes recycling is becoming increasingly important.”

The Illinois EPA also administers several programs that divert wastes from landfills, including the Waste Tire Program and Household Hazardous Waste Collections. Instead of going into a landfill, waste tires are used as tire derived fuels and can be reused as a variety of useful products. More than a half million abandoned tires were collected by IEPA this year. In fiscal year 2003, the Agency’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection program collected more than 2,253 fifty-five gallon drums of toxic materials from 13,368 households across the state. These collections prevent such things as pesticides, petroleum products and other toxic materials from being sent to landfills.

Local recycling coordinators in Illinois report that 5.1 million tons of municipal waste was recycled in 2002. With total municipal waste of 22.1 million tons, this equates to a 25 percent recycling rate in the state, about the same as in 2001. Although parts of Illinois are rural and far from recycling markets, most local governments continue recycling education efforts, and to collect recycling data from haulers as a necessary public service.

The report details waste management activities in each of seven Illinois EPA administrative regions and it lists the volumes of wastes landfilled. While the remaining statewide capacity is good at 13 years, regional capacity varied tremendously. The Chicago Metropolitan Region had only five years of landfill capacity remaining at the end of 2002, while Region 3, which includes Peoria and the Quad Cities, had about 44 remaining years.

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. The calculation comes from dividing waste capacity on January 1, by waste disposed in the previous calendar year.

Woodland Recycling and Disposal facility in South Elgin, located in Region Two, ceased accepting waste in November 2002. Sangamon Valley Landfill began accepting waste in October 2002, with a voluntary reduction of its permitted capacity. ERC Coles County in Region Four, however, increased its allowable capacity. Also located in Region Four, Livingston County Landfill in Pontiac is the second largest landfill in the country based on 2002 waste receipts.

Only 10 percent of solid wastes landfilled in Illinois in 2002, or about 5.8 million gate cubic yards (1.8 million gate tons), came from 12 other states; over 78 percent 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.

However, Indiana reports that 88 percent of waste imported into their state, almost 1.4 million tons, came from 29 Illinois counties.

In 2002, 86 transfer stations handled waste landfilled in Illinois, prior to its transfer to a landfill. Illinois EPA expects the number of transfer stations to increase in upcoming years. The state's 40 permitted composting facilities processed 354,333 tons of landscape wastes.

Among the new items are featured in this report is the Agency’s use of Geographic Information Systems technology, or GIS, in our mapping. It includes an Illinois map showing the locations of all transfer stations and landfills. GIS technology is being increasingly used to pinpoint sites more accurately, which enables us to provide more accurate information in our reports.

This new report is now available for viewing or downloading on the Illinois EPA web site. You may also 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.