Press Release - Thursday, March 23, 2006
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Illinois EPA Announces Spring Household Hazardous Waste Collection Schedule
SPRINGFIELD --- Illinois EPA Doug Scott announced today that 13 household hazardous waste collection events have been scheduled to be held across the state this spring, starting Saturday, April 8.
"We estimate more than 16,000 households will be served through these events this spring," said Director Scott. "In partnership with local communities and organizations, this program gives Illinois homeowners the opportunity to dispose of common household products which are potentially hazardous to human health and the environment."
The program, which began in 1988, has served 331,737 households. Since the program's inception, 395 one-day events have been held, and 65,732 fifty-five gallon drums of toxic materials have been collected from Illinois citizens. The state's share of the cost of the collections is covered by a portion of the fees collected on disposal of waste in landfills.
The collections give citizens the opportunity to safely dispose of unused or leftover household products commonly found in homes, basements and garages statewide. The materials are handled in an environmentally sound manner, diverting them from local area landfills.
"The program is beneficial not only to citizens who are able to get potentially harmful chemicals out of their homes; it also benefits the environment by keeping those chemicals out of landfills through various treatment technologies and recycling." said Director Scott. "This continues to be an extremely popular program, and we are grateful to Gov. Blagojevich for his support and dedication to the environment as well as to the Illinois General Assembly, and our local partners."
Citizens are encouraged to bring oil-based paints, thinners, chemical cleaners, old medicines, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, kerosene, weed killers, insecticides, pesticides, adhesives, hobby chemicals, household batteries and similar products. Fluorescent and other high-intensity discharge lamps may also be brought to the collections. The public is encouraged to find alternative uses for latex paint since it is not considered hazardous.
Residents are also encouraged to bring mercury and mercury containing products such as fever thermometers, old thermostats and elemental mercury, as part of an initiative by Gov. Blagojevich and IEPA to reduce the amount of this hazardous material in our environment.
Items not accepted include explosives, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, medical waste, sharps, agricultural chemicals and all business wastes. Propane tanks, and lead acid auto batteries cannot be accepted at most of the events, but should be taken to local recyclers.
Spring 2006 Collection Schedule and Co-Sponsors
One-day collections are from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on scheduled Saturdays
|
DATE |
LOCATION |
ADDRESS |
COSPONSOR(s) |
|
April 8 |
O'Fallon,
St. Clair County |
City Park Parking Lot
308 East 5th Street |
St. Clair County Health Department
City of O'Fallon |
|
April 8 |
Oregon,
Ogle County |
Ogle County Fairgrounds
1440 Limekiln Road |
Ogle County Solid Waste Management
Lee County Office of Solid Waste Management |
|
April 22 |
Glen Ellyn, DuPage County |
College of DuPage
Parking Lot P
425 Fawell Boulevard |
DuPage County
Village of Glen Ellyn
College of DuPage |
|
April 22 |
Springfield, Sangamon County |
Illinois State Fairgrounds
Enter Gate 11 off Sangamon Avenue |
Sangamon County
City of Springfield |
|
April 29 |
Urbana, Champaign County |
Solo Cup Parking Lot
1500 East Main Street |
City of Urbana
City of Champaign
Champaign County |
|
May 6 |
Crystal Lake, McHenry County |
McHenry County College
Parking Lot F
8900 U.S. Highway 14 |
McHenry County Department of Planning
McHenry County College |
|
May 6 |
Park Ridge,
Cook County |
Maine East High School
2601 West Dempster Street |
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago
City of DesPlaines
Maine Township |
|
May 20 |
Wood River, Madison County |
Conoco-Phillips Refinery
Parking Lot
Route 111 |
Madison County
Conoco-Phillips |
|
May 20 |
Chicago,
Cook County |
Household Hazardous Waste Drop Off Center (Goose Island)
1150 N. North Branch |
Chicago Department of Environment |
|
June 3 |
Carbondale, Jackson County |
SIU Arena Parking Lot #56
U.S. Highway 51 & Saluki Avenue |
Jackson County Health Department |
|
June 10 |
Hillside,
Cook County |
Proviso West High School
Student Parking Lot
4701 West Harrison |
West Cook County Solid Waste Agency |
|
June 17 |
Carthage,
Hancock County |
U of I Extension Office
550 North Madison Street |
Hancock County Soil & Water Conservation District |
|
June 24 |
Mt. Zion,
Macon County |
Mt. Zion High School
305 South Henderson Street |
Macon County Solid Waste Management Department |
In addition, the following long-term facilities are available for disposal of household hazardous waste:
(Please phone ahead to determine availability and operating hours.)
|
Naperville: |
1971 Brookdale Road
Fire Station No. 4
Phone: 630/420-6700 #7559 |
Rockford: |
3333 Kishwaukee
Rock River Reclamation District
815/967-6737
| |
|
Lake County: |
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO) currently operates a long-term household chemical waste collection program. Information and a collection schedule can be found on the SWALCO Web site at http://www.co.lake.il.us/swalco/, or by calling 847/336-9340. | |||
For questions concerning the IEPA's one-day or long-term collections, please call 217/785-8604. The spring schedule and other collection information can also be found on the Agency's web site: www.epa.state.il.us.
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