The Madison County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility was honored for its efforts as it nears its first year of operation in October.
Madison County Building and Zoning received an award from the Illinois Recycling Foundation at its conference in Joliet for its pursuit and achievement of opening a permanent household hazardous waste collection facility.
“There hasn’t been an RDD site opened in Illinois in the past 20 years,” Madison County Building and Zoning Administrator Chris Doucleff said. “This is a great achievement for Madison County as we continue to set the benchmark for resource management practices in southern Illinois.”
The collection facility located at 249 N. Old St. Louis Road in Wood River allows all Illinois residents to drop off household hazardous waste free of charge on the first Saturday and third Friday of each month. The facility is one of the few such sites in the state and the first permanent household hazardous waste collection facility in southern Illinois.
The facility provides opportunities and services for local communities to dispose of their toxic waste responsibly.
“This helps keep harmful chemicals like gasoline, antifreeze and other toxic chemicals from entering local waterways and waste streams,” Doucleff said. “With the opening of this facility, the county was able to quadruple its annual number of hazardous waste collection in its first year alone.”
Doucleff said the site recently had to limit its collection services when an incinerator fire in Ohio suspended acceptance of some items. Items temporarily suspended include pesticides, herbicides, fertilizer/lawn chemicals, pool chemicals, and medications. Drugs can still be dropped off at local sheriff’s offices and police stations.
“The Building and Zoning Department has mitigated these service interruptions by limiting the items accepted for drop off while keeping their doors open for all other acceptable materials,” Doucleff said.
He said the public should review the updated list of prohibited items to ensure items brought in to be dropped off will be collected. Residents with temporarily suspended items should keep them safely in their original manufacturer’s containers until HHW collections fully resume.
Through its partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, which funds transportation and disposal, the Maadison County Building and Zoning Department is able to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers while providing more opportunities for waste disposal and improved collection services for local communities.
Items currently accepted for deposit include oil-based paints, cleaning solvents, paint thinners, hobby chemicals, antifreeze, motor oil, old gasoline, household batteries, items containing mercury (i.e. thermostats, thermometers), lead acid batteries and fluorescent lamps.
Materials not accepted are latex paint, used tires, used/empty propane tanks, ammunition, agricultural waste, explosives, fireworks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, oil agricultural machinery, commercial or biohazardous waste.
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