Illinois EPA to Resume Household Hazardous Waste Collection Events for Fall 2020

SPRINGFIELD – Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim today announced the Agency is resuming Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collections for the fall of 2020. Illinois EPA HHW collections provide residents an opportunity to safely dispose of unused or leftover household products commonly found in homes at no cost. Due to precautions related to COVID-19, most of the spring 2020 events were postponed. Illinois EPA has scheduled six (6) sites for the fall with additional events being scheduled for the spring of 2021. As with past events, all Illinois EPA HHW collections are contactless for the safety of participants. Additional safety tips are included below the schedule.

“We are excited to resume our Household Hazardous Waste Collection Program, assisting residents with disposing of old, unused chemicals and other potentially hazardous waste from their homes, and ensuring it will be disposed of in an environmentally-safe manner,” said Director Kim. “This program would not be possible without the support and cooperation of local Co-Sponsors.”

In addition to the fall schedule, Illinois EPA is announcing partnerships with several hub locations, where HHW collection events will be held once each year. Those hubs will then be supplemented with other more remote collection partners based on the need to adequately cover the State. Our HHW hub partners include the City of Springfield, the City of Effingham, Champaign County, Jackson County, and Peoria County. The City of Springfield will be the first hub partner hosting this fall, while the remaining partners have spring dates planned.

Residents participating in these events are encouraged to bring chemical cleaners, oil-based paints, thinners, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, kerosene, weed killers, insecticides and pesticides, old or outdated medication, and similar hazardous household products. Fluorescent and other high-intensity discharge lamps may also be brought to the collections. ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED include latex paint, explosives, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, agricultural chemicals and business wastes. A complete list of household hazardous wastes that are and are not accepted is available online at https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/acceptable-wastes.aspx.

One-day collections are open to all Illinois residents and operate from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the below scheduled Saturdays. The fall 2020 one-day collections are scheduled as follows:

DATE	LOCATION	ADDRESS	COSPONSOR(s)
September 12	SullivanMoultrie County	Wyman Park725 North Worth Street	City of Sullivan
September 19	BelvidereBoone County	Belvidere-Administration Campus1212 Logan Avenue, Suite 102	Boone County
September 26	Kankakee Kankakee County	Kankakee Community College100 College Drive	Kankakee County
October 3	Du Quoin Perry County	Du Quoin Elementary School845 East Jackson Street	City of Du Quoin
October 10	Watseka Iroquois County	Iroquois County Administration Building1001 East Grant Street	Iroquois County
November 7	SpringfieldSangamon County	Illinois State Fairgrounds801 East Sangamon Avenue	City of Springfield

For safe transport of household hazardous waste, residents are asked to:

• Pack household hazardous waste items in a disposable box to avoid spilling during transport.
• Keep like chemicals together and separate unlike chemicals.
• Secure lids and make sure containers are not leaking.
• Place box(es) of household hazardous waste in empty trunk of your vehicle, away from passengers during transport.
• Remain in vehicle at collection site. On-site personnel will remove the household hazardous waste from your vehicle.

In addition to the one-day collections, the following long-term collection facilities are available for disposal of household hazardous waste throughout the year:

• Naperville, 156 Fort Hill Drive (immediately North of Naperville Public Works), DuPage County, www.naperville.il.us/hhw.aspx
Hours:  Saturdays 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Sundays 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM, Phone: 630-420-6095
• Rockford, Rock River Reclamation District, 3333 Kishwaukee, Winnebago County
http://www.knib.org/recycling/green-guide/household-hazardous-waste-site/
Hours:  Saturdays 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, Sundays Noon – 4:00 PM, Phone: 815-987-5570
• Chicago, Goose Island, 1150 North Branch, Cook County www.cityofchicago.org/hccrf
Hours:  Tuesdays 7:00 AM – Noon, Thursdays 2:00 PM – 7:00 PM, and
First Saturday of every month 8:00 AM – 3:00 PM, Phone: 312-744-3060
• 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 their website (www.swalco.org) or by calling 847-336-9340.

For questions concerning the Illinois EPA’s one-day or long-term collections, please contact the Waste Reduction Unit of the Illinois EPA at 217-524-3300. Household Hazardous Waste collection schedules are also available on the Illinois EPA website at https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/collections.aspx.

SOURCE: Illinois EPA news release