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 "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 Scott.
"This continues to be an extremely popular program for Illinois
homeowners because it gives them the opportunity to dispose of
common household products that are potentially hazardous to human
health and the environment."
The program, which
began in 1989, has already served nearly 390,000 households. Since
the program's inception, there have been almost 440 one-day events,
and over 76,000 55-gallon drums of toxic materials have been
collected from Illinois citizens.
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.
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.
The Illinois EPA will also collect unused and unwanted
pharmaceuticals to prevent them from being flushed down the drain
and ending up in a water source that may ultimately become a
drinking water supply. Studies have linked hormone exposure to
reproductive defects in fish, and environmental exposure to
antibiotics can lead to the development of drug-resistant germs.
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.
See the spring household hazardous waste collection
schedule below.
The one-day collections are open from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on the
scheduled Saturdays.
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 In addition, the following long-term facilities are available for
disposal of household hazardous waste. Please phone ahead to
determine availability and open hours.
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Naperville:
1971 Brookdale Road
Fire Station No. 4
Phone 630-420-4190
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Rockford:
3333 Kishwaukee
Rock River Reclamation District
Phone 815-967-6737
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Chicago:
1150 N. North Branch on Goose Island
Phone 311 or for general info 312-744-7672
www.cityofchicago.org
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Lake County:
The Solid Waste Agency of Lake County currently operates a long-term
household chemical waste collection program. Information and a
collection schedule are available at
http://www.swalco.org/. For
more information, call 847-336-9340.
The hazardous household waste collection schedule is also
available at
http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/
hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/
hhwc-schedule.html.
For more information on the one-day or long-term collections,
call the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency Waste Reduction
Unit at 217-785-8604.
[Text from
Illinois Environmental
Protection Agency file
received from the
Illinois Office of
Communication and Information]
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