By Andy Dahn
BLOOMINGTON – Illinois residents may soon have a hard time finding places to put their trash.
The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s 2014 landfill report found that state landfills have capacity to take trash for another 21 years. Division manager of land pollution control for the IEPA Kyle Rominger said the solution to the dilemma is simple: more landfills.
“If there’s a need and an economic benefit to build a landfill somewhere, somebody will probably step in,” Rominger said. “They can build that landfill and fill that need.”
Rominger said there are ways residents can help make state landfills last longer.
“We’re always in favor of recycling and reuse when possible to reduce the waste that is going into the landfill,” said Rominger. “The year expectancy of landfills varies over time and it varies throughout the state. It depends on the size of the landfill and how much waste they’re taking at the time in that area.”
The study found that McLean County is responsible for 15 percent of the state’s waste, but Rominger said those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
“It may not be just waste coming from that county,” Rominger said. “And also with region four, the region McLean County is located in, all that waste may not be generated in that region. So it’s kind of hard to tell strictly from this report and comparing those numbers.”
The full report and list of landfill projections can be found at epa.illinois.gov/topics/waste-management/landfills/landfill-capacity/index.
Andy Dahn can be reached at [email protected].
