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2017 Landfill Capacity Report
Reporting Period: Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2017
How to use Illinois EPA's Landfill Capacity Report
Illinois Landfill Disposal Capacity Report is Illinois EPA’s annual report regarding the expected disposal capacity available for municipal waste at active Illinois landfills. (Active landfills are those that accepted waste during the reporting period.) The report includes data on each of Illinois EPA’s administrative regions. Region 1 includes Northwestern Illinois counties; Region 2 includes Chicago Metropolitan counties; Region 3 includes Peoria/Quad Cities area counties; Region 4 includes East/Central Illinois counties; Region 5 includes West/Central Illinois counties; Region 6 includes Metropolitan East St. Louis counties; and Region 7 includes Southern Illinois counties.
Each regional section includes a summary of each landfill. Provided are: A map with location of each landfill in the region, the landfill name, the landfill’s certified remaining capacity for the last reporting date, quantities of wastes received for the last year, and life expectancy. In all, this report includes details of 37 landfills.
Illinois municipal solid waste landfills are required to report to the Illinois EPA the quantities of solid waste they receive each year, and to calculate and report the amount of remaining capacity available or existing on the first day of the following year.
These figures are submitted to the Agency in “gate cubic yards,” or the volume of waste entering the landfill’s gate. Remaining capacities are expressed as certified gate cubic yards, meaning that calculations have been certified as true and accurate by a licensed professional engineer. These figures are found on landfill specification pages in each of seven regional sections in this report. Gate cubic yards can be difficult to visualize. To aid the reader, we have divided gate cubic yards by an industry standard of 3.3 to achieve approximate tons. In other words, 3.3 gate cubic yards = one gate ton.
During 2017, 37 landfills reported receiving more than 50 million gate cubic yards of waste.
As of Jan. 1, 2018, 37 active landfills had a combined remaining capacity of 1.03 billion gate cubic yards.
Dividing wastes disposed during 2017 by capacity remaining on Jan. 1, 2018, indicates a landfill life expectancy in Illinois of approximately 20 years, at 2017 disposal rates, barring capacity adjustments, until capacity is depleted state-wide. However, a close proximity of landfills to the waste generation site and also ownership of the facility can affect where waste is deposited.
You can download the full report here: