Don’t throw them in the trash or wash them down the sink. Don’t flush them down the toilet.
The EPA states that flushing medicines or pouring them down the sink can create the potential for harmful chemicals to end up in our waterways and drinking water. In fact, traces of medicines have been found in water samples in 30 states!
Through the passage of the Drug Take-Back Act every Illinois resident has FREE access to disposal of medications. These drop-off sites are located conveniently around the state and mail back envelopes are also available.
Remember, this service is FREE of charge for Illinois residents and is completely ANONYMOUS.
Participating local law enforcement, government agencies, and pharmacies will accept most unwanted medications, including most prescription and over-the-counter medicines for disposal. SWANCC recommends calling the location to double check the collection point.
To find a drop off location near you, please visit the sites below. Locations may vary through each resource.
Cook County Sheriff’s Prescription Drug Take Back Network
For more information on medication disposal, the Drug Take Back Act, and more, please visit the IEPA
It’s Hazardous, and It’s in Your House!
Household hazardous waste (HHW) consists of household products that have hazardous characteristics - meaning they can catch fire, react with other substances to create a dangerous liquid or gas, cause explosion, are corrosive, or are toxic - and that you wish to dispose or can no longer be used. If not disposed of properly, HHW can pose a threat to human health and the environment.
Hazardous waste rules do not apply to households the same way they do to businesses – households are exempt from hazardous waste rules because of the small amount of material they generate. State and federal laws therefore allow HHW to be disposed of with other residential garbage (NEVER put these materials into curbside recycle or dump them down your household drains or the sewer!).
However, even though it is allowed, disposing of HHW in the trash may cause injury to your family or trash collector and is not environmentally friendly. Taking this waste to an HHW collection site or event that is specifically designed to handle such problematic materials is more protective of human health and the environment. The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA) provides funding to support drop-off facilities and one-day collections that are FREE for residents!
Visit the IEPA website for one-day events and see below for permanent drop-off facilities. For a fee, there are also services that will collect HHW materials from your home. Interested in learning more about HHW from the EPA? Click HERE
HHW can include items like:
Aerosol products
Asbestos-containing products
Automotive fluids (motor oil, antifreeze, brake and transmission fluids, etc.)
Batteries (lithium, marine, sump pump and non-alkaline)
Corrosive cleaners (such as drain cleaner and lye-based oven cleaner)
Fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides
Fluorescent light bulbs (including CFLs)
Fuels (gasoline, propane, diesel)
Mercury
Paints (oil-based), wood stains or varnishes
Pool chemicals
Solvents
Vapes (nicotine-based)
FREE EPA Drop-Off Facilities:
Chicago Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility
Madison County HHW Collection Facility
Naperville Household Hazardous Waste Facility
Rockford Rock River Reclamation District
Solid Waste Agency of Lake County
What to do with EMPTY HHW containers?
You can recycle nearly all plastic/metal containers, even with residual waste inside (excluding motor oils, gasoline and antifreeze). Aerosol cans are fully recyclable if they are empty and depressurized! Empty propane tanks can be recycled at your local scrap yard.
Landfills are specialized structures designed to minimize the effects of trash on human health and the environment by reducing contamination of the surrounding soil or water. Due to updated regulations and better understanding of science, modern landfills have come a long way in the last few decades!
While there are several types of landfills. The garbage picked up at your curb each week is destined for the Municipal Solid Waste Landfill (MSWLF) in Winnebago County, IL. MSWLF landfills are specifically designed to receive nonhazardous household and commercial waste.
How are these landfills created and managed?
Landfills are mostly compressed layers of trash and soil. According to the EPA, modern landfills are completely sealed to reduce contamination of the nearby groundwater. To do this, first, the ground is lined with clay then a thin layer of flexible plastic is placed on top of the clay layer. As trash is dumped, creating a pile, it is compacted into a dense mound. Each day a layer of soil is used to cover the garbage. This helps to prevent odor and rodent problems. The flexible plastic layer of the landfill allows the collection of leachate, the liquid that passes through the landfill that may draw toxins from the trash. The leachate is collected though a drainage system that leads to a pool where it can be treated to remove the toxins before being released back into the environment. When a landfill is full and needs to be closed, it is sealed with another layer of clay and thin plastic. Then it is covered with several feet of soil so that plants can grow on top.
Last year SWANCC member communities contributed approximately 250,000 tons of garbage to the Winnebago Landfill. This is a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill that opened in 1972. The Winnebago landfill uses gas-to-energy processing. This allows the conversion of naturally occurring landfill gas into clean renewable energy. In addition, the liquids that are collected from the drainage system are treated at our modern wastewater treatment facility in Rockford.
For addition information, please use the following links:
EPA: Basic Information about Landfills
EPA: Information About Landfill Gas
EPA: Municipal Solid Waste Landfills
Trash. It’s a part of everyday life, whether you’re tossing an empty bag of chips or getting rid of an old couch. It’s easy enough to see where garbage comes from, but what happens after you lug it to the curb on pickup day?
When your curbside trash is picked up by the garbage truck, it is brought to a facility called a transfer station and then continues its journey to the landfill.
But what is a transfer station and what happens there? Good question!
In simple terms, a transfer station is an industrial facility where your garbage is unloaded from the trucks that picked it up, temporarily held, and reloaded into large trailers for transport to the landfill. Transferring waste from the small trucks onto larger trailers significantly reduces transportation costs and environmental impacts of moving the trash from homes and businesses to landfills. At SWANCC's Glenview Transfer Station, approximately 3 garbage truck loads can be packed into a single trailer!
Your garbage goes to the SWANCC Transfer Station.
How does SWANCC's transfer station work?
There’s a standard process that most garbage trucks, contractors, and individual residents follow when making a stop at SWANCC’s Glenview Transfer Station.
1. Arrival: When vehicles arrive at the transfer station, they are directed to a scale where
they are weighed.
2. Unloading: Trash is then unloaded onto the floor inside the building. Equipment like
bulldozers move trash around the facility.
3. Reweigh and Payment: When necessary, private vehicles are reweighed upon exit. This determines the amount of waste left behind and payment is made accordingly.
4. Reloading: Excavators are then used to load the waste onto trailers that hold a large
capacity of material and then sent to its next destination – the landfill.
Everything a SWANCC resident puts into their curbside garbage bin ends up at the Glenview Transfer Station. Material is not sorted for recycling or reuse – its destination is the landfill. For a fee, contractors and residents can also bring garbage - including from home renovations and old furniture - to the transfer station for disposal. NO liquids, paints, electronics, compressed gases, or hazardous materials are accepted. Last year, approximately 340,000 tons of waste left the Glenview Transfer Station and was landfilled at the Winnebago Landfill near Rockford. The transfer station also accepts landscape waste from garbage companies and landscape contractors; we do NOT accept landscape waste at the transfer station from individuals.
THINK FIRST before simply throwing away materials that end up in the landfill. SWANCC encourages residents to reduce the waste they produce overall and to reuse all material as many times as possible. For items that are reusable, search for avenues to give away materials locally free of cost, such as online Buy Nothing groups, donating to reuse facilities, and utilizing scrap metal facilities. Check out SWANCC's guide "Cleaning out Quickly and Responsibly or search our Reuse and Recycling Directory for outlets for many materials.
For more information on SWANCC's Glenview Transfer Station, please visit: swancc.org/transfer-station
Summer is a time for celebration, which often means fireworks. But once the celebrations are over and the smoke has cleared, fireworks can be a mess to clean up. Fireworks, when incorrectly disposed of, can also be dangerous to you, waste haulers, and the environment.
Likewise, flares are an essential safety tool for road emergencies, maritime navigation, and various outdoor activities. However, like many safety items, flares have an expiration date because over time the chemical compounds within them degrade, reducing their effectiveness and reliability.
In many areas, local fire and police departments can assist with the disposal of old flares and unused fireworks. They have the expertise and facilities to handle potentially dangerous materials safely. In summertime, some communities even host takeback events for these unused materials so be sure to check in your area.
If local fire or police do not collect, you can follow these steps as an alternate means of disposal:
- Make sure your pyrotechnics are waterlogged.
- To do this, submerge and soak them in a bucket of water. If items contain easily removeable plastic caps, remove them to allow for easier saturation.
- Soak for a minimum of 24 hours.
- Once you’ve gotten the fireworks or flares waterlogged, place them into a garbage bag and dispose of them in your regular garbage can.
- Do NOTput them in your recycling bin. Even though they’re mostly paper, flares and fireworks are not recyclable items!
Please note, that even though fireworks can be purchased in neighboring states, according to Illinois law, most consumer fireworks are illegal. SWANCC supports Illinois law. The above information is to help guide you for proper management of materials you may encounter within and outside of Illinois.