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.
Many of us enjoy camping, backpacking, etc. during the summer and find the use the small fuel canisters helpful when cooking meals. But what do we do when we are finished with them?
They can NOT go into the trash and can NOT go into your recycle bin!
Why? That's a good question!
Even though the canisters may seem empty, they can still contain explosive gas. Garbage and recyclables are tossed, tumbled, and compressed when collected from our curbside carts. These processes can easily rupture a cylinder and cause a fire or explosion. Fires at a waste or recycling facility and in collection vehicles are dangerous for workers and the public. This can also drive up the costs of processing waste.
So, what do we do?
There are drop-off locations that take these cylinders and see to it that they are safely and properly managed. In this process, the canisters get purged with nitrogen to remove the propane. The reclaimed propane is then sold. The steel gets canister itself, gets compacted and recycled.
The outlets that accept these canisters are the Household Hazardous Waste Facilities as well as Flat Can Recycling. Links to each site are below. Be sure to call first to check on collection and if there are any nominal fees that may be involved!
Chicago Household Chemicals & Computer Recycling Facility
Naperville Household Hazardous Waste Facility
Rockford Rock River Reclamation District
With so much information coming our way every day, it can be difficult to differentiate between true facts and myths, especially when it comes to recycling. SWANCC is here to clarify some of those myths that you may have read or heard about relating to recycling processes.
One thing we can all agree on is that we produce trash, and a lot of it. Some of that trash goes to landfills. An estimated 30% of food scraps and yard waste (that could have been composted) and 55% of what could have been recycled, end up in landfills.
Statistics aside, why would we go through all the trouble and cost of recycling outreach, collecting recyclable materials, and sorting them in our facilities if we were just going to put it all in the landfill?
Let’s set the record straight…..
RECYCLING MYTH: I thought I saw the garbage truck pick up my recycling!
This could be true. Just like you may use your vehicle to drive family or friends to dinner and a concert, you use the same vehicle to transport flowers and plants from the garden center. Sometimes communities use the same trucks for trash and recycle collection. However, they are not collected in the same load and recyclables are NOT taken to the landfill, they are taken to a Material Recovery Facility (MRF) where they are separated and bailed to sell back to manufacturers for recycling!
RECYCLING MYTH: Material placed in a landfill will decompose.
Two essential components of decomposition are oxygen and moisture. Landfills are designed so that very little oxygen or moisture flows through them. Landfills are not meant to break down trash, but simply to bury it. This design helps prevent decomposing materials from contaminating groundwater.
RECYLING MYTH: Recycling just becomes trash.
Recycling as an industry is NOT a myth. However, truthfully, some materials may eventually end up in the landfill. This is because some material should NOT have been placed into the recycle bin in the first place! In addition, while it is true that contamination can render some materials unfit for recycling, the industry works hard to find markets for materials to be recycled. In fact, it’s such an important piece to the economy, that in 2020, it was declared an essential industry and service by the Department of Homeland Security!
RECYCLING MYTH: It doesn’t matter if something belongs in the recycling cart, the hauler will sort everything anyway.
There are increasing amounts of non-recyclable items sent to Material Recovery Facilities, and all of them must be removed so they don’t contaminate the high-value recyclables. We are not becoming a less wasteful global society, so it has become increasingly challenging to remove all the garbage people toss in with recycle. Non-recyclable items placed in your recycling containers increase the cost of recycling, slow the process, and pose safety risks to employees. Focus on only recycling the most valuable materials – clean and empty bottles, jars, jugs, tubs, cans, paper, and flattened cardboard. All recyclable items must go into your cart loose – NOT IN BAGS of any kind! If you’re not sure whether something is recyclable, throw it in the trash!