SPRINGFIELD – Illinois EPA Director John J. Kim today announced the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) collections for the spring of 2021. Illinois EPA HHW collections provide residents with free collection events to safely dispose of unused or leftover hazardous household products commonly found in homes. As with past events, all Illinois EPA HHW collections are contactless for the safety of participants. Additional safety tips are included following the schedule below.
“Our Household Hazardous Waste Program has worked to provide more opportunities for residents that rely on these events to dispose of old, unused chemicals and other hazardous products in a safe and proper manner,” said Director Kim. “Last fall, we announced five hubs that will be supplemented with other collection partners to more thoroughly cover the State. Thanks to our many co-sponsors, we now have partnerships with eight hub locations to continue offering this essential program to more communities.”
The HHW hub partners include the City of Bloomington, the City of Effingham, the City of Springfield, the City of Quincy, Champaign County, Jackson County, Peoria County, and Rock Island County. Those not included on the spring schedule are planning fall 2021 events.
Each year, Illinois EPA coordinates with local municipalities to conduct one-day collections to provide no-cost public drop-offs for the disposal of household hazardous waste. The first of these collections began in November 1989. Since then, over 401,350 households have participated in 449 events, with more than 78,100 drums of material collected.
One-day collections are open to all Illinois residents and operate from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the day of the event. Residents participating in these events are encouraged to bring chemical cleaners, oil-based paints, thinners, antifreeze, motor oil, gasoline, kerosene, weed killers, insecticides and pesticides, old or outdated medication, and similar hazardous household products. Fluorescent and other high-intensity discharge lamps may also be brought to the collections. ITEMS NOT ACCEPTED include latex paint, explosives, propane tanks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, agricultural chemicals and business wastes.
A complete list of household hazardous wastes that are and are not accepted is available online at https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/acceptable-wastes.aspx. The spring 2021 one-day collections are scheduled on Saturdays as follows:
DATE | LOCATION | ADDRESS | COSPONSOR(s) |
| March 27 | Hillsboro Montgomery County | Montgomery County Farm Bureau 102 North Main Street Hillsboro, IL | Montgomery County |
| April 10 | Champaign* Champaign County | Market Place Shopping Center 2000 North Neil Street Champaign, IL | Champaign County |
| April 17 | Carthage Hancock County | Hancock County Office 550 North Madison Street Carthage, IL | Hancock County Farm Bureau |
| May 1 | Sterling Whiteside County | 202 Wallace Street Sterling, IL | City of Sterling |
| May 15 | Henry Marshall County | Marshall Putnam County Fairgrounds 915 University Avenue Henry, IL | North Central Illinois Council of Governments |
| May 22 | Waterloo Monroe County | Monroe County Fairgrounds 4177 IL-156 Waterloo, IL | City of Columbia |
| May 22 | Herscher Kankakee County | Herscher High School 501 North Main Street Herscher, IL | Herscher Community Unit School District #2 |
| June 5 | Aurora* Kane County | 200 North River Street Aurora, IL | City of Aurora |
| June 12 | Glencoe* Cook County | 275 Park Avenue Glencoe, IL | City of Glencoe |
| June 19 | Carbondale* Jackson County | SIUC Arena Parking Lot 1400 Arena Drive Carbondale, IL | Jackson County |
| June 26 | Lake in the Hills McHenry County | Lake in the Hills Sanitary District 515 Plum Street Lake in the Hills, IL | Lake in the Hills |
*These events require pre-registration. Please contact the event co-sponsor to pre-register:
• Champaign: https://hhwevent.simplybook.me/v2/. Susan Monte, 217-819-4127.
• Aurora: Kelvin Beene, 630-450-4657
• Glencoe: Megan Olson, 847-835-4111
• Carbondale: Kassidy Phoenix Stevens, 618-684-3143
For safe transport of household hazardous waste, residents are asked to:
• Pack household hazardous waste items in a disposable box to avoid spilling during transport.
• Keep like chemicals together and separate unlike chemicals.
• Secure lids and make sure containers are not leaking.
• Place box(es) of household hazardous waste in empty trunk of your vehicle, away from passengers during transport.
• Remain in vehicle at collection site. On-site personnel will remove the household hazardous waste from your vehicle.
In addition to the one-day collections, long-term collection facilities are available for disposal of household hazardous waste throughout the year. Those locations, and additional information can be found at : https://www2.illinois.gov/epa/topics/waste-management/waste-disposal/household-hazardous-waste/Pages/collections.aspx.
