McHenry County Begins Planning Solid Waste Improvement

McHenry County's Solid Waste Advisory Committee began another update Wednesday of the County's State-mandated Solid Waste Plan.  The good news, said Kristy Hecke, McHenry County Solid Waste Manager, is that the County's exceeding its solid waste goals.  The bad news is that there's no obvious money available to do better.

The Illinois Solid Waste Planning and Recycling Act makes McHenry County responsible for cutting back all the solid waste within its borders, even the waste from municipalities.  The law also calls for updating County plans to do that every five years and the last update was in 2007.

Hecke said, with no landfills but two landscape composting facilities, two shingle recycling operations, and a pending general construction waste center, McHenry County's easily beating its 25 percent solid waste reduction goal.  But now there are new problems to solve like drug and hazardous household waste disposal while financial resources are slim, she said.

There are, for instance, only four Illinois EPA household hazardous waste dropoff sites in northern Illinois,  not-so-conveniently located, at least for McHenry County residents, in Chicago, Rockford, Naperville and Gurnee.  In fact, thanks to the State budget crisis, IEPA's been cutting back on funding to cut back solid waste, said Hecke.  She pointed to the State's collection program for old paint, essentially shut down two years ago. The hope is to do more with special waste collections like the Village of Algonquin's twice-yearly e-waste events.

The Advisory Committee will meet three more times before sending the solid waste update to the County Board and then to IEPA for final approval.