Nonhazardous Solid Waste Management and Landfill Capacity in Illinois: 1999 v 7
Per capita views alter perspectives
Perhaps even more revealing is the table below, which views waste
and landfill capacities on a per capita basis. Regions Two and Six
have the lowest remaining capacity per capita. The Chicago Metro
area (Region Two) is the only area whose remaining capacity per
capita is below the State average. This is probably due to the fact that
the City of Chicago has 16 transfer stations, Cook County has 24
more and there are another 13 in surrounding counties. Some of these
transfer stations undoubtedly shipped waste out of the region or out-of-
state into Wisconsin or Indiana.
We must take into account waste transportation across borders of the
counties and the adjacent states, such as Missouri in the East St.
Louis Metro Region. If Region Six continues as a net importer shown
by its 53.5 percent import rate, refer to table, it could run short on
landfill space in 20 years. Cottonwood Hills RDF, in St. Clair
County, opened in November 2000, will help alleviate this situation.
In Region Two, because of the moratorium against landfills in the
City of Chicago, other areas of Cook County will have to build new
landfills, expand existing landfills or else transfer of waste will occur.
The table below illustrates that there is no capacity crisis in the State
of Illinois, nor is one expected in the near future. The table shows
that while the number of active landfills fell sharply when the new
more stringent regulations took place in 1994, the average landfill
capacity has been growing up to 14.7 million tons, while the waste
landfilled has remained in a narrow range for the past 10 years.
Still, it’s wise to remember, as with investments, past performance is
not an indicator of future results.
Landfill Capacity Per Capita; Landfill Life Expectancy
Wastes Disposed and Landfill Capacity Per Capita; Landfill Life Expectancy
Estimated Wastes Disposed, Cu. Yds. Remaining Capacity, Cu. Yds Landfill Life
Region Population 1999 Per Capita Jan. 1, 2000 Per Capita Years1
One: Northwestern Illinois 781,484 9,276,980 11.9 175,599,000 224.7 19
Two: Chicago Metropolitan 8,033,621 15,829,010 2.0 101,503,000 12.6 6
Three: Peoria/Quad Cities 758,244 4,354,918 5.7 180,290,000 237.8 41
Four: East Central Illinois 849,473 10,976,098 12.9 112,259,000 132.2 10
Five: West Central Illinois 562,783 1,810,676 3.2 65,932,000 117.2 36
Six: Metropolitan East St. Louis 202,335 6,519,788 32.2 130,611,000 645.5 20
Seven: Southern Illinois 439,899 1,784,045 4.1 26,494,000 60.2 15
Totals 11,627,839 50,551,515 4.3 792,688,000 68.2 16
1 Remaining capacity divided by wastes disposed. Tells how long a region may be served by local landfills at current disposal rates, barring
capacity adjustments, until capacity is depleted.
