Dive Brief:
- The McLean County Landfill in Illinois is less than two years from capacity, according to Ecology Action Center Executive Director Michael Brown. However, county residents have increased the amount of waste that they are sending to the landfill. Residents created 226,000 tons of waste in 2014, which is a 16% increase from 2013.
- Recycling in 2014 jumped from 74,000 tons to 85,000 tons, repeating 2013's recycling rate of 37.7%.
- If the landfill hits capacity, waste will need to be shipped out of the county. Also, proposals such as Paradigm BioAviation's plan to turn local waste into jet fuel are being considered, according to Brown.
Dive Insight:
In order to decrease the county's waste disposal rate, Brown has encouraged residents to "be more conscious of their buying habits and the packaging of consumer goods," and recommends people “buy things in packaging that’s more easily recyclable” and "avoid disposables where we can and use reusables," including shopping bags.
However, the county is not too off track from Brown's requests. The city of Bloomington claims 77% participation in its curbside recycling program, and the town of Normal "crossed over to a 60% participation rate” in June, Waste Removal Supervisor Tom Ramirez told the Pantagraph.
No matter what efforts may be made to decrease the rate of solid waste disposal, the landfill will soon come to a close.
"This is truly the beginning of the end of the landfill. The more we can postpone that inevitability, the better," Brown told Pantagraph.
