Madison County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility receives for its efforts as it approaches its first anniversary of operations in October. Madison County Building and Zoning received an award from the Illinois Recycling Foundation during its conference in Joliet for its pursuit and achievement of opening a Permanent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility. “There hasn’t been a HHW site opened in Illinois in the past 20 years,” Building and Zoning Administrator Chris Doucleff said. “This is a great achievement for Madison County as we continue to be the gold standard for resource management practices in southern Illinois.”
The collection facility, located at 249 N. Old St. Louis Road, Wood River, allows all Illinois residents drop off household hazardous waste for free the first Saturday and third Friday of every month. “It helps prevent harmful chemicals such as gasoline, antifreeze, and other toxic chemicals from leaching into local waterways and waste streams,” Doucleff said.
The new facility is one of just a handful of such collection sites in the state and the first permanent Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility in southern Illinois. The facility provides opportunities and services for local communities to dispose of their toxic waste responsibly. Doucleff said that recently the site had to limit its collection services due to an incinerator fire in Ohio suspending some items. Temporarily suspended items include pesticides, herbicides, lawn fertilizers/chemicals, pool chemicals, and medicines.