Illinois landfill nears closing stage

An online article from a Bloomington, Illinois-based news organization says government agencies in McLean County, Illinois, are preparing for the closure of a municipal solid waste (MSW) landfill in that county within the next 12 to 14 months. McLean County has approximately 170,000 residents and its largest city is Bloomington.

The report from The Pantagraph says a McLean County landfill operated by Phoenix-based Republic Services says the landfill is expected to reach its capacity and close by the first quarter of 2018.

Sources quoted from both McLean County and Republic Services say after the closure, MSW generated in McLean County will likely head for another Republic landfill in Livingston County, Illinois, which has more than 30 years of capacity remaining.

A fiscal burden is likely to land on residents of McLean County because of the loss of tipping fees when the landfill in their county closes. Neither source indicates whether higher hauling costs to ship MSW into an adjacent county also will result, although Republic Services indicates those costs should be offset by the disappearance of McLean County landfill operating costs.

The future land use of the McLean County site has not been determined, according to The Pantagraph report, although one source speculates, “It will never be farmland again.”