Madison County Resource Management Coordinator Brandon Banks, right, accepts an “Outstanding Public Sector Recycling Program” award from Illinois Recycling Foundation President Marta Keane during the group's annual conference in August in Joliet.

Madison County’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection Facility has been honored 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,” said Madison County Building and Zoning Administrator Chris Doucleff. “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 at 249 N. Old St. Louis Road in Wood River allows all Illinois residents to drop off household hazardous waste for free the first Saturday and third Friday of every month. The facility is one of just a handful of such 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.

“It helps prevent harmful chemicals such as gasoline, antifreeze, and other toxic chemicals from leaching into local waterways and waste streams,” Doucleff said. “With the opening of this facility, the county has been able to quadruple their annual hazardous waste collection numbers in just its first year."

Doucleff said the site recently had to limit its collection services when an incinerator fire in Ohio suspended the acceptance of some items. Temporarily suspended items include pesticides, herbicides, lawn fertilizers/chemicals, pool chemicals and medicines. Medicines are still eligible for drop off at local sheriff’s offices and police stations.

“The Building and Zoning Department mitigated these service disruptions by limiting the items accepted for drop off while keeping their doors open for all other acceptable materials,” Doucleff said.

He said the public should review the updated prohibited item list to ensure that items brought in for drop off will be collected. Residents with temporarily suspended items should keep them safely stored in their original manufacturer containers until HHW collections resume in full.

Through its partnership with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency which funds transportation and disposal, the Maadison County Building and Zoning Department is able to reduce the financial burden on taxpayers while offering more opportunities to dispose of waste and improve collection services for local communities.

Items currently accepted for drop off include oil based paints, cleaning solvents, paint thinners, hobby chemicals, antifreeze, motor oil, old gasoline, household batteries, items containing mercury (i.e. thermostats, thermometers), lead acid batteries, and fluorescent lights.

Materials not accepted are latex paint, used tires, used/empty propane tanks, ammunition, agricultural wastes, explosives, fireworks, fire extinguishers, smoke detectors, farm machinery oil, business or biohazard waste.