Solid Waste – Christian County Illinois

Shawn Hammers
Director

Office: (217) 287-2334

Map of Christian County, Illinois

Mailing Address:
101 S. Main St.
Courthouse – 1st Floor
Taylorville, IL 62568

Links & Resources

Our Services

Christian County Solid Waste is responsible for:

Enforcing the Illinois Environmental Protection Act at the local landfill and at open dumping/burning sites.
Responding to complaints regarding open dumping/burning.
Funding the electronics recycling program for Christian County residents through BLH Computers.
Coordinating and funding the collection and hauling of recyclable materials for the schools and county offices within Christian County.
Hosting Household Hazardous Waste Collection events when state funding is available.
Acting as a Key Resource for Environmental Information.
Assisting Businesses with creating or modifying existing recycling problems.
Providing educational components to increase awareness of waste streams in conjunction with the circular economy. See recycling and environmental education link at the top of the page.

The CCSWMD enforces the applicable Environmental Protection Act statutes, Illinois Pollution Control Board regulations, and landfill permit conditions set by the Illinois EPA.

How Does a Landfill Work?

For the active landfill, these regulations and permit conditions govern hours of operation, types of material accepted, daily operations, cover materials, litter control, leachate collection, gas management and protection of groundwater quality. The landfill is inspected at least twice a month and focus is on:

Methods of operation
Number of personnel and type of equipment to process solid waste timely
Evaluation of daily, intermediate and final cover
Litter control
Odor control
Load checks for unpermitted wastes
Salvage and/or scavenging activities
Leachate (liquid contaminated by waste) management
Gas Management/Energy Generation
Groundwater monitoring and remediation

Items Banned from Landfills
The State of Illinois has banned the following items from Illinois landfills:

Appliances/white goods (Large appliances often contain refrigerants or other chemicals that must be removed and recycled)
Electronics (contain lead and mercury which can leach into soil and water)
Lead-acid batteries (contain toxic lead and corrosive acid that can harm the environment)
Motor oil (improper disposal of oil can contaminate water sources and soil. Recycling is required)
Oil-based paints (classified as hazardous – contributes to leachate management)
Tires (take up significant space and can trap methane gases creating fire hazards in landfills)
Landscape waste (can be composted rather than taking up landfill space)
Mercury-containing products (hazardous – accepted at Household Hazardous Waste Collections)
Untreated potentially infectious medical waste (Hazard to workers onsite)
Hazardous Waste (specific landfills regulated under Subtitle C handle this waste under stringent conditions)

Illegal Dump Site Investigations
State statutes and regulations also apply to wastes that are illegally disposed of on public or private property. Illegal dump site investigations are usually initiated within a day or two after being reported.

Copies of all inspection and investigation reports are sent to the Illinois EPA. If violations are found and they are not satisfactorily addressed through voluntary compliance, enforcement actions are pursued through the Christian County States Attorney’s Office and/or the Illinois Attorney General’s Office.

Household Hazardous Waste Collection
When news of state sponsored Household Hazardous Waste Collections are available, information will be posted here.

Together we can keep Christian County a wonderful place to live!