Household Hazardous Waste Collection

McLean County Household Hazardous Waste Collection Update

On July 15, 2009 Illinois Public Act 96-0044 swept the Illinois Solid Waste Management Fund, effectively removing all funding for IEPA sponsored Household Hazardous Waste Collection events. As a result, the IEPA is not scheduling any collection events at this time.

The Ecology Action Center continues to have an application on file with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to schedule a collection event for McLean County and is hopeful for an event when IEPA funding is restored. To receive an email notification of the next event when it is scheduled, residents may subscribe to the HHW notification email list by going to www.ecologyactioncenter.org and using the red sign-up box on the left side of the page. Alternately, residents may call the Ecology Action Center at (309) 454-3169 to be added to a postcard notification list. Residents may also contact the Ecology Action Center during regular hours (Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.) with any questions regarding household hazardous waste items.

The Household Hazardous Waste Collection is a very important and useful resource. However, the Ecology Action Center encourages community members to reduce the amount of hazardous waste items acquired in the first place. Purchasing appropriate quantities of chemicals, oil based paints, etc. will reduce or eliminate leftover amounts that require disposal. For safer homes and a healthy environment, reduced usage of hazardous chemicals will benefit everyone.

Safer alternatives to many common household chemicals do exist. For example, the Ecology Action Center's Yard Smart program is all about sustainable lawn care; numerous resources on alternatives to conventional synthetic fertilizers and pesticides may be found on the Ecology
Action Center's website at http://www.ecologyactioncenter.org/yard-smart/. Some suggestions for other alternatives to some other common household chemicals may be found at the IEPA's website at http://www.epa.state.il.us/p2/less-toxic-products.html.

Alternately, there are a few permanent HHW collection sites in Illinois, located in Naperville, Rockford, Chicago, and Gurnee. Contact information for each of these facilities is located on the IEPA website at: http://www.epa.state.il.us/land/hazardous-waste/household-haz-waste/hhwc-schedule.
html.

Additionally, lately there are increased options for recycling some items locally that previously required disposal at a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event. For example:

Compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) bulbs may be recycled of at the following collection sites:
-Town of Normal, Facilities Management Parking Lot, 207 S. Linden (across from Vitesse Cycle) accessible 24 hours a day
-City of Bloomington Public Service – Drop Off Facility Blue receptacle located in compound at Jackson Street and East Street (behind Bloomington Public Library). Hours vary seasonally; consult www.cityblm.org or call 309-434-2220 for current hours of
operation.
-Springfield Electric, 902 Four Seasons Road in Bloomington Monday - Friday from 7 am to 5:30 pm, and Saturday 8 am to 3 pm.
-Ecology Action Center, 202 W College Avenue Monday - Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.
-Home Depot, 795 Veteran’s Parkway, Bloomington. You can bring the light bulbs to an associate in the electrical department during business hours.
-Menards, 900 Greenbriar Drive, Normal. You can bring CFLs in during store hours.

Residents are asked to wrap CFLs in newspaper or replace in original packaging before recycling to reduce breakage.

Fluorescent Tube Bulbs may be recycled at the following collection sites:
- Home Depot, 795 Veteran’s Parkway, Bloomington. You can bring the light bulbs to an associate in the electrical department during business hours.
-Menards, 900 Greenbriar Drive, Normal. You can bring CFLs in during store hours.

Household batteries may be disposed of at the following collection sites during regular
business hours:
- Batteries Plus 2109 N. Veteran's Parkway, Bloomington
- Interstate Battery Center 1400 E Lafayette. St. Bloomington

Used motor oil and antifreeze may be disposed of at:
- Baird Automotive 804 Division St., Normal
- Lube Pros 1700 E Empire St., Bloomington
- Jiffy Lube 108 S. Towanda Ave., Normal
-Speed Lube # 5 710 E Washington St., Bloomington
-Speed Lube # 7 1011 B N. Hershey Rd., Bloomington
- Team Automotive 1223 S. Adelaide St., Bloomington

Latex paint (but not oil paints) can be disposed of in the garbage safely if you first allow the paint to dry completely into a dry mass. The quickest way to do so is by pouring the latex paint onto several layers of newspaper, allow it to dry, and then roll up the newspaper and throw away.

Unused or expired pharmaceuticals can be dropped at:
- Eastland Pharmacy in OSF Eastland Medical Plaza I, 1505 Eastland Drive in Bloomington
- Atrium Pharmacy at BroMenn Regional Medical Center, 1304 Franklin Avenue in Normal
- Merle Pharmacy, 203 E Locust Street in Bloomington
- Chenoa Pharmacy, 209 S Green Street in Chenoa
- Doc’s Drugs, 304 Sunset Drive in LeRoy

Bloomington and Normal police departments are accepting drop-offs of all medicine, including
controlled substances/narcotics (strong painkillers like morphine, codeine, hydrocodone, and
oxycodone) and other prescriptions.
-Bloomington Police Department, 305 S. East Street, Bloomington
-Normal Police Department, 100 E. Phoenix Avenue, Normal
-Illinois State University Student Services Building, 201 N. University St, Normal

Residential electronics including computers, phones, radios, VCRs, microwaves, blenders, CDs, DVDs, VHS tapes, audio
cassettes, and other electronics may be recycled at the Normal Public Works Garage Electronics Drop-off at 1301 Warriner (off Adelaide), Monday-Friday from 7am to 2pm.

Other household hazardous waste items not listed above (including oil-based paints, paint thinner, herbicides, insecticides, fertilizers, drain cleaners, cleaning chemicals, pool chemicals, and mercury containing items such as old thermostats and thermometers) all still need to be
disposed of at a Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event.