Illinois EPA releases landfill capacity report

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has released its Illinois Landfill Projections of Disposable Capacity Report for 2014, the agency announced on Wednesday.

In the report the agency details landfill capacity and current levels of waste up until Jan. 1 of this year.

“Each year, Illinois EPA prepares this report to inform citizens of our current available landfill space and to aid local governments and private businesses in planning the safe management of waste in Illinois,” Illinois EPA Director Lisa Bonnett said. “This report is also a reminder of the importance of diverting waste from landfills by reusing and recycling whenever possible.”

Landfill capacity is a fluctuating value as new facilities are built and as new waste is added. Capacity is also affected by the settling and disintegration of waste material present at any site.

Over the state's 39 landfills there were 44 million gate cubic yards -- gate cubic yards is the volume of waste entering a facility -- of waste material present. The report indicated that across all facilities there were approximately 962 million gate cubic yards of remaining capacity. With consideration of disposal rates in 2014, the agency places the landfill lifespan in Illinois at 21 years.

This report does not include compost and transfer facilities because they do not store waste on a permanent basis.