On Dec. 11, the Champaign County Environmental Stewards began its public capital campaign for a household hazardous waste collection facility in Urbana, which would provide residents with a way to dispose of HHW year-round.
CCES is a registered nonprofit organization formed in April 2020 to help Champaign County residents responsibly manage household materials safely and conveniently, according to its website.
Marya Ryan, CCES capital committee co-chair, shared that CCES has already raised $1.5 million toward constructing the HHW collection facility.
Wednesday marked the beginning of its public fundraising efforts, calling for donations from businesses, organizations and individuals to help raise the remaining funds needed for the $2.8 million project.
CCES has already purchased the land for the collection facility, which would provide residents of East Central Illinois with a convenient place to drop off HHW year-round.
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Hazardous items commonly found in homes, such as cleaning products, rodent and insect repellents, lightbulbs, batteries, paints and other materials, can only be dropped off once a year at the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency’s HHW collection day.
The nearest permanent collection facility is a two-to-three-hour drive to Naperville, Illinois. CCES Executive Director Susan Monte said most people are unwilling to drive more than 10 miles to dispose of HHW, and the IEPA’s annual collection days can only serve 1% of local residents.
With limited options, many dispose of these flammable, corrosive, explosive or toxic materials improperly by pouring them down the drain or throwing them away with regular trash, letting HHW seep into the environment.
According to Monte, not only does improper disposal of HHW pose serious health risks, such as behavior abnormalities, cancer, kidney failure, birth defects and other conditions, but it also severely harms the natural environment.
“One of the biggest threats we are facing is contamination of the Mahomet Aquifer,” Monte said.
The Mahomet Aquifer supplies clean water to nearly 750,000 people in East Central Illinois, pumping out 220 million gallons of water per day.
Storing these materials for longer than necessary can also pose serious risks, including the accidental poisoning of children and pets, as well as more dangerous conditions for firefighters responding to house fires.
“Firefighters are much more likely to get cancers because of exposure to these chemicals during a house fire,” said Champaign Fire Chief Andy Quarnstrom. “Many HHW materials are flammable and explode when exposed to high temperatures. This creates a serious threat for firefighters, as well as individuals in the home.”
According to the CCES’s website, the EPA estimates the average United States household produces about 20 pounds of HHW and stores another 100 pounds annually. That means Champaign and adjacent counties create roughly 625 tons of HHW yearly.
Monte said the collection facility would serve the needs of 10-12% of local residents, an increase from the current 1% of residents served. She also hopes the facility will better serve disadvantaged communities who historically have lower participation rates in the one-day collection events.
“It will be a lot more convenient if people have a place year-round to bring these materials,” said Nichole Millage, environmental sustainability specialist for the City of Champaign, who currently runs and organizes the IEPA HHW collection events. “We never know for sure when the (one-day collection) event is going to be.”
Alongside donations, CCES secures $25,000 in annual funding from the Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District to support the facility construction.
“The Sanitary District is really supportive of the HHW collection facility because … sometimes people pour those chemicals down the drain, which ends up going to our treatment plant and ultimately ends up going out into the local streams and creaks,” said Brad Bennett, director of engineering for the Urbana and Champaign Sanitary District.
The IEPA is expected to support the $175,000 annual operation and processing costs, as it has done with other collection facilities in the state. CCES has also received grants from Champaign County, the City of Champaign and the City of Urbana, totaling over $1 million.
Other potential funding sources include an Extended Producer Responsibility bill that will be introduced to the state legislature in 2025. If passed, the bill would require all manufacturers of HHW to fund disposal efforts of their products. Only one other state, Vermont, has passed such a bill.
The fundraising campaign will run until July 2025, at which point CCES will apply for the necessary IEPA permits needed for construction. The facility is expected to be completed in 2026.
“We get a lot of calls from residents wanting to know what they can do with their hazardous materials,” Monte said. “This is a longstanding need to have this collection option.”
