People in Central Illinois have been asking for a place to recycle hazardous materials for years. Now, Champaign County is closer than ever to making that a reality. A nonprofit in Champaign County is building a new hazardous waste recycling facility. 鈥淭hat was so frustrating to get so many calls from residents asking what to do with this stuff. And we were waiting for seven years,鈥� Champaign County Environmental Stewards Executive Director Susan Monte said. 鈥淎t one point in 2019, it had been seven years since our last one-day collection.鈥�
The land was purchased earlier this year. Monte said they have raised almost half of the nearly $3 million it鈥檒l take to get the new plant up and running. Champaign Township supervisor Norman Davis went to Wednesday鈥檚 meeting to show support. 鈥淏elieve it or not, it鈥檚 going to save money in the long run because if we take care of it properly in the first place, we don鈥檛 have to clean it up and remediate soils and remediate and replant and things like that,鈥� Davis said.
Central Illinois has been lacking a permanent place to recycle household items like lithium batteries, cleaning supplies and bug sprays. And, they鈥檙e not only hazardous when they seep into our waterways. 鈥淭here鈥檚 also a lot of opportunity to prevent those hazards,鈥� Champaign Fire Chief Andy Quarnstrom said. 鈥淎nd this is one area that we鈥檙e looking at. Most houses in our community have household chemicals that are dangerous, but they鈥檙e especially dangerous when they鈥檙e on fire.鈥�