September 9, 2025 Newsletter

The 2025 Illinois Circularity Conference is set for October 14-15, 2025, at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in East Peoria, Illinois. This highly anticipated event brings together three leading organizations in waste management and recycling:

• Illinois Counties Solid Waste Management Association (ILCSWMA)
• Illinois Recycling Foundation (IRF)
• Illinois Solid Waste Association of North America, Land of Lincoln Chapter (SWANA)



September 22 is the deadline to book your room! The Embassy Suites offers a prime location for networking, education, and collaboration, with comfortable accommodations and modern conference facilities. Rates are $110 per night. Book your room now.

Seize this exceptional opportunity to boost your organization's profile at the 2025 Illinois Circularity Conference. Our sponsorship packages are designed to deliver maximum exposure, exclusive networking opportunities, and a lasting impact on a highly engaged audience. Secure your spot today and stand out as a leader in innovation and sustainability.

Don't miss this chance to partner with us and drive real value for your organization!

Print this document prior to attending the conference, if desired.

Do you have a colleague or co-worker who has made outstanding contributions to the Association and to the management of solid waste in the State of Illinois? Nominate them for an award by filling out a simple form by September 19, 2025.

Distinguished Service Award

ILCSWMA Board bestows this award to a nominee that has made outstanding contributions to the Association and the management of solid waste in the State of Illinois.

Lifetime Achievement Award

This award is bestowed upon an individual who is retiring or is leaving the solid waste industry in Illinois, and who has made a significant impact upon the industry and the Association. Not necessarily awarded each year.

The Board will review each submission and select a recipient for each category to present an award on Tuesday during lunch. Don't delay - get your nomination in today!

Why Solid Waste Facilities Are Key To Success

Solid waste facilities are essential to making this program work. By July 1, 2026, retailers can only sell batteries from producers participating in the program. And by January 1, 2028, residents will no longer be allowed to toss covered batteries in the trash or curbside recycling. 

To meet Illinois’s goal of having one drop-off site within 15 miles of 95% of residents, plus additional sites based on population, we need facilities like yours to help build a statewide network of safe, accessible collection sites. Together, we can make it happen.

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Here’s what your facility will need to do to collect and ship batteries safely:

• Place secure, clearly labeled battery containers in staffed areas

• Display signage from Call2Recycle with disposal instructions

• Accept all covered battery types and brands at no cost to residents

• Follow safety and hazardous materials regulations

Ready to Get Started? 

Reach out to Call2Recycle’s Program Coordinator, Matt Stephens, mstephens@call2recycle.org, to assess your needs and prepare your site for safe battery collection.

By joining this effort, you’re helping protect workers, prevent fires, and build a cleaner future. Let’s lead the charge together.

The ILCSWMA Southern Region Members met in person on Tuesday, August 29th, at the Effingham County Government Building. Josh Douthit, Chairman of the Effingham County Board, hosted the meeting, along with Rumpke Waste & Recycling staff members Tom Turchiano and Austin Hayes.

Rumpke coordinated a short bus trip for attendees to visit the Rumpke 33 Landfill, located on County Highway 33, to see firsthand what they have planned for the current and future facility. Rumpke purchased this landfill in February 2024. It was developed in the early 1980s (Pre-Subtitle D) and currently accepts about 400-500 tons of municipal solid waste daily from direct haul, roll-off, and walking-floor trailers arriving from its Mason, Illinois, transfer facility. The existing 33 Landfill has roughly 1.5 years of capacity left, and the new landfill, being built next to the current site, is expected to start operations late next year, with an estimated capacity of 30 years.

A unique feature of the 33 landfill is its direct connection to the City of Effingham's water treatment plant, which eliminates the need to ship leachate off-site in tank trucks. The active landfill has 13 water wells, 8 gas wells, and 16 gas flares. They have partnered with M2X Energy, which will install a landfill gas reclamation system that converts captured methane into liquefied methanol, to be hauled off-site and used as fuel for cargo ships.

Following the tour, the meeting resumed at the Effingham County Government Building and included a roundtable discussion among members highlighting enforcement and education programs, Illinois EPA-supported initiatives related to expanding tire, battery, paint, and other HHW collections. There was also a lively conversation with guests from a citizen environmental concerns organization that is working to establish recycling collection in the community.

SCARCE and IFSCC are teaming up to direct Illinois communities to IFSCC processors and resellers of finished compost during Pumpkin Smash season! Fall is an ideal time to apply compost to your gardens and projects. It is a critical part of overwintering and does wonderful things to help the garden while it “sleeps.” 

Head over the IFSCC website to inquire about acquiring compost from our experts. We’re promoting places where you can purchase finished compost to use in your garden, return resources to your soil, and close the loop yourself! 

You will also find a handy guide on “How to Host a Compost Giveback/BYOBucket Event” to share with organizations, community groups, or municipalities. Now is the best time to include compost procurement in budget workshops for distribution and use throughout all Illinois communities. Pumpkin Smash season is also a great time of year to promote compost bin sales in your community.

Wondering what a Pumpkin Smash is? A Pumpkin Smash is a fun way to keep water and resources out of landfills. When pumpkins are composted, that compost will help nourish and heal agriculture and landscapes.

See SCARCE website for more Pumpkin Smash details.

This year, IFSCC’s ICAW adventures took place across 13 counties in Illinois, with thousands of people attending a variety of interesting and informative programs, events, and activities that provided numerous opportunities to learn about the importance and benefits of composting and utilizing compost. They also provided many opportunities to enjoy and have fun at events which included farm festivals, Storytimes in gardens and at libraries, along with other games, crafts, and kid's activities. Other events included plant sales and giveaways, compost giveback events, farmer’s markets with special booths and displays, compost demos, tours, and more. In addition to compost and composting, the week included education, information sharing and conversations surrounding all the interrelated issues and topics of soil health, conservation, wasted food reduction and diversion, how to grow healthy food, combating climate change, hunger, and more. To see some of the fun, and learning that took place during ICAW 2025, and learn more about it, check out our 2025 Almanac and Memory Book!

Please feel free to share the Album/Memory Book and our 2 virtual programs/presentations below with any of your team members, residents, patrons, and community.

Please reach out if you’d like to brainstorm ideas and possibilities for 2026 at MRampale@swalco.org.

STAY CONNECTED

Please send in information to share with the membership about a new program, data from a collection event, or anything pertaining to successful waste prevention initiatives or enforcement. If you are a full member and have others in your department that would like to receive this newsletter, please send an email request to ILCSWMA's administrative coordinator, Mary S. Allen, at info@ilcswma.org.