Residents have two ways to dispose of their household chemical waste:
1) Year-round Collection Events held at our permanent facility in Gurnee (twice a month by permit); and
2) Mobile Collections Events held at various locations throughout Lake County (April through November).
YEAR-ROUND RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION EVENTS
AT OUR PERMANENT FACILITY - (Appointment required)
The year-round program offers collections twice a month: the second Saturday of every month and the fourth Monday of every month (except December). These collections are for residential waste. Commercial waste will be turned away. The Gurnee facility is located at 1311 N. Estes Street. Please use Route 41 to Delany Road (north) to Grove (east) to Estes. The next 2010 public drop off dates are:
Schedule your online appointment below. Limited appointments are available so sign up early!! (appointments are needed so that the collection is staffed to handle the number of participants). Please click on the link below to go to our scheduling page.
Click here to schedule your appointment.
Change/Cancel an existing appointment.
If you have questions regarding items that are accepted, please check the list below, or contact SWALCO at 847-336-9340. If you need to dispose of something before you can get to one of our events, please consult SWALCO's Disposal Guide.
MOBILE RESIDENTIAL COLLECTION EVENTS -
No Appointment Necessary
All HCW collection events, sponsored by SWALCO, are for Illinois residents ONLY and are FREE. You do not need to be a resident of the community where the collection takes place in order to participate. Please scroll down the page for a general list of items accepted and not accepted at all HCW events.
Please check back at this site routinely for an updated schedule of year-round collection events and Mobile Collections.
If you would like to receive email announcements about SWALCO programs and collections, (including household chemical waste collections), please sign up for the SWALCO Announcements e-list.
OTHER PERMANENT ILLINOIS HCW FACILITIES
In addition, the following Long-term Facilities can be used by any Illinois resident for disposal of Household Chemical Waste:
Naperville: Lake County residents can drop off household chemicals in Naperville (half mile south of the intersection of Hwy 59 and I-88, behind the fire station at 1971 Brookdale) on Saturdays and Sundays: 9:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
No Latex paint is accepted.
Please call 630.420.4190 for more information.
Goose Island Facility in Chicago
Cook County
1150 N. Branch Street
Goose Island
(312) 744-7672
Operated by the City of Chicago and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
Tuesdays: 7:00 am to 12:00 pm
Thursdays: 2:00 pm to 7:00 pm
1st Saturday of the month: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm
Rockford: 3333 Kishwaukee, Rock River Reclamation District Please call 815.967.6737 for more information or availability/hours.
Tires and lead acid batteries (auto and boat batteries) can be recycled at any retail outlet that sells them.
Residents may drop off old MOTOR OIL at Lake Zurich's Public Works facility, located at 505 Telser Road (847.540.1696). It's open to Lake County residents ONLY, 24 hours a day, seven days a week (no business waste, and no household chemical waste). Residents place their container of motor oil in the yellow shed. Lake Zurich staff then takes the container around back and empty the contents into storage tanks awaiting removal via an oil reclamation company.
Auto Zone stores have indicated that they will accept a variety of automotive chemicals (such as motor oil, antifreeze and transmission fluid) for disposal. Check your local phone book for locations near you and call ahead to verify that disposal is an option. Other oil-change businesses (e.g. Jiffy Lube and Lube Pro's) sometimes accept used motor oil (check your local phone book for a location near you).
Latex paint will NOT be accepted at any of the Agency's HCW events. It's always best if you can recycle it or look for disposal alternatives instead of disposing of it. Check out our latex paint page in the Disposal Guide for a list of disposal alternatives and for information about Ela Township's "Partner's for Paint" recycling program for County residents and Earth Paints recycling program. If you cannot utilize one of these, residents can dispose of Latex paint, after solidifying it, by adding materials such as shredded newspaper, kitty litter or Oil-Dry to absorb wet paint. Place can with lid off in regular waste (not recycling).
BUSINESSES
Businesses that need to dispose of chemical wastes should contact one of the following companies:
__________________________________________________________________________________
The following are general lists of materials/items that are acceptable and not acceptable at our
household chemical waste collections.
Materials ACCEPTED at HCW Collections:
- Aerosol Products
- Antifreeze
- Asbestos
- Batteries: Rechargeable (NI-CAD), Lithium and Metal Hydride Batteries (NO ALKALINE or LEAD-ACID)
- Drain Cleaners
- Driveway Sealers
- Fertilizers, Herbicides
- Fluorescent Lights and CFL's (compact fluorescent bulbs)
- Fungicides
- Furniture Strippers and Varnishes
- Garden and Lawn Chemicals
- Gasoline
- Hobby Chemicals
- Household Cleaners
- Insecticides and Pesticides
- Mercury (including thermometers and thermostats)
- Metal Polishes
- Motor Oil
- Oil-based Paints
- Paint Removers
- Pool Chemicals
- Prescription Drugs (for People and Pets), Over-the Counter Medicines and Supplements (NO DEA CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES - see below)
- Personal Care Products (including cosmetics, skin-care products, shampoos, nail polish and remover, etc.)
- Solvents
The following materials are NOT ACCEPTED at HCW Collections:
- Agricultural Chemicals
- Alkaline Batteries
- Business or Institutional Wastes
- DEA Controlled Substances (click for list at DEA site)
- Explosives and Ammunition
- Fire Extinguishers
- Fireworks
- Household Electronics
- Latex Paint
- Lead-acid Batteries
- Propane Tanks
- Medical Wastes
- Sharps/Needles
- Smoke Detectors
- Tires
To contact the DEA Chicago Branch Office, call (312) 353-7875.
