Zion Landfill Community Info

Welcome to Zion Landfill

We’ve created this space for you to be able to follow the developments happening in the area, and for you to provide us with your feedback and suggestions. On this page you will find information about the landfill, hours of operation, current and upcoming projects, and plans and permits. Each section has the relevant documents attached to it for your perusal.

We want to Hear from You

Please click this link for the site contact form should you wish to provide us with any feedback, complaints, or ask us any questions about Zion Landfill.

About the Landfill

Zion Landfill accepts municipal solid waste, contaminated soils, and special waste. Continually operated since 1981, the current landfill has a permitted facility boundary of 441.9 acres and a permitted volume increase of 12,726,000 CY with the recent Site 2 North Expansion. The landfill services the areas of City of Zion, Lake County, Cook County, eastern McHenry County (including the following townships: Algonquin, Burton, Dorr, Grafton, Greenwood, Hebron, McHenry, Nunda and Richmond) and Kenosha County, Wisconsin.

Hours of Operation
Monday to Friday: 6:30 AM – 3:00 PM
Saturday: 7:00 AM – 10:30 AM
Closed on Sundays and major holidays.

Features and Benefits
Key features of Zion Landfill are:

• Permitted landfill under the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA).
• Engineered and constructed landfill base liner systems.
• Controlled and documented waste stream.
• Leachate collection, management, and disposal systems.
• Landfill gas collection and management systems.
• Surface water management controls such as berms, ditches, and sedimentation ponds.
• Groundwater monitoring program.
• Perimeter litter fencing.
• Odor control system.
• Engineered and constructed final cover liner systems.
• USDA bird and wildlife management program.
• Perimeter landfill gas monitoring system.
• Ambient air monitoring system.
• Security fenced facility.
• Public disposal drop-off area.
• Third-party consultants perform construction observation and documentation.
• Third-party consultants complete monitoring system sampling, testing, and reporting.

The landfill provides many benefits to the community. These include:

• Cost-effective disposal for local residents versus transportation of waste to remote landfills
• Helping deter illegal dumping
• Alternate uses for generated landfill gas such as electricity production and renewable natural gas (RNG)
• Providing local employment opportunities
• Acting as a part of the local tax base
• Providing potential alternate land uses when the facility is closed
• Environmental Education Resource

Community Stakeholders

• City of Zion, IL
• Village of Winthrop Harbor, IL
• Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO)
• Lake County, IL
• Cook County, IL
• McHenry County, IL
• Kenosha County, WI
• Lake County Stormwater Management Commission (LCSMC)
• Lake County Department of Transportation (LCDOT)
• Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR)
• Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA)
• US Department of Agriculture (USDA)
• Zion Landfill, Inc.
• GFL Environmental, Inc.

Current Landfill Conditions

Current, Planned, and Future Construction Projects

Current Planned (but not guaranteed) Construction Projects for 2025:

• Site 2 North Expansion Ancillary Support Features – project currently active. Project includes the clearing and grubbing of portions of the expansion area, installation new drain tiles, screening berms (along the golf course to the west and Russell Road to the east), new detention basin for stormwater and sedimentation control, and vegetation plantings
• Gas Control and Collection System (GCCS) Construction – Spring and early summer with anticipated installation of new and replacement landfill gas (LFG) extraction wells with additional header and lateral piping. Project construction for continued LFG collection from existing and new waste mass.
• Installation of Site 2 North Expansion groundwater monitoring wells – Summer and early fall with drilling and installation around the permitted limits of waste for future Cells 11 through 17 per expansion approval conditions.
• Installation of Site 2 North Expansion LFG monitoring probes – Summer installation of LFG probes ahead of base liner construction per expansion approval conditions.
• Leachate storage tank construction, loadout area, and leachate management system. Early summer installation of new above ground storage tank (AST), concrete secondary containment structure, piping, loadout and controls. This new tank will replace the existing 165,000-gallon AST located within the expansion footprint. The existing tank is anticipated to be decommissioned and razed in late summer early fall with approved permitting to operate the new AST.
• Cell 11 base liner construction. This project is the first base liner construction for the permitted expansion extending the existing composite soil and geosynthetic liner system and is approximately 11.7 acres. Base liner construction includes excavation, geosynthetic underdrain collection system (as applicable), 5-foot recompacted clay liner comprised of onsite soils from excavation, installation of a 60-mil high density polyethylene (HDPE) geomembrane liner; and leachate collection system including cushion geotextile, granular drainage media, collection piping and a sump. Construction anticipated to start late spring and progress through the calendar year.
• Security fencing. New chain-link fencing will be installed for added security of the new expansion area. Fence installation anticipated for summer.
• Litter fencing. New litter fencing will be installed along the perimeter of Cell 11 and the overlay for control of litter resulting from waste placement during windy conditions. Fencing anticipated to be installed in late fall.
• Vegetation plantings on screening berms. The site will be implementing the approved Zion Landfill Perimeter Berms and Plantings plan for the Site 2 North Expansion on the screening berms. Planting anticipated for early fall. The detention basin is anticipated to be planted in spring in accordance with the approved plan after basin construction completion.

Future Construction Projects:

• Continued GCCS system updates and modifications.
• Cell construction as needed. Cell timing is based upon operating waste tonnage and operational access.
• New maintenance building construction on north end of Site 2 North Expansion.
• Soil stockpile
• Litter fencing and odor control extensions as cell construction progresses to the north.
• Partial site closure and final cover installation.

Environmental Safeguards

Permits and Plans

• • Most recent Bureau of Air (BOA), Bureau of Land (BOL) and Bureau of Water (BOW) permits.
  • Vegetative Plan for Perimeter of the Landfill.

• IEPA – BOL Development Permit Application for Site 2 North Expansion, dated July 18, 2022 and Reponses
  • Cover Letter
  • Table of Contents
  • Executive Summary
  • Section 1 -IEPA-Forms
  • Section 2
    • Section 2.0 – Introduction
    • Section 2.1 – Location
    • Section 2.2 – Hydrogeologic Investigation
    • Section 2.3 – Design
    • Section 2.4 – Stormwater Management Plan
    • Section 2.5 – Construction Quality Assurance Plan
    • Section 2.6 – Operating Plan
    • Section 2.7 – Groundwater Impact Assessment
    • Section 2.8 – Environmental Monitoring Program
    • Section 2.9 – Closure and Post-Closure Care Plan
  • Geologic Drawings
  • Design Drawings
  • Appendices
    • Appendix A – IEPA Compliance Summary Table
    • Appendix B – IEPA Permit History
    • Appendix C – Host Agreements.pdf
    • Appendix D – Plat of Survey, Legal Descriptions, and Property Control
    • Appendix E – Emergency Response Program
    • Appendix F – Location Standards
    • Appendix G – Hydrogeologic Investigation
    • Appendix H – In-Situ Hydraulic Conductivity Test Data
    • Appendix I – Laboratory Geotechnical Data
    • Appendix J – Geotechnical Analyses
    • Appendix K – Leachate Collection System
    • Appendix L – Landfill Gas
    • Appendix M – Stormwater Management
    • Appendix N – Quantities
    • Appendix O – Construction Quality Assurance
    • Appendix P – Groundwater Impact Evaluation
    • Appendix Q – Environmental Monitoring
    • Appendix R – Operating Plan
    • Appendix S – Closure Post-Closure Plan
  • IEPA – BOL Development Permit Application for Site 2 North Expansion, Supplemental Information
  • Proposed CQA Plan Revision – Pipe Pressure Testing, July 6, 2022
  • Determination of Incompleteness Response, August 18, 2022
  • Draft Denial Response, March 6, 2023
  • Draft Denial Response, September 8, 2023
  • Partial Draft Denial Response, March 7, 2024
  • Draft Denial Response, July 17, 2024
  • Additional Information – Correction

• Most recent version of the following environmental safeguard plans:
  • Odor Control Plan
  • Noise Control Plan
  • Litter Control Plan
  • Wind Erosion/Fugitive Particulate Matter Emission Control Plan
  • Bird Mitigation Plan
  • Water Well Monitoring Plan
  • Property Value Protection Plan
  • Wildlife Management Annual Report
  • 4th quarter 2022 Storm Water Discharge Monitoring Reports
  • December 2022 Air Emissions Report.

Graphs

• ZLF G213 Trend 2023-04-04 01 Graph
• ZLF G167 Trends 2023-04-04 02 Graph
• ZLF G213 Trend 2023-08-23 01 Graph
• ZLF G167 Trends 2023-08-23 01 Graph
• ZLF G213 Trends 2024-01-26
• ZLF G167 Trends 2024-01-26
• ZLF G213 Trends 2024-03-26
• ZLF G167 Trends 2024-03-26

Contact Us

We are always looking to improve our facility. Should you have any comments, suggestions or feedback regarding the operations or development of the landfill, please feel free to reach out to us using the form below.