Lake County Gazette

Waste Management's Life Cycle Assessment for its proposed transfer facility in unincorporated Lake County is set to be presented at a public meeting of the Lake County Planning, Building, Zoning and Environment Committee.

According to a Lake County press release, the Lake County Solid Waste Management Plan mandates that any developer proposing a waste transfer station to manage municipal waste must demonstrate that its proposed facility is superior to the county's current waste management system. A life cycle assessment study is required to analyze four key parameters: net annual energy consumption, carbon dioxide emissions, nitrogen oxide emissions, and sulfur dioxide emissions.

Waste Management has proposed a waste transfer station in unincorporated Lake County directly south of the Countryside Landfill, as per another Lake County press release. The results of its assessment will be presented during the Lake County Planning, Building, Zoning, and Environment Committee meeting at 10:30 a.m. on May 29. The public meeting will take place at the Lake County Administrative Complex, 10th Floor, 18 N. County St., Waukegan.

The press release also stated that the assessment evaluated two scenarios: no build and build. The no-build scenario assumes Countryside Landfill will reach capacity in 2027. Without a transfer facility, three options are considered: firstly, Lake County waste will be direct hauled to the Zion Landfill; secondly, it could be direct hauled to the Lake Transfer Station in Round Lake Park and then transferred to landfills for disposal; or thirdly, it could be direct hauled to nearby out-of-county transfer stations for transfer to other landfills for disposal.

Under the build scenario, it is assumed that the Countryside Landfill will close in 2027 and that the transfer station will open that year. In this case, Lake County waste would either be hauled directly to the Waste Management transfer station or the Lake Transfer Station and then transferred to landfills, directly hauled to Zion Landfill, or directly hauled to nearby out-of-county transfer stations for transfer to other landfills for disposal, as in the other scenario.