Odorous Hillside Landfill Finally To Be Capped

The Hillside landfill, which the Cook County village never wanted, is finally going to be closed.

“We never wanted the landfill in the first place,” said John T. Flood Jr., the director of economic development for the village, about the odor-plagued site at the junction of Mannheim Road and the Eisenhower Expressway.

The Hillside landfill covers 55 acres of a 63-acre parcel of land at 4100 W. Frontage Road near the Eisenhower. It was previously the site of a quarry.

“We are excited that something which started in 1979 is finally coming to an end,” Flood said. “It can only help the economic development of Hillside as well as Bellwood and Westchester.”

Village officials are also happy that they have been reimbursed for the more than $400,000 in legal fees, so the battle did not cost the taxpayers any money, he said.

In a previous Business Ledger article about the former Hillside Holiday Inn being purchased from bankruptcy court, village officials said they were still in litigation and could not comment on the details of the landfill being capped.

Flood said he hoped that some relief from the odor would come in September of this year when a cover of dirt will be put on the site’s western third, which is the area that has caused most of the problems.

The agreement between the village of Hillside and Allied Waste Co. indicates that the landfill will be closed in the spring of 2008.

Allied Waste, a national leader in the waste disposal industry, recently assumed control over day-to-day management of the landfill operation. The company will be responsible for closure and post-closure operations.

Allied Waste is a partner in Congress Development Corp. along with John Sexton Sand & Gravel Corp. Allied Waste acquired an ownership in the Hillside Landfill and Congress Development Co. in 1999 when it acquired Browning Ferris Industries, another national waste hauler.

“Our number one priority is to fill and cap this landfill as quickly as possible,” said Brian Holcomb, general manger for Allied Waste. “We understand that, above all, the residents and businesses in and around Hillside want the odor eliminated and their quality of life restored. To do that, we need to close the facility. That is the only correct course of action to take.

“While odor concerns are not expected to dissipate immediately, each step toward closure is a step toward permanently eradicating the landfill odors in the future,” he said. “Once the landfill is capped, the odor will be eliminated.

In addition to environmental improvements, the executive said the company is also planning aesthetic enhancements in and around the landfill site, including the removal of unnecessary equipment, debris and soil stockpiles.

Trees and plants will be added and board fencing will be installed around key areas of the site’s perimeter. Holcomb said the site will be filled to form a hill-like shape, which is a necessary step in covering and capping the landfill with a combination of plastic tarps, soil, and grass cover.

No solid waste will be received at the site after June 15, 2008. The final engineered cover will be placed on the landfill by Dec. 31, 2008.

In the meantime, Holcomb said there will be an increase in activity as efforts increase to fill the landfill.

“The increase in site activity may result in a short-term increase in traffic in the immediate area. Allied Waste is working to address traffic flow with the Illinois Department of Transportation,” he said. “A modification of the signal light at the intersection of Manheim Road and the Hillside Landfill’s entrance is expected to alleviate congestion resulting from trucks and other vehicle traffic related to the closure project.”

For more information or to track the progress of the Hillside Landfill closure project visit www.LandfillClosing.com.

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