Organizers shocked as 1,500 people show up to recycle waste
Sunday, May 4, 2008
BY ERINN DESHINSKY OF THE JOURNAL STAR

PEORIA - Organizers of a hazardous waste drop-off event Saturday at Exposition Gardens were caught off guard, as more than 1,500 vehicles drove through to leave more than two semitrailers full of material.

Karen Raithel, Peoria County recycling director, said vehicles began lining up outside the gardens 1 1/2 hours before the event started, and traffic never subsided. Even at 3 p.m., the drop-off's scheduled end, the long line of vehicles snaking through the Expo parking lot backed up onto Northmoor Road. Organizers were forced to turn several cars away.

By the end of the event, waste from about 1,900 households was dropped off, twice the amount produced the last time Peoria County hosted the drop-off.

Many cars waited for more than an hour to dispose of their items, varying from truckloads of construction material to small boxes of paint cans. Many drivers were seen moving from car to car, offering to consolidate the trash and freeing some residents from a long wait.

Peoria resident Joe Smith was in it for the long haul, he said.

He didn't have much - just four boxes of materials from cleaning out his garage.

He said he appreciated Peoria County for "going green" and offering the service, along with the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. But after waiting in line 90 minutes and still only halfway to the drop-off, he was second-guessing his choice to pitch in.

"It's ironic. You're trying to be so environmentally conscious, and here you're forced to waste gas sitting in an idling car for two hours," he said. "You can't help to think more is being wasted than what's being saved."

Raithel said about 800 cars took part in Peoria County's last drop-off, which was held in 2005. Organizers expected a big turnout this time around, but no one anticipated so many participants.

"I'm very happy, I'm very thankful to everyone for being patient," Raithel said.

The IEPA holds many of these events throughout the state each year, mostly in the Chicago area. The rest of the state has to fight for them, Raithel said.

Saturday's turnout could convince the agency to look Peoria's way more often, she said.

And next time, she added, officials will be ready for the crowd.

Erinn Deshinsky can be reached at 686-3112 or [email protected].