Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Lake County committee reviews SWALCO—s 2026 legislative priorities: food-scrap diversion, hazardous-waste EPR, mattress recycling and plastic-bag fees
Summary
The Lake County Legislative Committee heard a multi-part presentation Oct. 7 from Walter Willis of SWALCO outlining proposed 2026 bills to expand food-scrap diversion, establish EPR for household hazardous waste, create a mattress recycling fee, and revise proposed plastic-bag legislation.
Walter Willis, executive with the Solid Waste Agency of Lake County (SWALCO), told the county legislative committee on Oct. 7 that SWALCO will seek or monitor several bills in 2026 focused on reducing landfill waste and shifting disposal costs to producers.
Food-scrap diversion: Willis asked the committee to support Senate Bills 1397 and 1398, measures he said would develop markets for compost and drive food-scrap recovery from landfills. "They've got mountains and mountains of it out there," Willis said of the county—s largest compost facility, describing market limits that leave vendors unable to accept more material.
Willis said the bills mirror laws adopted in other states and would expand food donation and composting efforts. He said SWALCO is coordinating with DePaul University on a market-impact study and the Natural…
Already have an account? Log in
Subscribe to keep reading
Unlock the rest of this article — and every article on Citizen Portal.
- Unlimited articles
- AI-powered breakdowns of topics, speakers, decisions, and budgets
- Instant alerts when your location has a new meeting
- Follow topics and more locations
- 1,000 AI Insights / month, plus AI Chat
