Solid Waste Agency of Lake County v. Zion Landfill, Inc.

Plaintiffs appealed from the judgment of the circuit court finding that defendant was exempt from paying fees on certain materials brought into the defendant’s landfill. On appeal, the parties disagreed on whether the materials used by the defendant to cover waste and to construct internal roadways were subject to the tipping fee and whether the material certified as “non-special” by the generator of the material and not subject to additional handling and record-keeping requirements was “pollution control waste,” which is exempt from the tipping fee. The appellate court looked to the Local Solid Waste Disposal Act and affirmed, finding that the plain meaning of “discard” and “waste” did not encompass the sort of materials defendant used as daily cover and road base and that the burden of determining whether waste is “special” waste was placed on the generator of the waste. (HUTCHINSON and BIRKETT, concurring)