In the early 1970s, Rockford's municipal “dump” at People’s Avenue had run out of space. Known as “Mount Trashmore,” the facility’s closure presented the City with a crisis because it had nowhere else to put its garbage. Winnebago Reclamation Service responded to the challenge, and on July 17, 1972, Pagel’s Landfill opened for business.

In the late 1980s, history began to repeat itself. The City of Rockford had planned to site and operate its own landfill. Winnebago Reclamation, therefore, proceeded with plans to close Pagel’s Landfill in accordance with current regulations. After years of deliberation however, the City was unable to obtain local siting for a new landfill. Pagel’s was set to close and there was very little room for more garbage. We responded in 1989 by committing to redesign and expand the existing operation to provide a long-term, integrated solid waste management plan for Winnebago County and the surrounding area. The Winnebago County Board passed the site application for this phase in 1990.

Tough new state legislation and regulations had been adopted in the early 1990s, making the planning and approval processes very complex. For example, the design and review process to ensure safe operations includes extensive site-specific studies including the use of computer models to analyze the groundwater flows at a facility.

In 1990, Winnebago Reclamation Service received local siting approval to expand as part of Winnebago County’s solid waste plan for the future. After a detailed technical review of the design and operation of the plan, the IEPA permitted the Landfill’s operation as one of the first modern, Subtitle D landfills in the state. After many years of providing a safe and integrated solid waste management operation to area communities, Winnebago Reclamation is starting on the planning and approval process necessary to expand our existing operation. This will allow Winnebago Reclamation to continue to deliver an essential public service to our local communities for many years to come.