Why did the Forest Preserve District build a landfill at Blackwell?
Mount Hoy, the District’s first landfill, was constructed at Blackwell Forest Preserve in Warrenville in 1965. It was designed to replace one near the DuPage Airport, which was about to close. At the time, the District was involved in the expensive process of constructing Silver Lake at Blackwell. Building a landfill and charging a disposal fee was a way to offset the cost of the project and provide a place to dispose of surplus construction soil. About 50 percent of the material in Mount Hoy is soil; landfills today are 20 to 30 percent soil.
