[HISTORY: Adopted by the County Board of Stephenson County 3-14-2013 by Ord. No. 13-03-1970.[1] Amendments noted where applicable.]
GENERAL REFERENCES
Solid waste — See Ch. 346.
[1]
Editor's Note: This ordinance also repealed former Ch. 224, Burning, adopted 3-12-1991 by Ord. No. 91-03-165; as amended 5-29-2001 by Ord. No. 01-05-255 (Ch. 13, Art. II, § 13-25, of the 1977 Code), and as subsequently amended.
As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AGRICULTURAL WASTE
Any refuse, except garbage and dead animals, generated on a farm or ranch by crop and livestock production practices, including such items as bags, cartons, dry bedding, structural materials and crop residues, but excluding landscape wastes.
COMMERCIAL/TRADE WASTE
Waste generated by business, industry, and government institutions.
DOMICILE WASTE
Refuse generated on single-family domiciliary property as a result of domiciliary activities, such as paper or cardboard, as a result of domiciliary activities. The term excludes landscape waste, garbage and trade or commercial waste.
GARBAGE
Food and animal waste, as from a kitchen.
LANDSCAPE WASTE
Leaves, grass, tree limbs, shrubbery cuttings, and other materials accumulated as the result of the care of lawns, shrubbery, vines and trees.
OPEN BURNING
The burning of a bonfire, vegetation debris fire or other fire in an outdoor location where fuel burned is not contained in an incinerator, outdoor fireplace, barbecue grill or barbecue pit.
REFUSE
Any discarded matter, or any matter which is to be reduced in volume, or otherwise changed in chemical or physical properties, in order to facilitate its discard, removal or disposal.
Agricultural waste may be burned if the following criteria are met:
A. 
Open burning is restricted to the site where the waste is generated [35 Ill. Adm. Code 237.120(a)].
B. 
Open burning is not allowed in restricted areas. "Restricted area" is any city, village, or incorporated township plus a zone extending one mile beyond the boundaries when there is a population of 1,000 or more (35 Ill. Adm. Code 237.101).
C. 
Open burning is prohibited if it hampers visibility on roadways, railroad tracks, or airfields.
D. 
Open burning of agricultural waste must be more than 1,000 feet from residential or other populated areas.
[Amended 7-18-2024 by Ord. No. 24-07-91]
Landscape waste may only be burned on the site where the waste is generated, or at sites used and supervised by a local government.
A. 
It is illegal to burn commercial waste in the state of Illinois, except for landscape and agricultural waste generated on the property.
B. 
Landscape waste generated for the purpose of clearing land for new development/business is a trade waste and may only be burned with an air curtain incinerator and after obtaining the appropriate EPA permits.
Pursuant to the Illinois Environmental Protection Act, Section 9(a), the open burning of domicile waste on the property where it was generated is not a violation.