$1.2 Million to Be Distributed to Waukesha Municipalities for Recycling

Twenty-five municipalities will receive checks this spring totaling $1,217,172 for participating in the Waukesha County Recycling Program and delivering their recyclables to the Material Recycling Facility.

Depending on the number of tons recycled in each community and the percent of waste recycled, municipal disbursements will range from $2,465 to $292,703.

The City of Waukesha will receive $292,703 and the City of Brookfield will receive $222,753.

“Our highly successful recycling program is a cooperative endeavor among communities, the County and the private sector that reduces duplication of services and operates in a cost-effective manner," said Waukesha County Executive Dan Vrakas in a release. 

The $1.2 million in dividend payments to municipalities is intended to help offset residential recycling collection costs.

The intergovernmental cooperative program uses state grant funds received on behalf of participating municipalities and revenue from the sale of recyclables to coordinate program education, as well as process and market recycled materials at the recycling facility.

The recycling facility processed 19,281 tons of recyclables from the communities in 2012 – a decrease of 4.9 percent compared to 2011.The amount of trash disposed by residents in those same communities was 73,453 tons, which decreased by 3.2 percent, continuing a nine-year trend.

The 11,126 tons of paper, 1,721 tons of plastic bottles, 555 tons of steel cans, 276 tons of aluminum cans, and 4,958 tons of glass were shipped mainly to domestic markets to be made into new products. This saved enough energy to serve 2,300 homes for a year. 

Waukesha County has experienced a 22 percent decline in per capita solid waste generated in the past nine years from 661 pounds per person in 2004 to 529.9 pounds per person in 2012. Recycling has declined 25% from 190 pounds per capita to 147.2 pounds per capita during the same time period. According to the release, several factors contribute to the recycling decline that can include lighter weight containers, changes in packaging, smaller newspapers and magazines, declining circulation numbers, transition from print to electronic media and the economy.

"Through this successful partnership we are conserving natural resources, creating jobs, and meeting the demand by manufacturers for recycled materials," said Vrakas. "I would like to thank the residents for diligently recycling all items accepted in our program.”