Department of Natural Resources Celebrates Wisconsin Recycling Excellence Award Winners

SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) announced the winners of the 2024 Wisconsin Recycling Excellence Awards. Wisconsin’s recycling law bans certain materials from the trash and establishes a statewide recycling program. This year, the DNR recognizes 13 organizations for going beyond what is required by law.

“This year’s winners successfully implemented robust and sustainable diversion programs within their organizations and communities,” said Jennifer Semrau, DNR waste reduction and diversion coordinator. “The amount and types of waste they have saved from the landfill is truly impressive.”

In addition to landfill-banned items, which include curbside recyclables and electronics, the winners diverted many tons of food waste, furniture, plastic film and household hazardous waste for reuse or recycling.

This year’s winners include:

Projects And Initiatives Category

•          Cornell Camaraderie Club and Our Saviors Lutheran (Chippewa County): In 2023, Our Saviors Lutheran Church started a recycling initiative encouraging city of Cornell residents to collect plastic bags and film. Our Saviors worked with a Twin Cities recycling center and a Festival Foods drop-off site to divert over 2 tons of soft plastic from landfills. In 2024, the Cornell Camaraderie Club took over the program. The plastic was delivered to Trex, a manufacturer of composite lumber made of recycled plastic, in exchange for free benches. The city of Cornell plans to install the benches along the Chippewa River.
•          Ducommun (Outagamie County): Ducommun Appleton is a supplier of electronics and structural systems for aerospace applications. Most of the raw material Ducommun receives is packaged in materials that are not typically accepted at recycling centers. Ducommun ships its waste to pelletizers instead of the landfill, and the pelletizers convert the waste into fuel pellets to supplement coal at various Wisconsin power plants. This effort, along with other waste stream diversions, has led Ducommun to divert 3.2 tons of material from the landfill since early 2023.
•          theExchange: La Crosse Area Furniture Bank (La Crosse County): theExchange has operated since 2016 as a charitable furniture bank providing basic household items to La Crosse-area residents experiencing hardships such as homelessness, domestic violence, disability/aging, veteran status and other impacts of poverty. In collaboration with nearly 40 social service partners, theExchange diverted over 45 tons of household items in 2024. These items include beds, couches, tables, TVs and many other household appliances that are provided to more than 500 households annually.
•          Good News Project, Inc. (Marathon County): Good News Project is a small nonprofit organization in Wausau. They have been a registered collector with the DNR’s E-Cycle Wisconsin program since 2010. Staffed mostly by volunteers, Good News Project has been able to collect and recycle over 3.9 million pounds of electronics since 2005. More recently, the nonprofit began offering events at local businesses, giving employees affordable and accessible electronics recycling opportunities and resulting in above-average collection numbers. Since 2021, Good News Project has facilitated 14 employee benefit events and collected a total of 62 tons of electronic waste from these events alone.
•          University of Wisconsin-La Crosse (La Crosse County): The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse wanted to reduce waste material generated by students moving out of college dorms. To do this, it partnered with the Greater La Crosse Region Habitat for Humanity. Together, they initiated a dumpster diversion program that was marketed to any student moving out, both on and off campus. The diversion program aimed to collect furniture in strategically placed pod containers on campus. Any collected material would be either donated to local charities or resold at the local ReStore. At the end of the 2023-2024 school year, the program was able to divert over 8 tons of household furniture from the landfill.

Overall Program Category

•          Green Box, LLC (Dane County): Green Box is a residential and commercial food scrap and organics hauler and composter. Starting in 2022, it has grown to serve 900 residential members and 40 businesses. Thanks to these members, Green Box diverts 10 tons of food scraps per week through its efficient composting process. Green Box continues to fulfill its goal of making composting clean, easy and simple, allowing more people to adopt this sustainable practice.
•          Green Circle Recycling, LLC (La Crosse County): Green Circle Recycling is a single-stream processing facility in La Crosse. Uniquely, Green Circle employs bypass belts and recirculating systems to ensure that all recyclables are captured, optimizing waste reduction. Further, the company has invested in advanced technology, such as the installation of an optical sorter and two advanced sorting robots in 2023. Through its focus on educational outreach and community events, including popular “Touch a Truck” events, Green Circle has increased public awareness and participation in recycling. It increased its single-stream processing rate by 58% from 2022 to 2023 and maintains a commitment to minimizing landfill contributions and embracing a diverse range of recyclable materials.
•          Hsu Growing Supply (Marathon County): Hsu Growing Supply in Wausau was founded in tandem with Hsu Enterprises and Hsu Ginseng Farms, one of the largest ginseng producers in America. Hsu Growing Supply has been composting for over 30 years to facilitate the growth of ginseng, which requires shade and is rejuvenated from composting leaves. The company has expanded to produce all kinds of soil blends, composts and other landscaping and gardening supplies. Hsu Growing Supply has partnered with several schools, retailers and residential properties within the community to divert almost 200 tons of food waste per month from landfills.
•          Kaukauna Utilities (Outagamie and Calumet counties): Kaukauna Utilities consistently operates with environmental sustainability as a top priority. In 2023, it developed a waste management plan to ensure all materials are disposed of properly. These materials include scrap metal, used oil and filters, batteries, light bulbs and ballasts, tires, plastic bags/film, traditional cans/bottles and paper/cardboard and used pallets. The company has also found reuse or recycling outlets for unique materials such as utility poles, concrete/asphalt, underground electrical conduit reels and used transformers. To further their commitment to recycling, Kaukauna Utilities began working with the city of Kaukauna to host an annual electronics recycling event. Since its inception in 2015, this event has collected over 200 tons of electronics. In 2024, Kaukauna Utilities contracted with Veolia to host its first annual hazardous materials collection event for residents.
•          Village of Pleasant Prairie (Kenosha County): The village of Pleasant Prairie offers comprehensive recycling opportunities and education to its residents. The village invested in recycling truck wraps, magnets and “do not bag recyclables” cart stickers to remind residents of proper recycling practices and the importance of recycling. In addition, the village provides social media outreach, an instructional recycling video, printed calendars, newsletters and informational signage at the recycling center. In addition to its curbside recycling program, the village of Pleasant Prairie operates a year-round Residential Recycling Center, which has averaged over 27,000 drop-offs per year. The recycling center accepts traditional recyclables, motor oil, batteries, antifreeze, tires, electronics, appliances, yard waste, clothing, household hazardous waste and more, making it a “one-stop shop” for village residents.
•          Vernon County Solid Waste and Recycling: Vernon County’s Solid Waste and Recycling Department operates a source-separated recycling program that accepts traditional recyclables, appliances, electronics, tires, light bulbs, mattresses, waste oils, antifreeze, oil filters and batteries. In 2024, the county began to accept polystyrene (Styrofoam) for recycling through a partnership with La Crosse County, 7 Rivers Recycling and Hilltopper Refuse. The material is processed through a densifying machine that removes the air and melts the material at high temperatures. The finished product is sold and turned into picture framing, window trim, crown molding and other products. The county also recently partnered with Dummer Farm to implement an organics drop-off program for food waste, yard waste and other compostable material. Additional initiatives include collecting untreated wood and pallets, textiles, electronics and appliances (including uncommon items like vacuum cleaners, fans, clocks, etc.) and working with the Vernon County Fair to promote and improve recycling.

Special Events Category

•          Dane County Clean Sweep: Dane County operates one of the few permanent year-round household hazardous waste facilities in Wisconsin. Despite operating year-round, Dane County found that nearby residents would travel to an “event” further away due to a perceived sense of urgency to participate. With this knowledge, Dane County started hosting in-facility household hazardous waste collection events targeted at specific municipalities. The county was able to forego additional mobilization, outside staffing and equipment costs, and residents brought hazardous waste that may have otherwise been left untouched. The events held in 2024 yielded almost 13,000 pounds. Dane County has also been providing free electronics collection events to its residents. These events accept e-waste – such as computers, TVs and batteries – and have helped divert e-waste from landfills.

Innovation Category

•          WM – Germantown (Washington County): WM is a national provider of recycling and solid waste collection, processing and disposal services. WM operates six recycling facilities in Wisconsin, the biggest of which is its Germantown facility. In 2023, WM embarked on a nine-month project to transform the facility. With a $39 million investment, WM-Germantown has greatly increased recycling processing to up to 65-70 tons/hour and an average of more than 1 million pounds of material each day. New and expanded technologies include 13 new optical sorters, which use ultraviolet, infrared, visible light and lasers to identify material, and an advanced fire detection system, which can remotely monitor and extinguish a fire. Following the renovation, the site can process up to 230,000 tons of material annually – an increase of 70,000 tons.

Courtesy: www.wasteadvantagemag.com