Even Without State Funding, Village Recycling Program Likely to Continue

In the 17 years since local recycling programs were mandated by the state of Wisconsin, the practice has grown up from a feel-good initiative that many grumbled about into an environmental and economic framework that most people take pride in.

So waste managers and public works directors throughout southeastern Wisconsin were caught off-guard by Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposal to eliminate the recycling requirement for counties and municipalities, along with all state funding to support such programs.

Among those surprised was Whitefish Bay Interim Village Manager Matthew Schuenke.

“We’re going to have to make some changes,” he said, “but at this time, yes, I’d say we will want to continue the program.

“We’ll have a lot of work to do. But I don’t see stopping the recycling program.”

Schuenke said Whitefish Bay has budgeted about $500,000 for recycling and yard waste collection for 2011, and $100,000 of the recycling budget was expected to come from the state.

Making up the shortfall is the big question, but Schuenke had one firm answer.

“It will not come from a tax increase,” he said.

That leaves options such as moving funds from other programs, finding more efficiencies in the program and revisiting contracts to get better deals for the village, among other possibilities that haven’t even been considered yet.

Another thing that is certain, though, is that the recycling program is appreciated in Whitefish Bay.

“We pick up once a month, and typically, (residents) ask for more,” Schuenke said. “The response if favorable."

DNR will help with transition

At the state level, Ann Coakley, director of the Bureau of Waste and Materials Management of the Department of Natural Resources said: “We do realize the tie to private business. Recycling is still cheaper than landfilling, and the DNR still has a strong recycling education program focused on collecting and reusing.

“So, nothing has changed with us, and will work with our stakeholders to make a transition.”

Coakley said that in 2009, the state grant program paid out $27.9 million to communities and that the total cost of recycling to all communities was $108.2 million. She did not have a figure for how much of that amount was recovered through sale of the material because the markets fluctuate.

The Sierra Club was instrumental in creating the recycling law, which was passed in 1990 but went into effect in 1994. Cherie Briscoe of the Great Waters Group, which represents metro Milwaukee-area counties, was among those who lobbied for the law.

“The governor is playing a shell game by taking funds that were paid through taxes on landfill waste created specifically to help communities set up and operate recycling programs,” Briscoe said. “It has been a mandate that works, and most communities have been able to neutralize its cost with the help of the recycling fund dollars.

“It has also helped to discourage people from being wasteful. 

“The taxes paid have supported good jobs that ultimately produce new products as well as conserving valuable resources and educating our children and families about conservation," he added. "This is another example of false economy that will not only hurt communities,  it will take away jobs that have been particularly good for low-skilled individuals. Recycling has been, and continues to be, a win-win environmental and energy-saving program for all of us.”