Waupaca County updates recycling ordinance

COUNTY – The Waupaca County Board of Supervisors approved amendments to the county’s municipal solid waste and recycling ordinance last week to align with state requirements.

The updates stem from revisions the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) made to its administrative code last July, which include stricter operational and reporting requirements for local governments, waste haulers and material recovery facilities.

Under the new DNR rules, “adequate” recycling capacity for multi-family properties is now explicitly defined with specific requirements. The DNR also implemented new performance standards for the processing centers themselves, including a mandatory 12% minimum glass recycling rate and a 20% cap on residual waste.

A significant portion of Waupaca County’s recycling ordinance updates focus on responsibilities for multi-family property owners. Landlords are required to provide adequate recycling services, including maintaining an equal or greater ratio of recycling containers to trash containers, providing a minimum of 20 gallons of recycling capacity per dwelling unit per week, or ensuring a maximum 2-to-1 trash-to-recycling ratio. The changes also include requirements to prevent recycling container overflow.

The ordinance also requires landlords to notify tenants at the time of leasing and at least twice a year about recycling requirements, including what materials are accepted, how to prepare them, and where drop-off sites are located.

Other updates require privately owned recycling collection centers to submit annual reports on materials collected to the Waupaca County Solid Waste Department by Feb. 1 of the following year. Haulers must also notify the county within one week when they begin using a new material recovery facility.