While recycling may seem like an almost common step for many Wisconsin residents, officials with the Department of Natural Resources says demand for the programs continues to grow. Along with the need for improving collection efforts, businesses are also showing a greater interest in the products that are being gathered by those running the programs.
DNR Recycling Coordinator Cynthia Moore says there is a lot more to recycling than simply keeping certain items out of landfills. Moore says many of the materials that are collected have real value in the global and local markets. She says manufacturers “constantly” remind her agency that they want more recycled material.
Recycling programs can be found in every Wisconsin community, and changes over the last several years have helped simplify collection while gathering even more reusable material. Moore says one of the biggest changes is found in the growth of “single stream” collection, which allows homes to recycle a variety of materials in a single bin for collection instead of having to sort it out first.
Data is collected statewide showing how much recyclable waste is collected. The DNR uses that information to recognize communities that have outstanding recycling programs and those that have made major improvements to their recycling plans.
