Recycling & Solid Waste

• Requirements: Per Wisconsin state law, all residents, businesses and institutions must recycle certain landfill banned items.  26 County municipalities have opted-in to the County's recycling program to share in the responsibilities.
• County:
  • Complete annual DNR reports
  • Manage processing of recyclable material
  • Provide outreach, educational and communication resources
  • Enforce ordinance
  • Provide technical support (ex.: coordinated hauling contract)
• Municipality: 
  • Complete reports on program costs
  • Contract with a hauler for material collection
  • Promote information to residents
  • Direct residents to contact their hauler for specific hauling related questions

• Requirements: Yard waste (including leaves, brush and grass clippings) are banned from Wisconsin landfills.  They must be disposed of through proper channels. This is a separate program from recycling.
• County: Lead Request for Proposals (RFP) for a yard and wood waste processor to provide responsible material management for interested communities.
• Municipality: Arrange for collection and transportation to the composting facility. Include all tonnages and costs in annual reporting to the County.

• Requirements: Electronics and appliances are banned from Wisconsin landfills and must be disposed of through proper channels. Businesses and municipalities must also safely dispose of their electronic waste at their own cost (link to business page).
• County: 
  • Assist municipalities in contracting for events for their residents.
  • Educate residents of supplemental disposal options.
• Municipalities: May decide to provide collection events for their residents. 

• Requirements: The County provides dumpsters at several locations throughout the area for residents to utilize for large recyclables that do not fit in the curbside container. This is especially meant to act as an overflow for large cardboard or a resident's occasional need for increased capacity.
• County: Program contracting, operation, promotion and invoicing.
• Municipality: Host municipalities are required to ensure proper use of the dumpsters (residential, occasional need for increased capacity) and request collections when dumpsters are full.

• Requirements: Waukesha County is a party to three privately-owned landfills, two of which are in Waukesha County and serves on landfill committees.
• County: None
• Municipality: Contract with a hauler to provide refuse/garbage disposal services to residents.

Each year, Waukesha County hosts a community meeting. The goal is to update municipal partners about any changes that have been implemented or will be implemented the following year. Following the meeting, the presentation updates are available as a resource.