By Gail Peckler-Dziki
Correspondent
According to a Department of Natural Resources study received in June, the Village of Paddock Lake by far exceeds the state and county average for pounds per capita of recycled material.
The collection standard for Paddock Lake is 82.4 pounds per capita annually. The DNR records show that in 2009, Paddock Lake recycling was three times that at over 250 pounds.
By 2013, the amount recycled in pounds per capita had reached nearly 350 pounds.
The state average in per capita is 140 pounds and the Kenosha County annual average stands at 180 pounds.
The Town of Salem is second in the county, with nearly 260 pounds per capita annually. The Village of Twin Lakes is third, with approximately 220 pounds per capita.
The Town of Brighton is last with about 50 pounds per capita annually, significantly below the county and state averages.
Recently, the town closed its dump and went to garbage pick-up, which caused some reshuffling during last April’s election.
The Wisconsin recycling law was enacted in 1990 to promote development of waste management structures and encourage recycling of solid waste.
When the law passed in 1990, only about 17 percent of municipal solid waste was recycled. By the end of 2004, 10 years after the recycling requirements were fully implemented, the number had risen to 32 percent.
Local municipalities do benefit financially from recycling depending on the tonnage. Paddock Lake has a contract with John’s Disposal and receives from $1,000 to $1,500 a month in rebates for a total of more than $14,500 in 2014.
Village Clerk/Treasurer Emily Uhlenhake said that amount is deducted from the quarterly bill received by residents.
Twin Lakes receives monthly rebates from Advanced Disposal. In 2014 the village received a total of $8,902 in recycling rebates. In 2013 it was $11,165.
So far in 2015, the village has received $2,367, which seems to be less than previous years since tonnage is the same, according to village Clerk Cathy Richardson.
The Town of Salem receives a $12,000 recycling grant from the DNR but no rebate for recycling from John’s Disposal.
“When we negotiated the last contract,” explained administrator Pat Casey, “we tried to keep costs as low as possible. The newest contract is $250,000 less than the previous.”
The new contract also introduced two sizes of larger recycling bins to town residents and Casey said that has helped increase the amount recycled.