Please help us keep your collection costs lower by recycling more. While our community currently pays $42.50 per ton of garbage placed in a landfill, we actually receive money back for our recyclables.

AUTOMATED COLLECTION MADE IT EASIER
During 2005, Pleasant Prairie introduced automated recycling collection. In 2008, the program was expanded to include automated garbage collection as well. Automated recycling collection provided an easier way to recycle a larger percentage of household waste by eliminating the need to sort recyclable materials and package them separately for collection. Residents place all recyclable materials into one single cart without sorting.

RECYCLING HELPS CONTROL COLLECTION COSTS
Collecting more recyclable material and less garbage allows Pleasant Prairie’s Solid Waste Utility to keep costs lower for residents. Our community currently pays $42.50 per ton of garbage collected and placed in a landfill. On the other hand, we pay only $9.50 per ton of recycled material and then receive money back as a rebate based on the value of the material at the particular point in time.

YOUR HELP WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE
In the PDF below, you will find a chart showing the amount (in tons and percentage) of recyclables collected as opposed to garbage collected since 2005. You’ll notice that during 2007 Village residents recycled more and produced less garbage than any other year since 2005. Your help will make a difference in the cost our community pays for garbage and recycling services. For each ton of garbage we, as a community, can keep out of the landfill, the less we will pay in tipping fees. Tipping fees are the per ton fee paid for garbage placed in a landfill. They have increased steadily over the past six years (see the chart in the PDF below).

GARBAGE VS RECYCLING COSTS
During 2011, the Village is expecting to pay garbage tipping fees of $283,219. During 2007, the Village paid $166,838 in garbage tipping fees. During 2011, after recycling fees and rebates, the Village expects to receive $23,000 for recyclable materials. The Village received $7,602 for recycling during 2007. During 2008, 2009, and 2010, garbage tipping fees were $184,099, $230,535, and $261,618.

NO RATE INCREASE PROPOSED FOR 2012
Despite the trend in increasing tipping fees, Pleasant Prairie is not proposing a rate increase for garbage collection during 2012. Rather, the Village will work to keep costs down by encouraging more residents to recycle accepted items. With
the help of all in our community, the Village will be able to lower the volume of garbage collected in order to help control costs. Village Staff would like to thank all those who are already recycling materials on a regular basis.

To see some recycling facts and figures, courtesy of the Wisconsin DNR, please click here.

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