Residents Urged to 'Recycle Right' to Reduce Contamination
MEDIA CONTACTS
Waukesha County:
Analiese Smith, 262-896-8014
City of Milwaukee:
Brian DeNeve, 414-286-3261FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: Thursday, July 11, 2019
CITY OF MILWAUKEE AND WAUKESHA COUNTY LEADERS URGE RESIDENTS TO ‘RECYCLE RIGHT’ TO REDUCE CONTAMINATION
(MILWAUKEE, WI) – In an effort to increase recycling rates and improve the quality of materials entering the Joint Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), city and county officials are encouraging residents to help reduce contamination by teaching them to “Recycle Right” in their curbside carts and bins this summer.
“It’s important for residents to understand what they can and can’t recycle,” said County Executive Paul Farrow. “Putting the wrong items in bins and carts reduces decreases the efficiency in our recycling facility, which can cost taxpayers money and create be dangerous working conditions for employees.”
The joint Curbside Recycling Guide developed collaboratively between the City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County will help educate residents about acceptable and unacceptable items. By knowing the acceptable recyclables the facility hopes to reduce the unacceptable items being placed into curbside containers, such as plastic bags and bagged recyclables, scrap metal and other potentially hazardous items such as propane tanks. Focusing on education will help improve the economic and environmental sustainability of the recycling program.
“Residents should know that re-educating themselves on the recycling standards is easy and has positive impacts for their municipality,” said City of Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. “The new Curbside Recycling Guide is available online to learn the ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ of recycling at home.”
Residents can learn more about Joint Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) and can download the new Curbside Recycling Guide at www.milwaukeerecycles.com or www.waukeshacounty.gov/recycling. They can learn about the statewide effort to “Recycle Right” at www.recyclemorewisconsin.org.
About the MRF
The joint City of Milwaukee and Waukesha County recycling program and MRF operations are built on intergovernmental cooperation and public-private partnerships. The MRF sorts and processes recyclables from approximately 300,000 households, from Waukesha County’s participating communities and the City of Milwaukee. The MRF processes 35 tons of recyclables per hour, or more than 70,000 tons of recyclables per year.