FAQ
- I live in an apartment complex/multi-family unit facility. Who is responsible to provide recycling information?
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The owner of your facility or complex is required to provide for information on proper recycling and solid waste disposal. See the following documents for further information:
- Did I recycle right over the holidays?
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Check out a YouTube video on the subject.
- Can plastic grocery bags be recycled with the single-stream recyclables?
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Plastic bags should not be tossed in with the single-stream recyclables. Plastic bags comingled with other recyclables are problematic to the separation process of single-stream recycling. They can get easily wrapped in the processing equipment causing damage and downtime to remove the plastic film. Plastic bags can be recycled at most grocery or department stores. Please keep plastic bags out of the single-stream recyclables.
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) News Hour has produced a brief, 2.5-minute video on not placing plastic bags in your recycling cart. It explains why this can be a big problem for recycling facilities and why plastic bags should be recycled at drop-off locations only. Check it out!
- Can I burn?
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A new Department of Natural Resources (DNR) online tool helps residents know "Can I Burn?"
The DNR has a new, interactive online tool that provides information to Wisconsin residents and businesses about open burning.
DNR's open burning webpages now include an interactive tool called "Can I burn?", which allows users to input information regarding their burn intent, locations and types of materials they want to burn, and then provides directions on what to do next.
The online tool is user-friendly and takes less than a minute to complete. If residents are intending to burn several different material types, they will have to complete the tool for each type to determine eligibility.
The new open burning webpages also include updates on open burning's environmental and health impacts, DNR contacts, information on alternative ways to manage materials and how to file open burning complaints.
- What kinds of materials may not be burned by individual property owners?
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The administrative rules of the Air Management and Waste Management Programs prohibit anyone from burning any of the following materials under any conditions:
- Wet, combustible rubbish, such as wet cardboard or paper
- Oily substances, such as oily or greasy rags, oil filters, etc.
- Asphalt, such as asphalt shingles or tar paper
- Plastics of any kind, including plastic bottles and plastic bags
- Rubber products, including tires and hoses
These prohibitions apply to individual property owners (or renters) as well as to business and industry.
- What materials are individual property owners allowed to burn outdoors?
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Where not prohibited by local ordinance, leaf burning and burning of plant clippings and brush is allowed anywhere in the state, as long as weather conditions do not pose a fire hazard. However, leaf burning is discouraged because of the air pollution it causes and because of the benefits of composting and mulching with these materials.
Individual homeowners may burn small quantities of dry combustible rubbish such as paper, cardboard and/or clean untreated wood. Again, local ordinance can override this allowance. This is especially true in populated areas such as southeastern Wisconsin, where most municipalities have banned or severely limited open burning. Paper and cardboard can now be recycled in all communities, and recycling is the best disposal method for these items.
In either case, be sure to contact your local fire authority before you start burning to find out if you need to obtain a burning permit.