Many years ago, when I first got involved with local environmental issues, my focus was on development - or overdevelopment of our City, and protection of our most fertile farmlands that surround Janesville. The other issue that caught my eye back in 2007, was allowing outside garbage haulers to bring trash into our City's landfill for a discounted price. Along those same lines, cutting down on trash by stepping up our recycling program became another mission.
Janesville was one of the first communities in Wisconsin to offer a curbside recycling program for residents. Recycling in Wisconsin has been mandatory for close to 25 years, and if you look at the materials economy, recycling is helping to save our planet by reusing natural resources instead of trashing and extracting. Apparently Scott Walker has not seen "The Story of Stuff". (at thestoryofstuff.com)
I will be writing more on this subject in the next few days. Right now I am so sick to my stomach that I can barely finish this post.
From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: "Gov. Scott Walker's two-year budget would take the unprecedented step of eliminating a state requirement that communities operate recycling programs.
Walker's budget proposal would also eliminate all state subsidies paid to local units of government to pay for recycling, and instead use those proceeds to finance a state economic development fund.
The proposal is the biggest change to the state's recycling program since recycling of items like aluminum cans and newspapers were required starting in 1995.
Local communities could still operate recycling programs, under Walker's plan. But they would have to operate the programs without a state subsidy at a time when Walker is proposing sharp cuts in state aid to localities.
The City of West Bend receives a state payment of around $130,000 to offset its costs of providing a program to recycle cans, bottles, cardboard and other materials, City Administrator Dennis Melvin said. Collecting the material instead of putting it in trash cans also reduces the city's landfill costs each year, he said.
Total cost of the city's recycling effort is $629,070 for 2011 but that includes collecting leaves, brush and used motor oil. A contract for curbside recyclables pickup alone - excluding leaves and brush - will cost West Bend $388,217 in 2011, according to budget documents.
State figures show that in 2010, local units of government spent about $110 million on recycling. Grants from the state totaled $29.3 million, or about 27% of the cost.
In 2009, 99% of all Wisconsin communities with populations of 5,000 or more had curbside or drop-off recycling programs."
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