Waste Management

Waste Related Sustainability Goals by 2025 (2009) - see pp. 18 and 19

 Annual report on solid waste sustainability goals

Visit this page for information about WASTE REDUCTION

 Visit the La Crosse County Solid Waste website for details about
  • Location, scope, mission, news, hours of operationHousehold waste disposal and fees
  • Household hazardous waste disposal and fees
  • Business, construction and industrial waste disposal and fees, diversion programs for construction and wood waste, reuse of certain materials
  • Waste to energy initiatives
  • Sustainability initiatives
Links to individual municipalities' waste management info:
Other Recycling Resources
  • 7Rivers Recycling - appliances, confidential documents (shredding), e-waste, light bulbs, mattresses,
  • BEST BUY accepts electronics, cables, phones, appliances, and more. See website for details.
  • BlueJeans Go Green Find a partner retailer or mail old denim items to Bonded Logic which will turn them into sustainable insulation and keep them from the landfill.
  • FESTIVAL FOODS stores offer plastic shopping bag and cardboard carton collection for recycling
  • Gimme 5 - online resource for  recycling #5 plastics like yogurt cups plus other products like plastic toothbrushes
  • La Crosse County provides recycling of some construction, demolition, and industrial materials
  • \The UPS Store will accept clean packing materials - packing peanuts, bubble wrap, etc
The county also offers a brochure on Junk and Salvage with many contacts listed.
Recyclable in La Crosse
  • Rigid Plastics/Bottles (but not #3,#6,#7)
  • Paper and Cardboard (except food soiled items like paper plates and pizza boxes)
  • Metal cans (rinse) including pet food cans
  • Glass food and beverage containers (rinse)
  • Egg Cartons - cardboard cartons may be recycled, styrofoam cartons may not be (but consider returning them to the store or farmer for reuse)
  • Batteries - while you may throw single use alkaline batteries in the trash, they are recyclable. If your facility will not recycle them, you may mail them for recycling. This DNR guide gives more details about Household Battery Recycling. This guide is specifically about Battery Recycling for Business. 
GENERAL RECYCLING GUIDELINES see your municipality for specifics
As of April 2018, Harter's Green Circle Recycling (and City of La Crosse) will no longer accept PVC pipes and vinyl siding, as well as Styrofoam, plastic forks and spoons, clothes hangers and other plastics labeled 3, 6 and 7.
 
DO NOT RECYCLE Styrofoam packing peanuts, polystyrene cups or containers, loose plastic bags, food soiled containers or paper products (some may be compostable), broken or sharp glass, window glass or mirrors, fast food packaging, plastic utensils

  • Alkaline batteries: Alkaline batteries are made primarily of zinc, manganese dioxide and steel, all of which can be made into new products. The batteries are shredded to separate the steel casing from the zinc and manganese active materials.
  • NiCd and NiMH batteries: Nickel Cadmium (NiCd) and Nickel-Metal Hydride (NiMH) batteries include nickel, cadmium (in NiCd only) and iron. Cadmium is a hazardous substance that can cause serious bodily harm if not properly captured, so Retriev uses a pyrometallurgical process for component separation.
  • Lithium ion batteries: Li-Ion batteries typically consist of cobalt and copper and may have nickel, aluminum and iron. The batteries are processed through an automated crusher, which operates under a liquid solution to prevent fugitive emissions and to reduce the reactivity of the processed batteries. The result is a metal-enriched liquid and metal solids, which can be reused in new products.
  • Lithium metal batteries: These highly reactive batteries are pre-treated using a proprietary cryogenic process to lessen their reactivity and to allow for further processing. They then go through an automated crusher that results in metal solids and lithium-enriched liquid.
  • Lead acid batteries: These batteries primarily consist of lead metal and plastic casings. The lead plates are removed from the plastic casing using an automated physical separation technology; the lead is eventually reused in new batteries and the plastic goes to recyclers to incorporate into new products.
WASTE PREVENTION“The most effective way to reduce your organization’s waste is to generate less in the first place. Waste prevention offers the greatest environmental benefits and cost savings.” - Managing and Reducing Wastes: A Guide for Commercial Buildings, US EPA

Here is a short video about what you can recycle and how to prepare materials (communities with single stream recycling do not need to separate items).
 
If you have space and time, you may wish to compost food scraps (NOT meat or bones) on your own property. If you need instruction, volunteering at a local urban agriculture site (see FOOD) will help you learn. In addition, UW Extension has a useful online pamphlet. The Wisconsin DNR also offers a Home Composting Guide.

COMPOST
You may also be interested in starting a vermiculture operation. You may be able to volunteer with the Hillview Urban Agruculture project. This Wisconsin DNR article includes instructions and advice for setting up a worm composting program. https://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/supps/1998/dec98/vermi.htm
The City of La Crosse operates a brush and yard waste site on Isle LaPlume.  Cooking oil and food waste may also be dropped off. You must be a City of La Crosse resident to use this site.
UW-LaCrosse, Mayo Health System, and Hillview Urban Agriculture Center operate a Vermicomposting facility at 921 Ferry Street in La Crosse. Additional food waste from Western Technical College and People’s Food Co-op is used. Nearly 25 tons of food waste have been diverted from the landfill while 2 tons of high quality compost have been created. 
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