Municipalities will pay $3 to $4 less for solid waste and recycling
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Editor’s Note: LeAnn R. Ralph serves on the Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling Committee as the representative for the Town of Otter Creek.
By LeAnn R. Ralph
COLFAX — Municipalities that participate in Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling will pay $3 to $4 less per person for 2024.
The Colfax Village Board approved a budget of $167,300 for the Colfax side of the Responsible Unit and a budget of $169,302 for the Elk Mound side of the RU at the village board’s September 25 meeting.
The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources requires all municipalities to either be their own Responsible Unit for recycling or to join another municipality’s Responsible Unit.
The Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling Committee, which includes representatives for all of the municipalities who belong to the Colfax RU, met in August and approved decreasing the net income for each site by $20,000.
The solid waste and recycling committee meets twice a year, in August and in April.
The Colfax side of the RU includes the Village of Colfax, the Town of Colfax, the Town of Grant, the Town of Otter Creek, the Town of Tainter and the Town of Wilson.
The Elk Mound side of the RU includes the Village of Elk Mound, the Town of Elk Mound and the Town of Spring Brook.
Colfax Solid Waste & Recycling will likely have a surplus of about $300,000 at the end of 2023, and management committee members agreed there were sufficient funds to replace the four compactors, if necessary, and that the revenue could be decreased by $20,000 for each collection site.
The cost for a new compactor and roll-off box is approximately $45,000, and there are four compactors in use, two at each collection site in Colfax and in Elk Mound.
The per capita last year for the Colfax side of the RU was $28.82, and the per capita for 2024 will be $25.75, representing a decrease of $3.07 per person.
The per capita last year for the Elk Mound side of the RU was $40.78, and the per capita for 2024 will be $36.47, representing a decrease of $4.31 per person.
Per capita amounts
For the Village of Colfax, the decrease in the per capita will amount to a decrease of about $3,600 for a total solid waste and recycling fee of $30,457.97 (population of 1,183).
For the Town of Colfax, the decrease in per capita will amount to a decrease of about $3,800 for a total solid waste and recycling fee of $32,002.75 (population of 1,243).
For the Town of Grant, that will amount to a decrease of about $1,200 for a total solid waste and recycling fee of $9,963.95 (population of 387).
For the Town of Otter Creek, that will amount to a decrease of about $1,600 for a total solid waste and recycling fee $13,619.84 (population of 529).
For the Town of Tainter, that will amount to a decrease of about $8,100 for a total solid waste and recycling fee $68,253.66 (population of 2,651).
For the Village of Elk Mound, that will amount to a decrease of about $4,200 for a total solid waste and recycling fee $35,487.04 (population of 973).
For the Town of Elk Mound that will amount to a decrease of about $8,400 for a total solid waste and recycling fee $71,484.69 (population of 1,960).
For the Town of Spring Brook, that will amount to a decrease of about $7,300 for a total solid waste and recycling fee $62,330.27 (population of 1,709).
Some of the municipalities in the Colfax RU invoice their residents for the solid waste and recycling per capita, and some of the municipalities include the solid waste and recycling fee in the property tax levy so their residents do not pay a separate fee.
For those municipalities that include the solid waste and recycling fee in the tax levy, that means the municipalities will have the reduction in the amount for per capita to put toward something else in the budget, such as road repairs, equipment, fuel or another expense.
The Colfax Village Board unanimously approved the 2024 solid waste and recycling budget.
Voting in favor were Jeff Prince, village president, and village trustees Clint Best, Margaret Burcham, Carey Davis, Anne Jenson, Jen Rud and Gary Stene.
Wages
The Colfax Solid Waste and Recycling Committee also approved pay raises of $1 per hour for the collection site attendants at the August meeting.
Attendants’ wages will increase from $16 per hour to $17 per hour as of January 1.
Lead attendants’ wages will increase from $17 per hour to $18 per hour as of January 1.
All together, the attendants work a total of 3,600 hours per year, so the pay raises will amount to a $3,600 increase in the expense for wages.
Several committee members noted that the collection site attendants deserve to be paid more than they could make at a fast food restaurant, especially since their job is made more difficult by members of the public who refuse to recycle and include recyclable items with their household trash.
State law requires residents to recycle certain items such as paper, cardboard, aluminum, glass, tin and some plastics.
Clear bags
The Colfax Solid Waste and Recycling Committee also approved making it mandatory to use clear plastic bags for trash.
Lynn Niggemann, Village of Colfax administrator-clerk-treasurer, said some of the site attendants were ready to quit their jobs if the committee did not mandate clear plastic bags for trash because the site attendants are convinced it will make their job easier to detect recyclables in the trash.
A few members of the public become angry and belligerent with the site attendants over the issue of putting their recyclables in the trash, she said.
The Colfax RU plans to send out educational materials about state law and recycling when the collection site permits are mailed to residents in December.
Signs also will be put up at the collection sites reminding residents that state law requires certain materials to be recycled.
Clear plastic trash bags can be ordered online and are available at places like Walmart, Target and Blains Farm and Fleet.
