NEENAH, Wis. (WFRV) – A local organization is educating residents about the proper ways of recycling through a series of classes.
The most recent was over at the Neenah Public Library, where nearly 70 residents attended to learn the basics of curbside recycling. Tri-County Recycling, which serves Brown, Winnebago, and Outagamie counties, hosted this event.
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The Recycling and Solid Waste Coordinator for Outagamie County, Jordan Hiller, explains the benefits of a class like this.
“The benefits are feeling confident that you are doing the right thing,” says Hiller. “In our industry, we have a big problem with what’s called ‘wish cycling,’ where you don’t really know if this item, say a plastic bag or a piece of clothing, you don’t necessarily know where it should go, but you don’t want to throw it away, so you ultimately make the decision to put it in the recycling container.”
The next step up from this version is the 201 or Master Recycler, where residents can get a more in-depth look than in the previous class. Tri-County has yet to announce a date for this course, but it will do so on its social media pages.
Hiller says the goal of these courses is to educate residents first but also allow them to be extensions of the organization and help others learn as well since people like Hiller can’t be everywhere at all times, making sure people are doing the right thing. The inspiration behind this course is from continually seeing contaminants that should not be ending up in your recycling bins.
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“Our number one contaminator and we will say it all day, every day, is going to be plastic bags, say that’s shopping bags, film, bread bags, cereal bags, wraps,” explains Hiller. “They come into our facility, and they become twanglers. We have to send sorting staff into the machines and physically cut them out on every break and on lunch with power tools to clean out the facility.”
Hiller also says that shredded paper causes issues on the sorting line, as it becomes a snow globe effect as it goes through the machines and is never recycled. Tri-County Recycling offers tours of the Outagamie County Recycling & Solid Waste Drop-Off Site in Little Chute, where everyone can see why these contaminants become a problem firsthand.
