Pleasant Prairie staff presented the 2021 Solid Waste Utility Budget to the Village Board on November 2. The Board approved the budget, with the proposed $2.00 per month rate increase for solid waste and recycling collection. The new amount is necessary to cover the increased costs for the collection services offered. Pleasant Prairie’s tipping fees are slightly higher, and there is a larger volume of waste being collected. These changes have caused an increase in Village costs, along with additional hours needed to manage the larger volumes of recycling, garbage, and leaves.
As part of the 2021 Solid Waste Budget, the Village plans to continue all services, including the new billable service offered in 2020 that picks up brush and branches from resident homes. The types of items collected at the Residential Recycling Center (RRC) will remain the same. Residents can still drop off unlimited volumes of recycling and household hazardous waste at the RRC at no additional charge.
"Village residents can help bring down the cost of the recycling process by keeping recyclables loose, not bagged, in the recycling cart," said John Steinbrink Jr., Public Works Director. "Recyclables in plastic bags are considered contaminated and dumped in the landfill, which costs the Village $150 per ton to dump. We annually dump 352 tons of recyclables in the landfill every year because they are considered contaminated in plastic bags. The community is doing a great job keeping recyclables loose in their carts, but we need to increase this effort to not only help the environment but also bring collection costs down."
The Solid Waste Utility provides curbside garbage, recycling, and leaf collection services to approximately 7,540 Pleasant Prairie homes. Utility funds also operate the RRC and offer hazardous waste collection the first Saturday of each month, along with free compost, mulch, shred events, and Christmas tree drop-off sites. Residents can find more information about Solid Waste services on pages six through eleven of the 2021 Village Calendar or online at PleasantPrairieWi.gov under the Services tab.