With the completion and approval of a Regional Solid Waste Management Plan for Boone and Winnebago Counties, five public meetings have been held to prioritize several short-term efforts that will further the goal of keeping more than 90 percent of all waste generated within the Counties out of the landfill by 2050. These meetings include stakeholders who represent the landfill, waste haulers, recycling organizations, local and county governments, and other entities.
Currently, only 18.2 percent of all waste generated within Boone and Winnebago County is kept out of the landfill through recycling or composting efforts. In order to begin the work of bridging the gap to a 90 percent recycling rate, the following information is a summary of actions reviewed by the Solid Waste Advisory Committee for implementation within Boone and Winnebago Counties.
Action #1: Design and implement a website that provides waste education and other relevant resources to the community.
The idea is simple, to create and manage a website that will:
1. Educate the public on what can be recycled by your waste hauler;
2. How to reduce contamination in the waste stream;
3. Act as a hub for finding local businesses that will repair, buy, sell, donate, or share a particular item; and,
4. Provide waste resources to commercial and industrial entities.
Action #2: Expand the ways in which the public can receive waste education and updated practices.
With the lack of access to waste information seen as a major barrier to recycling in the region, this action intends to streamline waste information provided to the public in a variety of communication channels. These channels include but are not limited to: hosting community recycling events, tours of recycling facilities, school field trips to the landfill, social media posts, television or radio interviews, and billboard advertising.