Halloween Candy Wrappers

Please remember to put your candy wrappers in the trash, not the recycling bin. Most candy wrappers are made from a combination of plastic and aluminum. These materials are extremely difficult to separate, so it’s very challenging to recycle them, and they contaminate the process. Thanks for keeping our recycling clean, and enjoy those sweet Halloween treats!

Changes in Winneshiek County Recycling Drop Off Shed

Starting Monday, October 2nd, there will be a new blue bin in the drop off shed at the Freeport Recycling Center. This container will be used for collecting plastics stamped #1 or #2 and metal cans. This bin will replace the cages and smaller bins previously used to collect plastics and metal cans.

The pink cardboard collection container and the paper collection bins will also trade spots, so the paper collection bins will be next to the new plastics/metal cans container on the right side of the shed.

Blue recycling roll off trailer labeled with #1 plastic, #2 plastic, tin cans, and aluminum cans. There are also labels that say no styrofoam and no plastic bags.

Rechargeable Batteries

Please bring rechargeable batteries to the recycling center! DO NOT put these items in your trash. They can cause fires at the landfill when they are run over by the compactor! This includes cell phones too. If you have questions on disposing of batteries, please click here.

Thanks to everyone that stopped by the 48-hour lot last Saturday to recycle your electronic waste for World CleanUp Day! We collected a lot of cell phones and rechargeable batteries!

Have a great weekend!

Various types of rechargeable batteries.

World Cleanup Day / Electronic Waste Collection

Mark your calendars! World Cleanup Day is Saturday, September 16th, and we will be collecting electronic waste items next to Decorah Farmers Market from 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM. There will be a trailer parked in the 48 hour lot next to the other recycling collection bins.

Check out the lists below to see what items you can bring and what not to bring. You can also visit our “What Do I Do With…” page to see some more electronic examples.

Electronics can also be brought to the recycling center during business hours Monday through Friday, but this is your chance to dispose of these items on a weekend! If you choose to bring an electronic to the recycling center during business hours, please ensure you speak with our staff.

Questions? Email wildrecycling@winneshiekwild.com

Please Keep Trash Out of Recycling Bins

Happy Friday! This is another friendly reminder to please ensure you are only placing recyclable materials in the recycling collection bins throughout Winneshiek County. Bags filled with garbage were recently discovered in a Ridgeway recycling collection bin. There was also a ceiling fan in the 48 hour lot paper bin in Decorah. If you have garbage and you don’t know what to do with it, please check out the “LANDFILL” tab on our home page of this website. Find more information about the rural waste drop-off sites in our county here.
The Winneshiek County Sanitary Landfill is located at:
2000 140th Avenue
Decorah, IA 52101
Thanks to all of you that support our recycling program. Have a great weekend!

Closer look at 11 black trash bags full of trash piled next to each other in the recycling center.
Picture of various types of paper waste with a ceiling fan in the middle.
Picture of various types of paper waste with a ceiling fan in the middle.
11 black trash bags full of trash piled next to each other in the recycling center.

Appliances

Do you have an appliance that you need to dispose of? Check out our Applicances page for directions on where to take your item. Appliances must be dropped off during office hours. Refrigerators, freezers, air conditioners and dehumidifiers (appliances with freon) should be taken to the Winneshiek County Landfill appliance trailer- $20.00 fee per appliance. Microwaves, stoves, washers and dryers (appliances without freon) can be dropped at the Freeport Recycling Center door 6am-3pm M-F without a charge.

Paper Bin Contamination In Hesper

Waste materials from Hesper paper recycling bin. There is aluminum, plastic, and paper.

These materials were found in the Hesper paper recycling bin last week. Only paper should be placed in this bin. Aluminum cans belong in the “metals” bin and the #1 and #2 plastics belong in the “plastics” bin. The brown paper bags can actually be placed in the cardboard bin with the brown boxes.

Wishcycling

Happy Friday! The recycling center will be closed on Tuesday, July 4th.

During this time of year, we normally see a significant increase in items getting sent to the landfill and recycling center. We ask folks to avoid WISHCYCLING 🙂 Wishcycling means putting non-recyclable items in the recycling bin with the hope that they will be recycled.

Wishcycled items end up in the landfill. The process of sorting them out at the recycling center and transporting them to the landfill consumes more time and costs more money, so please do your best to sort your materials correctly!

Thanks for recycling and have a fun and safe holiday!

What Do I Do With Uncommon Waste Items?

Do you have a product or material that you need to dispose of, but you don’t know where to take it? Winneshiekwaste.com may have the answer for you! On this website, you can access our updated recycling guide by clicking on the link below:

https://www.winneshiekwaste.com/about-winneshiek-county-recycling/accepted-unaccepted-materials

You can also search for your material on our “What Do I Do With” page. The link is posted below:

https://www.winneshiekwaste.com/what-do-i-do-with

Winneshiek County Recycling Tips

Happy Friday everyone! As we head into the weekend, I wanted to provide some tips on how you can help the team at the recycling center.

1. For the safety of the staff, please don’t bag your recyclable materials. Bagged materials are sent to the landfill because the recycling team cannot identify the items.

2. Please ensure that your plastic beverage containers are empty when you place them in the plastic bin. Any beverage container that contains liquid will be sent to the landfill.

3. Only recycle hard plastics and ensure that they are marked with a #1 or #2. We can only recycle plastics marked with a #1 or #2 in Winneshiek County.

4. Please do not place soft plastic bags in our recycling bins. We cannot recycle them in Winneshiek County.

5. Please avoid placing screws, nails, and bolts in recycling bins. They can damage equipment. Please collect these items in a small container and bring them to the recycling center during business hours to give to the staff.

Enjoy your Friday and thanks to all of you that reuse or recycle waste materials! Keep up the good work!

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