Spring Break
Recycling policies violated in off-campus areas
County planning division receives complaints, especially about housing on Water and Lake Street
Nathaniel Shuda
Issue date: 10/10/05 Section: Campus News
For many students in early to mid-20th century America, the three Rs were a part of their everyday academic lives - reading, 'riting and 'rithmetic.
Since the time many students were in elementary school, they have been taught a new set of Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle.
With a new academic year already underway and an ever-changing population of university students deciding to live off campus, they must know the laws by which they must abide, said Jon Tulman, associate planner for Eau Claire County's planning and development department - especially those dealing with recycling.
The planning division of the department recently received complaints about violations of these state and local laws regarding recycling policies in areas where off-campus student housing are predominant, Tulman said.
He said areas in which complaints are most prevalent are Water Street to Lake Street.
In 1989, the state of Wisconsin passed a bill requiring "all residents, businesses and institutions to recycle a wide variety of materials," according to a county press release.
The law also requires specified Responsible Units to implement the law.
"Every (local) recycling program has to have ordinances as to what cannot be land filled," Tulman said. If a municipality does not impose such laws, he said, it will not be eligible for state grants and might lose its status as an "effective (recycling) program."
Losing effective program status can mean the state can ban local garbage from its waste management facilities or from public vehicles, Tulman said.
"Our office does not go out looking for violations, we respond to complaints," Tulman said. "Complaints about students not recycling have always been here. The only thing different about the student population is it's transitional. (Therefore), it's a challenge to get this stuff out
to students."
Those who live in the city of Eau Claire can receive curbside recycle-pickup service for $8 a year, and the companies the county has contracted as recycling haulers provide recycling containers at no additional cost.
Penalties for violating the law, Tulman said, include a fine ranging from $200 to $1,000, as well as any court costs, which, unlike the fine itself, change from time to time.
Court costs are not cheap, he said, citing that in recent years, typical costs have ranged from $216 in 2003 to $160 a year ago.
Recycling violations are treated like traffic citations, Tulman said, and are dealt in civil, not criminal court.
"If (students) need help in either understanding law or getting help from their landlords, they should feel free to contact us," Tulman said. "We want to have the opportunity to get the word out and be reasonable about it."
Since the time many students were in elementary school, they have been taught a new set of Rs - reduce, reuse and recycle.
With a new academic year already underway and an ever-changing population of university students deciding to live off campus, they must know the laws by which they must abide, said Jon Tulman, associate planner for Eau Claire County's planning and development department - especially those dealing with recycling.
The planning division of the department recently received complaints about violations of these state and local laws regarding recycling policies in areas where off-campus student housing are predominant, Tulman said.
He said areas in which complaints are most prevalent are Water Street to Lake Street.
In 1989, the state of Wisconsin passed a bill requiring "all residents, businesses and institutions to recycle a wide variety of materials," according to a county press release.
The law also requires specified Responsible Units to implement the law.
"Every (local) recycling program has to have ordinances as to what cannot be land filled," Tulman said. If a municipality does not impose such laws, he said, it will not be eligible for state grants and might lose its status as an "effective (recycling) program."
Losing effective program status can mean the state can ban local garbage from its waste management facilities or from public vehicles, Tulman said.
"Our office does not go out looking for violations, we respond to complaints," Tulman said. "Complaints about students not recycling have always been here. The only thing different about the student population is it's transitional. (Therefore), it's a challenge to get this stuff out
to students."
Those who live in the city of Eau Claire can receive curbside recycle-pickup service for $8 a year, and the companies the county has contracted as recycling haulers provide recycling containers at no additional cost.
Penalties for violating the law, Tulman said, include a fine ranging from $200 to $1,000, as well as any court costs, which, unlike the fine itself, change from time to time.
Court costs are not cheap, he said, citing that in recent years, typical costs have ranged from $216 in 2003 to $160 a year ago.
Recycling violations are treated like traffic citations, Tulman said, and are dealt in civil, not criminal court.
"If (students) need help in either understanding law or getting help from their landlords, they should feel free to contact us," Tulman said. "We want to have the opportunity to get the word out and be reasonable about it."