37 tons of tires, 15 tons of electronics collected in county Clean Sweep

By Valorie Brecht In a throwaway society where electronics, appliances, and other items don’t last nearly as long as they used to, it can be easy to accumulate a pile of junk over a lifetime and have nowhere to go with it. That’s where the Clark County Clean Sweep event comes in, providing an opportunity for residents to drop off unwanted items and/or hazardous materials.

Clark County’s most recent Clean Sweep was held Sept. 6, but it wasn’t until last month’s county board meeting that the board heard the results of the event. UW-Extension educator Melissa Kono provided an overview of how much waste was collected and how the event was organized.

“Clean Sweep events are costly to operate, and require a lot of population and staff. Due to the cost and effort, we do not host an annual Clean Sweep,” said Kono. “Our last Clean Sweep event was in 2017, and prior to that 2015.”

This year’s event was held at the Clark County Highway Shop in Owen in the morning and the Clark County Fairgrounds in Neillsville in the afternoon. Event organizers like to split the event into two locations to make it easily accessible for residents of the northern and southern parts of the county.

Household and ag waste Veola Environmental Services neutralized and properly disposed of the waste collected.

— 3,755 pounds of hazardous household waste were collected.

— 3,828 pounds of agricultural waste were collected.

Electronics Clark County Clean Sweep received a Wisconsin DNR e-cycle grant for $7,500, which allowed the Extension to properly dispose of electronics at no cost to Clark County residents. Dynamic Lifecycle Innovations was the DNR-approved e-cycler.

— 30,226 pounds (15 tons) of electronics were recycled. — 180 participants recycled electronics. — 63% of the participants brought at least one electronic item.

Appliances and batteries First Choice Recycling of Spencer took batteries and appliances. Participants were charged $20 for appliances requiring Freon, such as refrigerators, freezers, and air conditioners.

— 108 participants recycled appliances. — 38% of participants brought at least one appliance. — First Choice has not given the UW-Extension the total weight collected yet.

Tires Liberty Tire Recycling from Auburndale was the tire recycling vendor. Liberty uses 98% of all tires they collect in an environmentally friendly manner.

— 74,120 pounds (37 tons) of tires were collected, the majority of which were collected by the highway and forestry and parks departments, and therefore at county expense.

— Residents brought in more than 750 tires.

Medications and pharmaceuticals Kelsey Wussow, public health nurse, and Josh Niemi of the sheriff’s department conducted a “drug take back” at Clean Sweep.

— Approximately 120 pounds of medications were collected.

— About 35 households and one business disposed of expired or unneeded prescription and over-the-counter medications.

— 12% of Clean Sweep participants dropped off medications.

Participation Participants had to pre-register. There were 292 pre-registered and 285 actually attended.

— Owen had 99 participants. — Neillsville had 186 participants. — Partcipants included 214 households, 41 farms, 11 agricultural businesses, six government units/municipalities, and one non-agricultural business.

— 245 participants completed surveys. Of those who returned surveys, 63% had not participated in a Clean Sweep in the past (up from 44% in 2017).

— Most participants heard about the event through the radio, followed by the newspaper.

— 88% of survey respondents said they were more informed about ways to identify and reduce hazardous waste as a result of Clean Sweep.

Cost Funding sources — Clark County budgeted $5,000 per year for the event, multiplied by the past six years to equal $30,000 in county money available.

— Additionally, the county received Wisconsin Department ofAgriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection (DATCP) funding for $17,390.86 for agriculture and household hazardous waste, and prescription drug collection.

— The county also received an Atmus Filtration grant for $10,000 to use for the Clean Sweep and water testing. Of the Atmus grant, $2,718 was spent on water testing, leaving $7,282 for the Clean Sweep.

— The Wisconsin DNR gave $7,500 in the form of an e-cycle grant, allowing residents to recycle their electronics for free.

Expenses — Veolia’s recycling services cost $15,733.02, which was covered by the DATCP grants.

— Dynamic charged $3,950 for a transportation fee, which was covered by the DNR grant.

— Liberty Tire Recycling charged $15,440.12. — As of March 7, the county had still not received an invoice from First Choice Recycling for its services.

— The county spent $1,095.29 in other costs, including personal protective equipment ($416.62), volunteer food and drinks ($319.08), t-shirts ($271.30), t-shirt contest prizes ($45), and advertising ($43.29). Many hours, miles, and office supplies were also used in this event.

Additional information Clark County Clean Sweep is led by the UW-Extension, in partnership with the following county departments: land conservation, forestry and parks, highway, public health, emergency management, sheriff, Aging and Disability Resource Center, and maintenance. The Clark County Board of Supervisors, O-W Fire and EMS, and Neillsville Fire Department also provided support.