Recycling efforts reel in awards for La Crosse, Onalaska

Recycling efforts in La Crosse and Onalaska get another award.

A well-deserved one at that, according to Karen Sieg, with the industry group Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin.

The group’s award comes, in part, for how well the two cities collaborated on a switch to single stream recycling.

“Yes, the coordination, but that they also did a great job of planning and including the community and preparing for this,” Sieg said.

The cities have become a model for other communities switching to single-stream recycling. 

The changeover for Onalaska and La Crosse vastly increased recycling rates.

“We have seen at times other communities that are not quite so efficient and inclusive with the whole community in the process,” Sieg said. “They did a great job in those categories.”

The DNR had also recently awarded the cities for their recycling efforts.