Kenosha Mulls Recycling Bins; Concedes Blue Bags Aren't Viable Anymore

Sept. 16, 2019 10:25p 

(WGTD)---City of Kenosha residents who believe they’re helping the environment in a small way by putting out recyclables in blue bags every two weeks may be in for a shock.

A local environmental group believes Kenosha’s blue bags are being trucked straight to the landfill. It’s a belief that Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian doesn’t dispute.

For one thing, the market for recyclables dropped when China stopped accepting them a year ago. For another, it’s come to light that the bags tend to clog up automated sorting machines. Kenosha is apparently the last major municipality in the state to use bags.

At Monday night's City Council meeting, resident Gail Clark Taylor expressed frustration. "I've been upset for a number of years that I have to buy blue bags to put my recyclables in, especially after knowing that many communities provide their residents with bins to put their recycling in," she said. "And now I find out that those blue bags that I hate to buy are going into the landfill."

After the meeting, Mayor Antaramian confirmed that the city is tentatively planning to convert to a bin system. Households would be given bins to fill with recyclables. The conversion wouldn’t be cheap: $7 to $8 million, according to the mayor’s estimate.

The switch is expected to be addressed by city officials in a few weeks at budget time. 

Also Monday night, the council approved hiring a project manager to coordinate aspects of implementing a downtown redevelopment plan that involves building a new city hall.

And the council approved the sale of the Alford building to a development group. The Alford is one of two large former retail buildings at the corner of 58th St. and 7th Ave. The second building is already in the process of being transformed into a micro-brewery and a banquet hall. Current thinking for the Alford has retail on the first floor with residential on the second.

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