Wisconsin Recycling Excellence Awards

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources celebrates outstanding recycling and waste minimization efforts through its annual Recycling Excellence Award program. Communities, organizations, schools and businesses - both large and small - are eligible and encouraged to apply. In addition to giving recognition, the Recycling Excellence Awards highlight ideas and strategies with proven track records that other organizations may use to improve their recycling endeavors.

One of the goals identified in the DNR's 2021-2025 climate action plan is to reduce per-capita food waste disposed of in Wisconsin landfills by half by 2030 (from 2020 levels). Please note: Food waste recovery or diversion programs are eligible for a Recycling Excellence Award!

Awards are offered in four categories: overall program, projects and initiatives, innovation and special events. Programs may self-nominate or apply on behalf of another program. The 2025 nomination period has closed. Information about 2026 nominations will be posted in summer 2026. The table below provides more information on these categories and a list of the 2025 award winners.

2025 Award Categories and Winners

2025 Award Winners

3rd Annual Recycling Extravaganza (Oneida County)

The Annual Recycling Extravaganza, now on its third year, is the brainchild of Robert (Bob) Blaus. This community event provides the opportunity for residents to recycle, donate or properly dispose of a variety of materials. This year's event took place on Aug. 23 at the Eagle River Elementary School parking lot. Although the event was only held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 538 vehicles were in line before open, coming from surrounding counties and even the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Annual Recycling Extravaganza features free electronics recycling and collected 25.5 tons of electronics. A total of seven recycling dumpsters were filled, hauling away 26,000 pounds of metal and freon-containing appliances. The Drug Take-Back Program collected 48.5 pounds of pharmaceuticals. Other contributions included three huge boxes of glasses and hearing aids; 20 American flags; 11 bowling balls; ink and toner cartridges; crayons; old gift and key cards; and 291 pounds of clean and dry plastic bags and film. Attendees were also encouraged to bring unexpired, nonperishable food items to support the Vilas County Food Pantry; the pantry received 883 pounds of food and $1,229 in donations from recyclers. Many are already looking forward to the 4th Annual Recycling Extravaganza!

Badger Prairie Needs Network (Dane County)

Badger Prairie Needs Network (BPNN) in Verona is a food recovery program that receives food donations from individuals and from grocery stores and other retailers, food banks, large commercial kitchens, area farmers and local food drives. These food donations are re-purposed to create a grocery store-style food pantry. In addition, BPNN offers a free community meal two Saturdays each month. In 2023, about 400 tons of food were recovered, not counting that received from food banks. Without recovery, much of this food would be landfilled. On an annual basis, volunteers contribute about 4,500 hours to re-packaging food recovered from commercial kitchens and about 5,500 hours to picking up and sorting groceries donated by stores. Food and food scraps unsuitable for guests go to a local livestock farmer for animal feed or are transported to a commercial composting facility. Waste stations throughout the facility have separate receptables for standard recyclables, plastic film and waste, and cardboard and paper are compacted and baled for recycling.

Bikes for Kids Wisconsin (Dane County)

Bikes for Kids Wisconsin, located in Madison, began in 2017 with a goal to provide bikes to kids in need. The organization has diverted more than 14,135 bicycles from landfills (which is approximately 318,000 pounds of material) through refurbishment, while recycling another 108,000 pounds of non-repairable bicycle materials. This totals 426,000 pounds of material diverted from landfills while providing essential transportation to people in need in underserved communities across Wisconsin. This organization operates the state's only comprehensive bicycle recycling and refurbishment program at this scale. The organization's innovative approach maintains products at their highest functional value rather than breaking them down for raw materials. This maximizes environmental benefit while addressing transportation equity in underserved Wisconsin communities.

Calumet County VFW Post 3153

Members and auxiliary members of Calumet County VFW Post 3153 initiated a plastic bags and film recycling program through Trex Company, Inc. Based in Chilton, Calumet County VFW has recycled nearly 12,000 pounds of plastic from various businesses, stores, homes, schools and the local library. All plastic is weighed and recorded for report to Trex. Plastic is then loaded into a trailer by a team from the VFW Post and transported to the Festival Foods in Fond Du Lac, where a semi-trailer is stationed for the acceptance of the plastic materials. For these efforts, Trex donated a composite plastic bench made from bags and film to the city of Chilton, which was placed at Hobart Park for use during weekly band concerts.

City of De Pere (Brown County)

The city of De Pere, a Green Tier Legacy Community since 2019, offers a robust recycling program to its residents. Over the past five years, the city has made extensive efforts to improve the quality of residential recycling, focusing on “clean recycling.” Public Works staff toured the materials recovery facility where its recyclables go to see firsthand how contamination affects recycling processing operations. The city's recycling operator team has increased inspections of curbside recycling, tagging carts, providing informational flyers and/or leaving unacceptable material behind, to ensure proper recycling compliance. In addition, the Public Works Department added a QR code educational sticker to recycling carts. The QR code takes the user to the Tri-County Recycling website, which provides information on what is recyclable in curbside carts, videos of the recycling facility, and links to Tri-County Recycling-supported recycling apps like Betterbin and Waste Wizard. The site also allows residents to type in a specific item and will identify if it is recyclable and/or how to properly dispose of it. The city also started its own plastic bag recycling program with the help of Trex Company, diverting more than 5,500 pounds of plastic bags and film from landfills. Lastly, the city goes above and beyond to reach children with recycling education. The garbage and recycling drivers carry coloring books, activity books, toy recycling trucks and stickers in their trucks and hand them out whenever kids might be near during collection. In addition to sharing these items on the street, recycling drivers have visited schools several times a year to showcase the recycling trucks and talk about the importance of recycling. The city hosts a Big Rig Gig every September where recycling trucks and equipment from other organizations come together to showcase to kids and families.

Dane County Department of Waste + Renewables

Dane County Department of Waste + Renewables is being honored for two distinct initiatives. In fall 2024 and spring 2025, a series of severe hailstorms in Dane County generated an unprecedented wave of asphalt shingles arriving at the Rodefeld Landfill. Rather than depositing into the landfill, the county saw this as an opportunity to increase recycling efforts by reallocating staff, space and resources and leaning on a new contract with Kafka Granite LLC of Mosinee, Wisconsin. Shingles are now the county's top diverted material by weight. In 2021, the program recycled 3,200 tons of shingles; in 2025, it will exceed 30,000 tons! The collected shingles are processed by Kafka Granite for use in hot mix pavement applications under Wisconsin Department of Transportation specifications.

For the second initiative, Dane County launched a new food scrap collection program in spring 2025 that has already enrolled more than 1,700 households and diverted more than 140,000 pounds of food scraps from the landfill. Food scraps, yard waste and herbivore manure are processed into market-grade compost at Purple Cow Organics. Supported by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Compost and Food Waste Reduction Grant, Dane County partnered with four neighboring municipalities to install five free, 24/7 residential drop-off kiosks known as "Food Scrap Stops," and 500 residents received complimentary collection buckets for home usage. The buckets and Food Scrap Stops aim to remove cost and time barriers to participation. With organic material making up more than 34% of Dane County's landfill intake, this program directly advances state and federal goals to reduce food waste to landfills. The county's long-term vision is to scale the program to 1.2 million pounds of food scraps and 3,100 additional tons of brush, yard waste and manure diverted annually, providing a stable, sustainable solution for residents and businesses.

Destination Door County

Festivals and community events across Door County were generating thousands of single-use plastic water bottles. Not willing to accept this an inevitable, Destination Door County's Sustainable Hydration Initiative sought to reduce the usage of single-use plastic water bottles by encouraging and providing compostable cups and reusable bottles with water filling stations at various Door County events. Destination Door County partnered with the Climate Change Coalition of Door County to establish proper composting infrastructure, ensuring that compostable bamboo cups would complete their intended lifecycle rather than ending up in landfills. Overall, the initiative has prevented use of 5,548 plastic bottles at 28 festival events, dispensing over 50,000 ounces of water via compostable bamboo cups and reusable bottles. Beyond waste diversion, the program has sparked valuable community conversations about sustainability, inspired local businesses to adopt compostable alternatives, and generated interest from other counties seeking to replicate the model.

First United Methodist Church of Neenah-Menasha Green Team (Winnebago County)

Formed in January 2025 by a dedicated group of members from the First United Methodist Church of Neenah-Menasha, the Green Team has quickly established itself as an inspiring force for environmental stewardship within the congregation and beyond. Guided by their mission to “learn, educate, and act to establish sustainable practices that help restore and protect God's creation,” the team meets monthly and has implemented numerous impactful waste reduction and recycling initiatives. Their efforts include eliminating Styrofoam and disposable cups during fellowship time and large events (replaced with reusable or compostable cups); holding a lithium battery collection in partnership with Redwood Materials and a shoe collection drive with Fusion Footwear; organizing gift card recycling with TerraCycle; hosting a Styrofoam recycling drive; and running donation drives for egg cartons, clothing and more. Education and outreach are also at the heart of this group's work, including establishing monthly “Green Tips” section in the church newsletter, a dedicated bulletin board of eco-friendly ideas, and interactive Earth Day displays that help make environmental responsibility an accessible and engaging part of everyday life for the congregation. Going forward, the Green Team is pursuing an energy audit of the church building and is looking to partner with local organizations such as the Rotary Club and Winchester Lions Club on future recycling and sustainability initiatives.

Inpro Corporation (Waukesha County)

Inpro Corporation is a global provider of architectural products for commercial buildings. The facility in Muskego, WI, a Green Tier participant since 2020, recently received a Zero Waste Program Certification through SCS Global Services. As of June 9, 2025, SCS Global Services certifies that for the year 2023, Inpro waste diversion from the landfill was 63.99%. Inpro's recycling initiatives span a wide range of materials, including PVC and ABS plastics, metals, cardboard, e-waste, wooden spools and pallets. Partnerships with organizations like Fishiding turn PVC scrap into fish habitats. The company transitioned their scrap re-pelletizing operation from an external vendor to in-house, reducing carbon emissions. The material is repurposed into several products, including corner guards, retainers and wall guard bumpers. Inpro also regrinds some PVC in-house to reuse in its manufacturing. An example is the retainer for the BluNose Corner Guards, which are made from 100% pre-consumer recycled content and are four times stronger than the aluminum counterpart. As a long-term goal, Inpro hopes to achieve 100% waste diversion by 2060.

Merrimac Community School (Sauk County)

Merrimac Community School uses school chickens to reduce its food waste from snack and lunch times. Vegetable peelings, uneaten salad bar items, fruit and other suitable foods are sent to the chicken pen instead of the landfill. In the mornings, students feed the chickens as a part of the care and responsibility routine. Buckets with food that would normally be thrown away are tipped into the pen. This innovative program is not only reducing waste but educating the next generation of Wisconsinites about waste diversion.

Milwaukee County Parks - Kosciuszko Community Center (Kozy)

At the beginning of 2025, Milwaukee County Parks' Kosciuszko Community Center set out to be more intentional and improve the recycling practices in its building. The Kosciuszko Community Center connected with organizations such as “Keeping Greater Milwaukee Beautiful,” “Recycle for Good, Milwaukee!” and “Plastic Free MKE” to expand recycling knowledge at the community center. As a result, a “Recycling 101” training presentation was created for staff to ensure proper recycling practices at the center. In addition, staff discussed ways to help educate the public and encourage recycling participation. Recycling information is included in the “New Member Orientation” video to ensure any member of the public who enters the community center understands the commitment to recycling. The “Recycling 101” training is also now part of the new staff onboarding toolkit to ensure all new staff have a strong understanding about the fundamentals of recycling and are on the same page as veteran staff members. Staff and student workers went above and beyond by manually separating plastic bottles and aluminum cans from the trash containers using plastic gloves and trash picker claw tools. Additional funding also made it possible for the Kosciuszko Community Center to increase recycling signage and fliers and purchase blue recycling bins with circular openings in the lids to help encourage the public to recycle and decrease contamination.

Oshkosh Correctional Institution (Winnebago County)

In 2004, Oshkosh Correctional Institution started a vermiculture program with only a couple pounds of red wiggler worms. Today, this has grown to approximately 420 pounds of red wigglers that fill 284 worm beds. The beds are repurposed barrels from the institution. In 2024, OSCI purchased 2,000 European nightcrawlers that filled four barrels, and since then it has multiplied to fill 16 barrels. Why all the worms? Vermiculture is a process of using earthworms to recycle organic waste into nutrient-rich compost. The program started by putting containers outside each unit to collect “worm appropriate” food daily. To assist unit workers, menus were delivered weekly with foods highlighted as appropriate for the vermiculture program to increase food waste collection. From July 2024 to June 2025, OSCI recycled approximately 57,600 pounds of food waste, which was consumed by the worms or added to the vermiculture or horticulture compost piles. Approximately 16,440 pounds of paper and 4,332 pounds of cardboard has been used for worm bedding or composted. Also from July 2024 to June 2025, the worms produced more than 3,800 pounds of worm castings. The program also utilizes shredded paper, old t-shirts, blankets, egg and fruit crates, coffee and filters, sawdust and plastic containers (which are repurposed to sell worm castings).

Riverfest Inc (La Crosse County)

Riverfest Inc, located in La Crosse, is a family event over the Independence Day holiday. The four-day event includes activities for kids, live music and entertainment, food trucks and other community engagement. The festival is held on the banks of the Mississippi River at Riverside Park. Committee members and volunteers strive to increase recycling at the event. Since 2018, Riverfest and Hilltopper Refuse and Recycling have partnered to create a more sustainable event by recycling cardboard, aluminum and plastics #1, #2 and #5. The event includes recycling education and signage visible to festival goers along with 65 clear recycling containers spread across the grounds. The first year that Riverfest began offering recycling, 730 pounds of material was diverted. Since that time, participants, vendors and volunteers have kept over 7,320 pounds (3.66 tons) of materials out of the landfill. Riverfest and Hilltopper continually work to increase recycling and sustainability at this summer event.

Shorewood Elementary (Dane County)

Shorewood Elementary School in Madison is dedicated to teaching students how to be environmental stewards, whether in the classroom, cafeteria or out on the playground. The school has worked hard to reduce landfill waste, and students are leading the change. The school reduces waste through share tables (where pre-packaged, unopened food can be shared with others), recycling milk cartons and other materials, and composting before sending anything to the landfill. Last year, Shorewood's 2nd graders advocated to expand recycling opportunities for students and the community. They developed a fundraising proposal and successfully purchased the school's first outdoor recycling bin, a testament to their commitment. In addition, older elementary students take on the responsibility of teaching younger students how to sort waste correctly, ensuring all students contribute to a greener school.

Sustain Dane (Dane County)

Sustain Dane was founded in 1999 by a group of Madison residents with a mission to inspire and educate others to create a more sustainable community. In 2022, Sustain Dane identified a new mission to make food scrap collection more accessible to Madison community members. In summer 2022, Sustain Dane started coordinating education, food scrap collection and food waste hauling to Neighborhood Food Solutions' nearby urban farm in partnership with the city of Madison. The program expanded to be available at three Madison farmers' markets (South Madison, Eastside and Westside Community Market). The program accepts raw fruits, raw vegetables, coffee grounds, loose tea, eggshells and corn husks and cobs. The program is free and open to the public for all households in the greater Madison area and has continued to grow year over year collecting: 10,764 lbs. (2022); 19,754 lbs. (2023); 31,651 lbs. (2024); 28,644 lbs. (through September 2025). For the past three seasons, Sustain Dane has set a goal for food scrap collection based on the weight of an animal. This has increased community engagement and gives all a number to work towards. In 2023 they surpassed the goal of collecting 16,000 lbs. or the weight of two adult hippos; in 2024, they surpassed the goal of collecting 22,000 lbs. or the weight of two woolly mammoths; in 2025 they have the goal of collecting 40,000 lbs. or the weight of 20 bison (a small herd) and are on track to surpass this goal.

Tri-County Recycling (Brown, Outagamie, Winnebago Counties)

Tri-County Recycling (consisting of Brown, Outagamie and Winnebago counties) recently began offering a "Recycle Right Master Class" program. The program launched in late 2023 to address growing public skepticism around recycling and strengthen community knowledge of proper recycling practices. This interactive initiative combines in-depth education, facility access and hands-on volunteer service to reduce contamination and increase community participation in recycling. The program consists of three core classes, each designed to build on one another. The courses include: 101 Curbside Recycling, 201 Beyond the Bin and 301 Recycling in Context. To graduate, participants must also complete 10 hours of volunteer service within six months, applying what they've learned to support local recycling outreach efforts. Volunteer opportunities include assisting at community events, giving short presentations and helping neighbors recycle right. By transforming residents into “Master Recyclers,” the program builds long-term champions for waste reduction and demonstrates leadership in advancing Wisconsin's recycling goals through education, outreach and measurable behavior change. Graduates are emerging as trusted local advocates, helping to reduce contamination and build public confidence in recycling. This program demonstrates how a proven education model can be adapted to meet today's recycling challenges and provides a framework that could be replicated in other communities statewide.

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee County)

The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Office of Sustainability manages 32 distinct reuse, recycling and disposal streams, collectively saving the university approximately $800,000-$900,000 annually through avoided costs. The university has a surplus program which is responsible for managing UWM's electronics recycling, scrap metal recycling and universal waste diversion (toner, ink, batteries, lamps, etc.). The university uses a distinctive self-haul recycling program, whereby the UWM Office of Sustainability directly picks up hauls and soft-sorts recycling streams. The university has been able to improve the quality of the single-stream recycling on campus through trainings, education and signs. The university offers a reliable bulk recycling program where staff can recycle large quantities of (non-confidential) papers, journals, outdated textbooks and cardboard. UWM also collects food waste through kitchen operations and conducts on-site composting through the Panther Pails program which allows students, staff and entire departments to participate in composting. The composting program is the direct result of four different student projects over the last 12 years. In 2024, UWM recycled 156,076 pounds of scrap metal; 118,381 pounds of electronics; 576,135 pounds of paper products; and 195,469 pounds of organic waste (which includes 169,289 pounds of food waste and 26,180 pounds of yard waste). In spring 2025, the university started a plastic film recycling program which launched with key partners across campus. Each bale of plastic film diverted saves the campus about $500 through avoided disposal costs.

Veolia Environmental Solutions and Services (Waukesha County)

Veolia Environmental Solutions and Services is a global company dedicated to the management of water, waste and energy resources. Its Menomonee Falls facility, a Green Tier member since 2008, stores and processes hazardous waste to make these materials safe for proper disposal at an approved land disposal facility. Veolia demonstrated industry leadership in the development of a gas cylinder recycling unit, designed for small and large cylinders alike (including the difficult-to-manage one-pound camp stove cylinders and larger). Working with gas industry experts, Veolia developed a cost-effective gas recovery system that enables 100% recovery and recycling of end-of-life propane cylinders. The remaining propane is repurposed and recovered, while the empty metal containers are crushed and sent off-site for reconditioning or recycling. This sustainable solution serves both households and businesses, reducing environmental impact while creating operational efficiencies.

Village of Bayside (Milwaukee County)

The Village of Bayside, a Green Tier Legacy Community since 2013, provides a robust recycling and diversion program for their residents to promote sustainable practices. The village provides curbside recycling, yard waste collection and many special recycling events. Residents can recycle or properly dispose of electronics, scrap metal, bicycles, light bulbs, plastic bags, ink cartridges, eyeglasses, cell phones, textiles, household hazardous waste and more through village sponsored events and programs. The village works with Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewage District, Better Earth Recycling, Goodwill, Habitat for Humanity, Dream Bikes, Hunger Task Force and many more partners. Recognizing the importance of education, the village has developed short YouTube videos on the do's and don'ts of recycling, yard waste and leaf collection. In 2025, the village conducted the Boot the Bag campaign, aiming to engage and motivate individuals to eliminate the use of plastic bags by promoting the adoption of reusable alternatives. The month-long social media campaign with daily posts Monday through Friday, focused on a different theme each week: awareness, alternative solutions, tips and hacks, and community engagement. With the hashtag #BootTheBagBayside, the campaign increased awareness, provided education and inspired individuals to adopt reusable alternatives.

WasteCap Resource Solutions (Milwaukee County)

WasteCap Resource Solutions is a non-profit organization located in Milwaukee that provides waste reduction and recycling assistance to businesses. WasteCap assists and encourages organizations to effectively decrease costs from their operations through improved solid waste management practices. For more than 25 years, WasteCap has empowered businesses and communities to divert thousands of tons of material from landfills through hands-on assessments, training and innovative reuse programs. In the last 20 years alone, WasteCap has recycled more than 1.5 million tons of material, delivering measurable environmental and economic benefits. WasteCap conducted Milwaukee's first Food Waste & Recovery Study and has trained many contractors on construction and demolition recycling. One success story includes assisting the deconstruction of the Milwaukee County Stadium, diverting 95% of materials from landfills. This effort saved $1.2 million in demolition costs and showcased how sustainable practices can deliver both environmental and financial benefits. WasteCap also created a Wisconsin Recycling Directory; this tool allows users to find haulers, processors and drop-off locations for all kinds of materials across Wisconsin. WasteCap's mantra is “Waste is a resource in the wrong place.”

Winsert, LLC (Marinette County)

Winsert, LLC is a leading global provider of innovative alloy solutions to a variety of industries. The Marinette facility, a Green Tier participant since 2007, began a Winsert-sponsored "Universal Waste Collection for Recycling Day" four years ago. This semiannual event, one day in January and July, provides the opportunity for Winsert employees to properly dispose of their universal and electronic waste items from home. Winsert employees are eager to bring in their used batteries, light bulbs, electronic waste, used oil and used oil filters for proper disposal and recycling. This year alone, Winsert recycled a total of 3,570 lbs. of electronic waste; 220.64 lbs. of batteries; 210 light bulbs; 131.25 gallons of oil and 16 oil filters. Since the program inception, over 10,000 lbs. of electronic and universal waste have been recycled.

Honorable Mention - Town of Mentor

The town of Mentor (Clark County), which won a 2023 Recycling Excellence Award for the Special Events category, continues to host vital collection events for its residents. The Annual Clean Up Day was held on May 17, 2025, offering residents a chance to drop off unwanted items. Collected materials included: two 40-yard dumpsters filled with furniture, one 40-yard dumpster of scrap metal, numerous tires, mattresses, bikes, rugs and lawnmowers. In addition, a significant number of electronics and appliances were collected. The event not only diverted a large volume of waste from landfills but also fostered community pride and environmental stewardship. The town of Mentor extends its sincere thanks to all workers, volunteers, vendors, and residents who made this effort a success.