More information about 2009 "Bog Frog" Topics
Clean Green
Look for your favorite brand's "green" cleaner. These new brands are made with citrus oils and other natural compounds to perform the same cleaning results as the more toxic, chemical-based cleaners.
Two common household items that can be used for safe, effective cleaning are baking soda and vinegar. Use baking soda for cleanser-type applications, including sinks, carpets and laundry. Use vinegar for stain, corrosion and stench applications. Add vinegar to your laundry instead of bleach. Visit the Green Cleaning Network by clicking here.
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Open Burning Alternatives
Burn barrels have been a common practice in the Northwoods for generations, but we now know how dangerous they are. Open burning is the #1 cause of wildfires in Wisconsin, costing more than $1 million a year in firefighting expense.
Open burning happens at lower temperatures than closed burning. Chemical reactions take place that release harmful dioxins into the air. The residue also falls on land and in water, contaminating those elements. Foods from our gardens could contain poisons from open burning such as arsenic, benzene, lead and mercury, to name a few.
It is illegal to burn plastic, asphalt, rubber, treated or painted wood, batteries, oil, or wet rubbish. Most of these items can be recycled, disposed of in the Highway G Landfill, or brought to the Vilas County Hazardous Waste Collection. Why not compost your leaves instead of burning?
Click here for more information on open burning. |
Construction Waste
Now there are options in Vilas County to divert some of the construction waste that used to fill our county landfill at an alarming rate. Selective demolition can preserve used materials for resale and reuse. Second Story in Oneida County accepts used items for resale. A local waste hauler will soon open a landfill for construction demolition only. |
Recycle Electronics
Vilas County households contain 30,000 TVs and 15,000 computers. Vilas County residents have more than 13,000 cell phones in their pockets and purses.
See our recycling page for the dates of our next electronics recycling collection. Oneida County Landfill also accepts electronics for recycling on a year-round basis. |
Dual Streaming
The average American creates 4.5 pounds of garbage a day. Recyling adds over 31,000 jobs and $5.7 billion to Wisconsin's economy.
Local waste haulers now employ dual-stream curbside collection of recyclables, making it easier than ever to recylce rather than trash. All paper can go into one recycling bag, including cardboard, newspaper, office paper and shredded paper. Use another bag for ALL your containers made from plastic, glass, aluminum and mixed metals. It's that easy!
Private haulers providing curbside collection in Vilas County: Eagle Waste (715)477-0077; Northern Waste; Veolia Environmental Services. |
Reduce Junk Mail
Every person receives about 34 pounds of junk mail per year, using 80 million trees and 28 billion gallons of water for processing.
You can reduce this amount by:
1. Contacting the Direct Marketing Association and signing up for their mail preference service (including removing deceased or persons under care from mailing lists). DMA Mail Preference Service
2. Opting out of credit and insurance offers through the Consumer Credit Reporting Industry. (Note: they will ask you for your social security number, as companies solicit your business based on your credit report. We verified this process with the Wisconsin Division of Consumer Protection and they verified this is an official process.) |
Green Driving
To increase your fuel efficiency, slow down! Reducing your speed from 65 to 55 MPH will add 2 miles per gallon to your car's performance, not to mention make the roadways safer.
Accelerate gradually and avoid slamming on the brakes. Use your air conditioning when driving highway distances, and roll down the windows when you're driving around town.
For more tips, visit Green Driving USA. |
Reduce Your Garbage
The average American creates 4.5 pounds of garbage a day. Many people thing about recylcing, but even before RECYCLE, we should think REDUCE, then REUSE.
To REDUCE, avoid buying single-serve packaged items. Buy items in bulk or post-consumer recycled packaging. Pack a "no waste" lunch with a reusable box or bag, cloth instead of paper napkins, reusable utensils, drinks in a thermos, and compost your fruit and vegetable waste.
PAPER or PLASTIC? Say "NEITHER"! Plastic bags use non-renewable resources and take forever to degrade. Paper bags are heavy and require a lot of energy to manufacture and transport. Try an old tote bag or a reusable "green" bag to carry your groceries. Keep them in your car for easy access. Stop by the Vilas County UW-Extension office and mention this page for a free grocery bag - we'll give you one for your trouble! (Offer while supplies last; limit one per family). |
Home Composting
The average American creates 4.5 pounds of garbage a day. One way to reduce the amount that goes into landfills is home composting.
Set aside fruit and vegetable peelings and scraps, egg shells and coffee grounds. This and other "green" waste such as grass clippings can be mixed with "brown" waste such as dry leaves, twigs and sawdust to create compost that can be used for plant nutrition and mulch.
Commercial compost bins can be found at many hardware and home stores, or you can make your own (see publication link below for details).
More:
UW Extension Publications
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Info
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Retire Your Tires
When your tires are old and bald and can't stay on the road any more, make sure they get the proper retirement. Tires rotate about 500 times for every mile traveled - that's 25 million times the surface has met pavement after 50,000 miles! Keeping your tires properly inflated and aligned extends their life.
When it's finally time to retire your tires, use the Vilas County Amnesty Program for proper disposal. Call your town or city clerk and ask for an amnesty voucher. This will allow you to bring up to 5 tires to the Highway G landfill free of charge.
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All about recycling in Wisconsin:
what's recyclable, how to prepare items for recycling, the economic impact of recycling on the state,
energy and climate change facts and more at
Recycle More Wisconsin web site (exiting UWEX).
Top | Return to Recycling home
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