Wisconsin Landfill Bans Explained: What Can't Go in the Trash

The list, with the law behind each item

• Major appliances and lead-acid batteries. "No person may dispose of a lead acid battery or a major appliance in a solid waste disposal facility in this state", with one exception: a microwave can go once its capacitor has been removed (Wis. Stat. s. 287.07).
• Waste tires, since January 1, 1995, unless burned with energy recovery.
• Yard waste, since January 3, 1993.
• Covered electronics: computers, printers and fax machines, DVD and VCR players, TVs and cell phones, since September 1, 2010. Landfill operators also have to make a reasonable effort to pull out TVs and monitors with screens of 7 inches or more that arrive in the trash (Wisconsin DNR, E-Cycle Wisconsin).

What it means for a Rock County cleanout

The Janesville Sanitary Landfill, which serves the county, keeps appliances in a separate area, takes tires only at a special drop-off, and refuses TVs and electronics at the gate. Every cleanout ends up splitting into streams: trash to the landfill, appliances to recycling, electronics to a recycler, brush to compost, tires to the tire drop-off and chemicals to Clean Sweep.

Refrigerators have a second rule

On top of the landfill ban, anyone who dismantles, salvages or transports refrigeration equipment has to register with the DNR every year and use certified refrigerant recovery under NR 488 (Wis. Admin. Code NR 488). See what to do with an old refrigerator.