Lake County wants to know how much residents recycle

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Gary Ison of Hobart tosses plastic to be recycled at the Hobart Public Works facility Wednesday afternoon. | Jeffrey D. Nicholls~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: October 30, 2011 12:52AM

Lake County knows its cities and towns recycle.

It just didn’t know how much, until now.

The Lake County Solid Waste Management District is now requiring everyone to input their recycling amounts into a new computer program, call Re-Trac Connect, that will show just how much the communities recycle.

The purpose is to get a clearer picture of recycling in Lake County, Jeff Langbehn, executive director of the LCSWM, said.

“We know we’re doing the right things,” Langbehn said. “But can we do more?”

The change comes at a time when the district’s budget of about $5 million, still the largest for a solid waste district in the state, continues to get cut as programs continue to expand. The county needs to see which programs are the most effective to make sure money is being spent wisely, he said.

Employees from all the communities in the district attended an educational session on June 28 to learn about the new program and all it can do, including easily generate daily, weekly and monthly reports.

Those reports can then be shown at town and city council meetings and also to the public, Langbehn said.

The program also allows communities to create a map of all its recycling drop-off spots that it can post on a website, creating easy access for citizens.

It also means less work for employees who until now have had to answer those phone calls seeking recycling information, Langbehn said.

Leonard White, the solid waste specialist for the district, said at the meeting that the numbers for recycling bounce around and that this will give everyone “a better snap shot.”

John Dubach, assistant director for Hobart’s Department of Public Works, said the data will help the city see how it’s doing compared to other towns and cities of comparable size in Lake County. It wil also help the city see how to adjust its recycling budget each year, Dubach said.

“The information that comes out of it is pretty darn good,” he said.

Dubach added that it would help the county see which communities are doing their part in the recycling efforts and which ones need to step it up.

The solid waste district is enforcing compliance by holding onto the annual recycling grants until each community logs on.

For those communities who contract out recycling services, they can make the vendor input the data, Langbehn said. They can then use that information the next time the contract comes up, to see if a vendor is really charging the correct amount, he said.

Lowell, which contracts with Republic, has actually been keeping track of its recycling data for more than 10 years, Town Administrator Sue Peterson said, so she doesn’t expect the new program to be a problem.

It’s data will include a new recycling program the town started about six months ago, Peterson said. A company called USAgain collects old clothes that it either sells to groups like the Salvation Army or recycles them.

Langbehn said he hopes to get all of the state’s solid waste districts on the new program, so that the state can see if everyone is using the money in the best ways.

Contact Teresa Auch Schultz at 648-3120.