Wisconsin landfill volumes may have peaked in 2006

A study by the Wisconsin Policy Forum has found that the state's volume of material tipped into landfills has declined from 11.2 million tons in 2006 to about 8.2 million tons per year in the early 2020s.

The group, which analyzes and publishes information about the finances of state and local governments and school districts, cites changes in the state’s tipping fees, the impact of recessions and a heightened focus on reducing waste by industry, governments and individuals as factors in the decline.

“Between 2007 and 2021, the amount of trash deposited in Wisconsin landfills each year fell by 24.9 percent, a decrease of more than 3 million tons that was driven by a large state fee increase, as well as shifts by consumers and industry,” the Wisconsin Policy Forum writes in its report.

By way of visualizing that finding, the group says the impact was staggering—that missing trash could fill Lambeau Field, where the Green Bay Packers play, roughly halfway to the top.

The forum’s analysis finds the per-capita volume of garbage sent to Wisconsin landfills fell in 2020 to 1.37 tons—the lowest amount in at least two decades and down by more than one-half ton per person since 2004.

Regarding tipping fees, the Forum says as part of Wisconsin’s 2007-09 budget, the state legislature more than doubled the fee on most nonindustrial trash, including municipal solid waste (MSW), from $5.90 to $13 per ton. “This fee increase, which took effect in October 2009, was followed by a dramatic drop in landfill deposits, especially for out-of-state trash,” the group notes.

Between 2000 and 2008, an average of 1.7 million tons of out-of-state waste flowed into Wisconsin landfills per year, making up nearly 20 percent of the state’s total volume at times. Since 2009, however, cross-border deliveries have averaged less than 441,000 tons per year, according to data maintained by the state.

While out-of-state waste shipments have decreased in the past two decades, construction and demolition (C&D) discards have climbed since 2013.

In the industrial waste sector, the Forum report points to efforts by papermakers and other industrial sectors for having worked to reduce the amount of waste they generate this century.

While decreased landfilling may be welcome by some environmental advocates, the report also says, “Local governments spend approximately $450 million annually on trash and recycling, accounting for 7 percent of total spending, [but] most trash and recycling collection is funded through [tipping] fees, with some additional revenues from property taxes and state aid for recycling.

“State and local governments will have to be conscious of fiscal impacts related to declining waste streams, as these fees can fund priorities like contaminated land cleanup, groundwater protection and recycling. Yet this reduction may also allow for reduced costs and better planning for new landfill sites.”

The complete analysis can be found here.