Ask Mr. (Recycling) Answer Person

John, a decorahnews.com reader who has moved here from Wisconsin, asked why Winneshiek County Recycling will accept slick paper (such as in advertising flyers) and cereal boxes.  He said Wisconsin recyclers can't accept these materials.

Mr. Answer Person has stepped aside to let Winneshiek County Recycling Coordinator Terry Buenzow answer this question:

"I have heard of a number of programs that do not want the "slick" paper. There are no state by state recycling standards so I suppose the reason for it is because they do not have market access to the end users that can deal with that type of paper. We do not have that problem ever because we have access to a very diverse selection of end users that others often do not. We are structured and operate quite differently than other recycling programs and don't have the same problems others do. We have a well known reputation as an upper tier recycling program that provides the best material that fits the end user's needs and this allows us to do things others are not able to."