Digested From "Apartment Recycling Ordinance Isn't Enforced"
Journal Times (Wis.) by Stephanie Brien
In Racine, Wis., a city ordinance requires apartment communities to provide recycling containers for their residents. To date, though, there has been little to no enforcement of the ordinance. When the city's Department of Public Works receives complaints from apartment residents wanting to recycle, staffers send a letter to the apartment owner and notify the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR). The problem is the DNR does not have the authority to fine those owners who do not offer recycling. DNR spokesman Adam Collins remarks, "It's more of a city matter." If the city did make it a policy to enforce the ordinance, Chief Building Inspector Richard Heller said it would most likely fall on his department. Heller oversees the Unified Neighborhood Inspection Team (UNIT), which inspects neighborhoods to ensure compliance with city regulations. UNIT currently does not check apartment communities to ensure they offer recycling. Heller says his staff is stretched thin, having already inherited responsibilities from other departments. If UNIT is ultimately charged with checking apartment communities to see if they offer recycling, he warns, "it's going to take away from something else."
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