287.09 Municipal and county duties and powers.
(1) Designation of responsible units.
(a) Except as provided in pars. (b) to (d), each municipality is a responsible unit.
(b) A county board of supervisors may adopt a resolution designating the county a responsible unit. Except as provided in pars. (c) and (d), a county that has adopted such a resolution is the responsible unit for the entire county.
(c) Within 90 days after the county board of supervisors adopts a resolution under par. (b), the governing body of a municipality that is located in part or in whole in the county may adopt a resolution retaining the municipality's status as a responsible unit.
(d) The governing body of a responsible unit designated under par. (a), (b) or (c) may by contract under s. 66.0301 designate another unit of government, including a federally recognized Indian tribe or band in this state, or a solid waste management system created under s. 59.70 (2) to be the responsible unit in lieu of the responsible unit designated under par. (a), (b) or (c). The contract shall cover all functions required under sub. (2), including provisions for financing and enforcing the recycling or other solid waste management program.
(e) The governing body of a county that adopts a resolution under par. (b) or enters into a contract under par. (d) shall submit a copy of the resolution or contract to the department and to the clerk of each municipality in the county, within 30 days after adoption of the resolution or the signing of the contract. The governing body of a municipality that adopts a resolution under par. (c) or enters into a contract under par. (d) shall submit a copy of the resolution or contract to the department and to the clerk of the county in which the municipality is located, within 30 days after adoption of the resolution or the signing of the contract.
(2) Duties. Each responsible unit shall do all of the following:
(a) Develop and implement a recycling or other program to manage the solid waste generated within its region in compliance with s. 287.07 (1m) to (4) and the priorities under s. 287.05 (12).
(ar) Beginning on February 1, 2010, provide information to persons in its region about the prohibitions under s. 287.07 (5) (a), why it is important to recycle electronic devices, and opportunities available to those persons for recycling electronic devices.
(b) Submit to the department by January 1, 1993, a report setting forth how the responsible unit intends to implement its program under par. (a), as it relates to the requirements of s. 287.07 (3) and (4). The report shall specify all of the following:
1. Whether the responsible unit or another person designated under sub. (3) (a) will implement each component of the program under par. (a).
2. The procedures or processes that the responsible unit intends to use to separate, collect, store, process and market solid waste or components of solid waste and to educate the public on the program.
2m. The procedures or processes that the responsible unit intends to use to manage solid waste that is not separated for recovery or recycling, consistent with the priorities under s. 287.05 (12).
3. A schedule for the implementation of the program.
(c) Provide information requested by the department on the status of the implementation of the program under par. (a).
(3) Powers. A responsible unit may do any of the following:
(a) Designate one or more other persons to implement specific components of the program under sub. (2) (a), if the designated person consents to the designation.
(b) Adopt an ordinance to enforce the program established under sub. (2) (a). The ordinance may include a schedule of forfeitures to be imposed for violations of that ordinance. The ordinance may authorize the responsible unit or person designated under par. (a) to refuse to accept solid waste at the recycling facility or site if the solid waste is a container for an industrial pesticide, as defined in s. 94.681 (1) (b), or a nonhousehold pesticide, as defined in s. 94.681 (1) (c), is contaminated or is otherwise in a condition that makes recycling infeasible. The ordinance may require a person to use a facility for the recycling of solid waste or for the recovery of resources from solid waste, as defined in s. 287.13 (1) (d), only as provided under s. 287.13.
History: 1989 a. 335, 359; 1993 a. 116, 406; 1995 a. 201; 1995 a. 227 s. 891; Stats. 1995 s. 287.09; 1997 a. 27; 1999 a. 150 s. 672; 2009 a. 50.
Section 59.07 (135) (L) [now s. 59.70 (2) (L)] authorizes counties that are “responsible units of government" under s. 159.01 [now s. 287.01] to levy taxes for capital and operating expenses incurred in the operation of the county's recycling program only upon local governments that are not “responsible units of government." Counties may levy taxes for both operating and capital expenses incurred in connection with any other form of solid waste management activity only on local governments participating in that activity. 80 Atty. Gen. 312.
Chapter 287 provides no authority for a local municipal member of a county responsible unit (RU) to leave the RU more than 90 days after the date that the RU was formed or for a county RU to dissolve. Neither the Department of Natural Resources nor county or local governments may establish such procedures through rulemaking or ordinance. An RU may, however, contract with other permissible entities for the handling of its waste management obligations pursuant to sub. (1) (d). OAG 8-14.