Depending on whether you like local politics or not, the River Falls meeting schedule had a holiday treat or else major bummer in store this past week: No council meeting until after the holidays. The Notice posted on the City website was brief and succinct: “NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that there will not be a City of River Falls Council meeting on December 22, 2020. The next regularly scheduled meeting will be January 12, 2021,” it said—and that was all.

Outside the local River Falls legislature, though, there was still plenty to talk about in River Falls and Pierce County locally, like that snow arriving just in time for Christmas, blanketing the landscape in frozen water dust and roadways in a thin coat of glare ice— watch that speed and those brakes!

In addition to the snow though, there was more excitement to report on: no delay in New Year’s Day garbage pickup for City residents! Because the City of River Falls has garbage pickup on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays while New Year’s Day falls on a Friday this year, it’s full steam ahead.

“That’s correct,” a person with City of River Falls customer service confirmed on garbage pickup. “It’s just normal schedule this week.” For those customers with disposal by Waste Management (formerly Advanced Disposal) on Fridays, there will be a one-day service delay, with more information at www.advanceddisposal.com.

As to River Falls, additional garbage pickup details and reminders are listed in a FAQ on the City website. First up: “Who do I call if my garbage has been missed?”

Call the City of River Falls Customer Service Line at 715-425-0900 if your garbage is missed, the City reminds residents. As a helpful reminder, both garbage and recycling should be placed at the curb or alley side by 6:00 a.m. on the designated collection day, with Waste Management not obligated to pick up late curbside items if employees are following the 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. pickup schedule.

But while having one garbage company cityside keeps things streamlined for residents and the streets clear of trash, non-garbage items that must be recycled are numerous, and listed at dnr.wi.gov. Following is a partial list, with special emphasis on common Christmastime waste products.

In the first place, corrugated (box type) cardboard is banned from landfills, as are newspaper and newsprint materials, in case that old Journal or other news periodical got reused as wrapping paper over the holiday.

In addition on the paper end, magazines, catalogs and “other material on similar paper” is likewise banned from landfills and incinerators statewide, as is office paper. Such materials should be reused, recycled, or composted, per the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

For automotive items meanwhile, the DNR reminds site visitors that tires are banned from landfills, although they along with waste oils “may be burned in a solid waste treatment facility with energy recovery.” Used oil filters and lead-acid vehicle batteries, meanwhile, do not meet this benchmark of disposal and require special disposal, with many retailers participating in the state’s E-Cycle program. Listed among these for Pierce County and the area are Paul’s Industrial Garage at W9724 State Road 35 in Hager City with a number of 715-792-5209, the Pierce County Solid Waste and Recycling Center at 707 North Maple Street in Ellsworth with a phone number of 715-273-3092, and the Town of River Falls Recycling Center at N7750 State Road 65 in River Falls township with a listed phone number of 715-425-1477. St. Croix Electric Cooperative in Hammond and Murtha Sanitation in Baldwin are also listed at the DNR website as E-Cycle participants. Special collection hours may apply, and county residents are encouraged to call beforehand to recycle their electronics and keep Pierce County beautiful for future generations. Last but not least, let’s talk plastics and aluminum. Did you ever hear the one about Jamestown and Thanksgiving?

Long story short, items like aluminum and plastic take a long-time to break down naturally— if at all—and if the Pilgrims had shared a Coke at the first Thanksgiving, the can might still be around. The Rutherford B. Hayes administration (late 19th century) had not yet begun promoting flavored sugar water as a more temperate alternative to alcohol, meanwhile, and the Industrial Revolution was yet to kick into full gear, forestalling any such development. Still, what of today?

In the first place, the rules ban many such items from landfill or incinerator fates, including #1 and #2 plastics, bottles and jars. Same for Steel (tin) cans and containers, along with Bi-metal compound materials.

More to the point, putting such items in the recycle bin can help your waste disposal provider to offset the cost of landfills by providing them with materials they can turn around and sell for reuse, saving extraction energy in the process for metals and costs for producing plastic. But lest you think that recycling hard plastics and other such materials is all just a scam by Big Garbage to make money off landfill-worthy items, there’s a final frequently asked question, entitled, “ I don’t recycle. I should get a break.” Not so fast, the City says.

“Everyone should recycle. It's the law and there is no itemized charge for recycling. If you don't recycle, you should pay more. Advanced Disposal is able to sell recyclable materials whereas they need to pay to dump garbage in a landfill. Paying to dispose of materials that could be recycled and sold makes no sense. Furthermore, if you don't recycle, you will likely find your container inadequate and have to pay additional for garbage tags,”