Village Searches for Trash Solutions

When COVID-19 forced restaurants to shift to primarily take-out service in 2020, it created a trickle-down problem for village parks, including in Sister Bay. 

For the past two summers, many diners picked up food at village restaurants and headed to Waterfront Park to eat outside or on the beach. That created a lot of trash and recycling that overflowed garbage receptacles downtown. 

Now the Parks and Properties Committee is evaluating a range of options to encourage recycling, reduce trash and lessen the burden on village staff. During its March 7 meeting, Denise Bhirdo suggested the village consider removing trash cans from the park entirely to force users to carry out trash. Bhirdo said she is frustrated by the number of people who refuse to properly recycle items.

“I’m over-excusing adults in this country for their laziness,” she said. 

Committee chair Rob Zoschke said it’s not a bad idea to try, though Sharon Doersching and Sister Bay Advancement Association Coordinator Louise Howson disagreed. Howson said the trash is a result of visitors and locals spending money at village businesses and enjoying themselves in the community. Howson implored the village to experiment with other solutions to encourage recycling. 

Dan Klansky, village director of public works, said a couple of centralized trash stations would save labor. Committee members also discussed creating special receptacles for pizza boxes, which take up a lot of space in the round trash cans that the village has installed throughout the parks. 

The committee tabled discussion until its next meeting to allow for more research. 

The Town of Liberty Grove is also grappling with trash issues in town parks, but for a different reason. Some residents have used town trash facilities to dump household garbage and large items such as mattresses and other furniture.