The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department has developed a unique public outreach program that gives the local Boy Scout organization a first-hand look at an operating landfill, and the additional resource recovery activities that occur there.
The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department (La Crosse, WI) manages the 350-acre La Crosse County landfill site, which serves five counties and 27 municipalities in west central Wisconsin and east central Minnesota. The landfill’s master plan features a mix of public-private partnerships that provide reuse, resource recovery, recycling and landfill diversion programs, and public education and outreach. It is the first and only publicly owned landfill in the state to be accepted into the Wisconsin DNR’s Green Tier sustainability program.
The La Crosse County Solid Waste Department’s public outreach program includes a Cub Scout/Boy Scout Camporee; a two-day, one-night environmental education, training and service event conducted at the 350-acre landfill site. While the site does contain an active landfill, its surrounding green space and location in the scenic hills of southwestern Wisconsin make it an ideal and safe setting for the Boy Scouts to study environmental science, sustainability, recycling and more. The program is designed to encourage public use of the landfill’s extensive surrounding green space and impressive onsite trail system. Henry Koch, Director of the La Crosse County Solid Waste Department, speaks with Waste Advantage Magazine about this unique opportunity and what it means to the community.
When did this type of program start? In 2012, La Crosse County Solid Waste Department leaders began laying out a plan to actively engage regional organizations with interests in the environment, education, sustainability and other topics to help reach more community members and build their understanding of solid waste management in the region.
These efforts were part of a larger initiative to move the Solid Waste Department from a traditional public information and public relations program to a more robust community outreach program. The County has consistently invested in printed education materials such as brochures and flyers, in-classroom presentations, and motorized tours of the landfill site to communicate with key audiences and educate users of the system. However, the traditional education and public information program lacked a true hands-on component.
What was the process of development? Solid Waste Department leaders initially identified organizations with an educational component to their mission, a focus on environmental protection, youth participation and location within the geographic service area of the Solid Waste Department. They invited more than two dozen groups to visit the site and engage in a discussion about how the County’s operations could become a hands-on environmental learning workshop.
After touring the site, representatives from the Gateway Council of the Boy Scouts of America quickly saw its potential as a living classroom where Scouts could meet many of their program and merit badge requirements related to science, engineering, recycling, natural resources and land use planning. In addition, the Camporee format would give Scouts and adults a first-hand look at an operating landfill, and the additional resource recovery activities that occur there.
Planning and conducting a Boy Scout Camporee at an active landfill site in Wisconsin in early May posed a unique set of challenges. Working closely together, the Scouts, County staff, Council and Troop leaders met frequently to plan the event and to address the following challenges:
- Determine where on the landfill site to set up tents and support areas
- Provide toilet facilities
- Secure a clean water source for cooking, cleanup and other purposes
- Secure a burn permit for campfires
- Plan for uncomfortable weather conditions
The group used a collaborative decision-making approach over the course of nearly four months to ensure activities aligned with merit badge requirements, and the weekend included a solid mix of education, service and recreational activities for the age group.
What kind of activities are involved? The Boy Scouts, their leaders and parent volunteers pitched tents, cooked over campfires and engaged in a wide range of service and learning activities by helping to improve hiking trails on the landfill site, removing onsite invasive plant species and recovering recyclable materials left behind by previous property owners.
The event is a great example of a public outreach program that encourages solid waste reduction, reuse and recycling, as well as future participation in these types of community clean-up events. The Camporee event also provides the Boy Scouts with the opportunity to earn community service hours.
What is the goal of the program? Solid Waste Department leaders hope the program can help shift common perceptions from the traditional concept of a public “dump” to the current and evolving role of the landfill site as a resource recovery facility and an area land asset with long-term value.
Are there plans to expand this type of learning to other organizations in the community in the future? The Department is always looking for ways to actively engage regional organizations with interests in the environment, education and sustainability. Their goal is to continue to move the Solid Waste Department from a more traditional public information and public relations program to a more robust community outreach program. Based on the Camporee’s success, the La Crosse County Solid Waste Department is always interested in talking to area organizations with an educational component to their mission and a focus on environmental protection, recycling and sustainability.
For more information about the La Crosse County landfill, contact Henry Koch, Director of the La Crosse County Solid Waste Department, at [email protected].
