Chapter NR 544

NR 544.16(4)(b) (b) An inventory of materials, by source and category and expressed in tons, accepted from responsible units for the previous calendar year.

NR 544.16(4)(bg) (bg) An inventory of materials, by weight and commodity type, that were processed onsite and sent offsite for reuse or recycling in the prior calendar year.

NR 544.16(4)(br) (br) An inventory of materials, by weight and commodity type, that were sent offsite for processing in the prior calendar year and the names of those processing facilities.

NR 544.16(4)(c) (c) Certification by the owner or operator of the materials recovery facility that records are maintained to verify that not less than 75 percent of the volume of materials accepted were transported from the facility for acceptable recycling, reuse, or disposal within 12 months of receipt at the facility, unless otherwise approved by the department. This requirement need not be met for the first year of operation of newly established materials recovery facilities.

NR 544.16(4)(d) (d) The total quantity, by weight, of residual material generated at the materials recovery facility during the previous calendar year and the percentage of the total amount of processed materials that was residual material during the previous calendar year.

NR 544.16(4)(e) (e) Certification that the facility did not exceed any of the storage maximums identified on its self-certification of operation application during the previous calendar year.

NR 544.16(4)(f) (f) The name of the owner and operator and corresponding mailing and email addresses and telephone numbers.

NR 544.16(4)(g) (g) The legal name of the materials recovery facility and the street address at that location.

NR 544.16(4)(h) (h) A list of all responsible units that used the materials recovery facility in the prior year.

NR 544.16(4)(i) (i) A list and description of all materials currently accepted at the materials recovery facility, where materials are stored, and other details as requested by the department.

NR 544.16(5) (5) Invalidation of self-certification of operation. Should significant discrepancies between actual operations and information submitted under this section be found, or if a materials recovery facility fails to comply with requirements under this section, the department may invalidate the materials recovery facility’s self-certification and thereby disqualify the materials recovery facility as a component of a responsible unit’s effective recycling program.

NR 544.16(6) (6) Recertification. The owner or operator of a materials recovery facility with an invalidated self-certification under sub. (5) may resubmit the self-certification information required under subs. (3) and (4) to the department and request a review after correcting all deficiencies. The department may re-certify a materials recovery facility if it determines that the materials recovery facility is in compliance with all requirements of this section and has put in place appropriate policies and procedures to remain in compliance with the requirements of this section.

NR 544.16(7) (7) List of self-certified facilities. The department shall maintain a list of materials recovery facilities that are self-certified under this section.

NR 544.16(8) (8) Notification of change of service. The owner or operator of a materials recovery facility that is self-certified under this section shall provide written notification to the department, collection and transportation service providers, and responsible units that have contracted directly with the facility for services as follows:

NR 544.16(8)(a) (a) At least 60 days prior to closing the materials recovery facility, or an anticipated interruption of service to a responsible unit for a period of more than one week.

NR 544.16(8)(b) (b) At least 60 days prior to moving the materials recovery facility to a different location.

NR 544.16(8)(c) (c) At least 60 days prior to changing the method of receiving incoming materials, including whether the materials are received pre-sorted into individual commodities or commodity groups, or collected in a single-stream or other alternative collection system.

NR 544.16(8)(d) (d) As soon as practicable after the occurrence of an unanticipated interruption of service of 48 hours or greater or any interruption of service that results in a change of material acceptance.

NR 544.16(9) (9) Claiming a disposal fee exemption for residual materials.

NR 544.16(9)(a) (a) An owner or operator of a materials recovery facility that claims a fee exemption under s. 289.63 (6) (d), 289.64 (4) (d), 289.645 (4) (h), or 289.67 (1) (fj), Stats., shall submit all of the following information, at a minimum, within one week of the end of each calendar quarter to each landfill that accepts the residual materials:

NR 544.16(9)(a)1. 1. The total amount of residual materials generated by the materials recovery facility in the calendar quarter.

NR 544.16(9)(a)2. 2. The amount equal to 10 percent of the total amount of incoming materials accepted for processing in the calendar quarter.

NR 544.16(9)(a)3. 3. The amount of residual materials claimed for a fee exemption in the calendar quarter.

NR 544.16(9)(a)4. 4. The name and title of the materials recovery facility representative who is certifying that the facility is eligible for a fee exemption in the calendar quarter.

NR 544.16(9)(b) (b) Landfills that accept the residual materials for disposal shall submit to the department a copy of the documentation for a fee exemption from the materials recovery facility.

NR 544.16(10) (10) Beneficially reusing processed container glass within a landfill. A materials recovery facility that chooses to partner with a landfill and provide processed container glass, which is otherwise banned from landfill disposal, for an approved beneficial reuse activity within that landfill under s. 287.07 (7) (f), Stats., shall maintain a copy of the applicable landfill plan of operation modification approval onsite and shall provide all of the following information to a landfill each time a landfill requires a new plan of operation modification approval from the department:

NR 544.16(10)(a) (a) A comparison demonstrating that the financial cost for beneficial reuse of the processed container glass at the landfill property is less than the cost for recycling that same amount of container glass when the processed container glass is in marketable condition, or less than the cost of reusing the processed container glass outside of a landfill when the container glass is in marketable condition. The comparison shall include the cost of providing marketable quality glass to 2 non-landfill markets compared with the cost of the proposed landfill beneficial reuse. This analysis shall be specific to the facility and include transportation costs and the cost of supplying the processed container glass to the end user compared to the transportation costs and the cost of supplying the processed container glass to the landfill. The cost analysis may include costs that a facility may spend processing the container glass to marketable conditions for recycling or non-landfill beneficial reuse and the cost that a facility may spend processing the container glass to the specifications for the proposed landfill beneficial reuse.

NR 544.16(10)(b) (b) An environmental comparison demonstrating that the beneficial reuse of processed container glass at a landfill will replace a product that requires higher energy use or produces higher greenhouse emissions per ton than the beneficial reuse of the processed container glass.

NR 544.16 Note Note: Residual crushed glass, a minor byproduct that may be generated in the process of cleaning or sorting container glass into marketable material, does not require comparison data from the material recovery facility for beneficial reuse in a landfill.

NR 544.16 History History: Cr. Register, September, 1993, No. 453, eff. 10-1-93; CR 04-113: r. and recr. Register June 2005, No. 594, eff. 7-1-05; CR 23-065: am. (1) (a), (b), cr. (d) to (f), am. (2) (a), (b), (3) (title), (a) (intro.), 1., 3. to 8., r. (3) (a) 9., am. (3) (a) 10., r. (3) (a) 11., am. (3) (a) 12., r. (3) (a) 13., am. (3) (a) 14., r. (3) (a) 15. to 20., cr. (3) (a) 21. to 23., am. (4) (a), (b), cr. (4) (bg), (br), am. (4) (c), (d), cr. (4) (e) to (i), renum. (5) (intro.) to (5) and am., r. (5) (a) to (g), am. (6), (8) (intro.), (c), (d), r. Table 1, cr. (9), (10) Register June 2025 No. 834, eff. 7-1-25; correction in (1) (e) 2., (f) 2. made under s. 35.17, Stats., and correction in (3) (a) 23. f. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register June 2025 No. 834.