E-cycle dates get changed

The annual e-cycle day at the Town of Belgium dump is annual no more.

The Town Board on Tuesday unanimously agreed to hold the event every other year starting in 2022.

The event held each May the past several years is open to town and village of Belgium residents, but officials know more than those are taking advantage of a free chance to get rid of their stuff.

“I think we’ve cleaned up pretty many towns’ and townships’ TVs,” Supr. Tom Bichler said, drawing a hearty laugh from Town Chairman Tom Winker.

This year, Bichler said, 688 TVs weighing about 31,000 pounds were brought in, “which is down.”

Washers, dryers, refrigerators and scrap metal totaled 7,320 pounds. More than 500 pounds of computers came in, and 730 pounds of car and truck batteries, “which is way down,” Bichler said.

The cost of the event, split between the town and village, came in at about half the cost due to the high price of scrap, Bichler said.

The town and village will each pay about $1,845. The village had dipped into its fund balance, an account used for emergencies and unexpected costs, to help pay the $3,000 budgeted for the e-cycle event.

The owner of Frankly Waste, the company that provided the dumpsters and hauled away the items, suggested accepting TVs every other year, Bichler said.

Bichler initially made a motion to hold the event each year but only accept TVs every other year, but Winker and Janeshek preferred holding the entire event during even-numbered years to avoid confusion.

“We did our good deed for this corner of the state of Wisconsin,” Winker said.