Janesville's ordinance forbids people from taking items from the landfill once they are in the Dumpster or fill area.
Zelda Reighard, an avid Janesville recycler, was surprised to hear that.
She wants the city council to consider creating a drop-off area for items that are too good for the landfill.
Reighard isn't the only person who has taken home items from the landfill that he or she considers treasures.
John Whitcomb, operations director, said people are welcome to exchange items before they are tossed into the Dumpster.
"That's fair game, and a fair amount of that goes on," Whitcomb said. "We encourage that kind of reuse."
But, "once it's in place in a Dumpster or the fill area, there is no scavenging unless permission is given," Whitcomb said.
Permission is rare.
Whitcomb said he would erect signs at the landfill telling people about the ordinance, which calls for a fine of not less than $100 and no more than $1,000.
The ordinance is in place for liability reasons, Whitcomb said.
"There's some nasty stuff that folks throw away," he said.
Once, a landfill employee received a scratch while moving items around the public drop-off area. Within hours, he was in the hospital with a serious infection. The scratch was believed to be the source.
"You have to be very careful out there. It's about safety.
"You don't know what the guy ahead of you threw in there," Whitcomb said. "There's sharp objects, glass, any number of things."
Whitcomb said he hadn't heard of any other communities that sponsor an exchange site, but does know of groups that encourage swapping.
One Massachusetts community, Scituate, has a "Take-It-Or-Leave-It" section at its landfill for clean, reusable items.
"You just bring stuff in that you think is too good to throw away," said Christine Johnson of that town's public works department.
The items stay there for a day, after which it is cleared up.
"A lot of people like it."
Reighard hopes Janesville can find a way to keep items that can be reused or recycled out of the landfill.
"If people really look at it, there's many benefits to that," she said.
"It could also be a moneymaker. Instead, it's a money drainer. It currently fills the land with things that don't need to be thrown away.
"We are a throw-away society," Reighard said. "People are so busy … Our solution is to just get rid of it. They don't even think of giving it to Goodwill.
