Transfer Site

Also see...

Transfer Site Fee Schedule  •  Transfer Site Location • Contracted Curbside Trash Collection

The Town operates a collection site where its residents can dispose of their household garbage and recyclables, as well as their yard and garden waste. Scrap metal, light bulbs, car batteries, rechargeable batteries, motor oil and cooking oil can also be dropped off. It is consistently open two days each week (Wednesday and Saturdays) according to the schedule below.

Please note that there is a fee to dispose of certain items such as appliances, furniture, carpet, electronics, etc. as detailed in the Transfer Site Fee Schedule. These fees are set by the Town Board and are usually identical to, very similar to, or meant to approximate the amount that Columbia County charges the Town when we pass the item on to them for ultimate disposal. Town residents may also choose the option of transporting such items directly to Columbia County's facility and paying any applicable disposal fees to the County.

The facility is referred to as a Transfer Site because all materials are eventually transferred elsewhere for recycling or disposal.  In almost all cases, that is the Columbia County Recycling & Waste Processing Facility.

Contracted Curbside Trash Collection

Residents also have the option to privately contract with Waste Management Company out of Madison to purchase weekly curbside trash collection service.  See Contracted Curbside Trash Collection for more details.

Transfer Site Vehicle Stickers - Only Available At Transfer Site

Residents are issued a Transfer Site Vehicle Sticker to be displayed in the dash/windshield area of their vehicle when using the Transfer Site. The Transfer Site is only intended for use by residents of the Town and is only intended to handle non-commercial, non-hazardous, residential, household, homeowner types and volumes of solid waste. The stickers help our employees monitor for any abuse of the system. Your cooperation in using it is very much appreciated and really does help to reduce operating expenses.  Thank you.

If you need a sticker, please see one of the Transfer Site employees (wearing a yellow safety vest) during normal weekday business hours. Ideally please bring along a document that will prove your residency at your Town address.

Hours & Location

The Transfer Site is located at W10223 Larson Dr, Lodi. See the Transfer Site Location page for a map and directions or see it in Google Maps. It is open two days per week, unless one of those days falls on a holiday as outlined in the table below.

Outside of these hours, the gates to the facility are closed and no drop-offs of any kind are allowed.

Prohibited Items

The Transfer Site can only accept certain kinds of non-hazardous household solid waste and recyclables. However, please see the Detailed Advice for Specific Items section below for suggestions on how and where to dispose of some items that the Transfer Site doesn't accept.

Some items, like medical waste are simply too much of a risk to our employees and the employees at Columbia County Solid Waste, so...

• No sharps, needles, unused prescription medications or medical waste of any kind. Even if such items are contained in the proper medical waste or bio-hazard containers, they can NOT be disposed of at the Town of Lodi Transfer Site.

Most everything (except scrap metal) from the Transfer Site ends up at the Columbia County Solid Waste Processing Facility where it is then sorted by hand. They have reported finding containers of needles and loose needles in our recycling, garbage (compactor) and/or construction dumpsters and the Town has been warned about these violations. Continued problems could cause Columbia County to void or cancel our contract with them and that would mean a shut down of the Transfer Site!

Some items are considered hazardous or environmentally dangerous waste and require special collection facilities and/or disposal methods that the Transfer Site (and for some items, even Columbia County Solid Waste) are not able or willing to handle, so...

• No hazardous materials or chemicals such as, but not limited to: anti-freeze, explosives, liquid paint (while still in liquid form, but see suggested method below), solvents, thinners, pesticides, herbicides, etc.

Some items are too heavy or too bulky to be cost effectively added to our dumpsters, since the Town is ultimately charged for the weight and/or volume of every dumpster container that we send to the County, so...

• No tires or shingles. Options are listed in the Detailed Advice section below.
• No fiberglass boats, canoes, kayaks.

General Guidelines

• Kitchen and bathroom waste must be in plastic bags that are tied closed.
• Appliances, furniture, electronics and certain other items are accepted for a fee (See Fee Schedule below.)
• Scrap metal container available
• Light bulbs must be placed in separate containers next to Transfer Site office
• Separate containers are available for used cooking oil and motor oil
• Compost area available for green and brown vegetation
• Dried paint cans only
• Grass clippings, leaves, and small twigs must be put in the compost pile.
• Brush, tree branches (under 4” in diameter), and Christmas trees must be put in the burn pit.

Recyclables Guidelines

• Please keep recycling loose (not inside plastic bags), and dump your bin directly into the Transfer Site recycling dumpsters.
• Tin cans: Food cans only, must be clean
• Cardboard: Corrugated non-waxed only, must be clean.,
• Beer/Soda/Cereal Box packaging (cardboard that is not corrugated) is NOT recyclable and unfortunately has to go into the trash..
• Plastic: #1 and #2 ONLY.  Containers must be rinsed clean and their caps/lids removed. No plastic toys, wading pools, bird feeders or plastic grocery/shopping bags. Plastic types #3, #4, #5, #6 and #7 are NOT recycle and go into the trash.
  Glass: Bottles and jars only. Must be clean, caps removed.These do not need to be separated by color.
• Paper: Newspaper, magazines, office paper, junk mail, telephone books. Must be clean and dry. Bag, do not tie.
• Batteries: Car, other rechargeable batteries. Non-rechargeable dry batteries should be put in non-recyclable garbage.
• Scrap metal: Any metal (nails, pipe, rods, hot water heaters) put in dumpster labeled for metal items.
• Non-Recyclables: Mirrors, clay pots, ceramics, window glass, rubber hoses, furnace filters, waxed cardboard, styrofoam, plastic toys and pools. Place in construction dumpster.
• See the Columbia County Solid Waste guidelines for the most up-to-date information at: What To Recycle

Detailed Advice for Specific Items

• Aluminum Cans:  All cans should be clean, free of liquid and can be either crushed or uncrushed.

• Dumpster/Container Service: There are several area companies that offer container service or you can rent a container directly from Columbia County. See the County's Container Rental Information page for complete details on their service.

• Medical Waste: Unused prescriptions may be taken to the drop-off container at the City of Lodi Police Station. Many pharmacies also provide containers for hypodermic needles.

• Paint: Unused paint can be disposed of at the Transfer Site, with one caveat. The paint can NOT be in liquid form when you dispose of it. However once the paint has fully dried, then it and the old paint can/bucket can be dropped off at the Transfer Site.  The reason is that while the paint is still in liquid form it is considered to be on the chemicals/hazardous waste list.

This recommended solution can be adjusted depending on your volume of paint:

1. Start with a cardboard box or something similar that can be used as a drying tray.  Of course, the more surface area the better, so that the paint will dry quicker.
2. Line the cardboard box with a trash bag or something similar.
3. Pour a thin layer of paint into the bottom of the box and allow to dry naturally.
4. Wait until the first layer of paint has fully dried, then pour over another thin layer.
5. Repeat until all of your unused paint is dry.
6. Once everything is dry, you can drop off the entire trash bag full of dried paint at the Transfer Site.
7. Another suggestion is to add some absorbent material to the bottom of the box before you pour on each paint layer.  Small amounts of shredded newspaper or kitty litter have been suggested.  The key is to keep each of the paint layers thin so that everything dries quickly & completely before adding the next layer.

• Shingles may be taken to the Columbia County Recycling & Waste Processing Facility during weekdays when the scale is open.  The most recent fee was $80.00 per ton.  Another option is to rent a dumpster for your roofing project.  See the advice for Dumpster/Container Service above.

• Tires may be taken to the Columbia County Recycling & Waste Processing Facility and disposed of for a fee, depending on the type and number of tires.

Separated Garbage Saves Us All Money!

Sorting and separating household waste serves several purposes. Some items such as recyclables and hazardous materials are expressly required to be separated by law. But even separating items when it is not mandatory can be environmentally responsible, the right thing to do or simply a way to save money or keep expenses down. In fact, there are things that Town residents might consider doing that will help to reduce the disposal costs of the Transfer Site. These are expenses that otherwise end up being paid with our property tax dollars.

Burn Pile & Compost Pile

Putting brush and small tree branches on the burn pile provides a free source of clean nutrient-rich ashes to add to the Town's compost pile. And the compost pile is also where you can add your grass clippings, leaves, small twigs, kitchen scraps and vegetable peelings.  Anything added to the burn pile or the compost pile at the Transfer Site not only becomes a free source of compost for Town residents later on, but it also reduces the weight and volume of the dumpster containers that would otherwise have to be filled and sent to the Columbia County landfill. And the Town is charged for every dumpster container that we send.

Scrap Metal Dumpsters

Scrap iron is probably the most valuable item that residents drop off. At least, it certainly is to the Town's Transfer Site budget! The Town sells all collected scrap iron at the market rate and receives a check every month.  All of these funds are used to directly offset the annual recyclables disposal contract, container & per item disposal fees, wages, utilities, the Bobcat and other expenses of operating the Transfer Site.

Please separate out as many of these valuable scrap metal pieces as possible for inclusion in the appropriate dumpster. If in any doubt about including something, please ask one of our employees for advice. Every pound of metal contributed helps, and since metal is heavy it adds up quickly... in both directions, one good, the other not so much!

In fact, getting scrap metal into the right dumpster counts double, in a way, since there is no neutral option. Any metal that ends up in one of the Construction Dumpsters or in the kitchen waste Garbage Compactor Dumpster adds to the weight of that container and the amount we are charged by the County to dispose of it. Here's where little things can make a huge impact. Even just a few screws, nails, bolts, washers, hinges, wire, etc. add up quickly. Please help to get them into the scrap metal dumpster whenever possible. Thank you!

Cardboard Dumpsters (corrugated-only)

Clean, corrugated cardboard is one of the few recyclable materials, besides scrap iron, that still has a viable resale value as of 2018.  However, all of the cardboard put into the dumpsters must be both clean (as in NO greasy pizza boxes or similar) and it must be corrugated (as in no cereal boxes or soda/beer packaging).

While the Town of Lodi doesn't directly receive proceeds from the cardboard collected at the Transfer Site, the County is able to use its value to help reduce the fees that they charge for disposing of the other types of solid waste.

Mixed Recyclables Dumpsters

Once the compostable yard & garden waste, scrap iron and corrugated cardboard is separated out, the next items are the traditional recyclables.  Columbia County now uses Mixed (Co-mingled) Recyclables Dumpsters that are intended for most all of the materials that are generally accepted as being recyclable.  However if ever in any doubt, please ask one of our employees for advice.  Even though all of the material is eventually sorted, it is best to avoid needlessly contaminating the container with an item that can not be recycled.

Please use the Mixed Recyclables Dumpsters for aluminum cans, steel "tin" food cans, plastic #1 - #7 containers, glass jars & bottles, newspaper, non-corrugated cardboard and other mixed paper.  See the Detailed Advice for Specific Items section on this page or the recommendations on Columbia County's What To Recycle page.

Things that could be recycled, but instead end up in the "bagged kitchen waste" garbage compactor are technically illegal, unnecessarily bad for the environment and also bad for the Town's Transfer Site budget.  The reason is because of how the Town is charged for the different kinds of containers that we send to Columbia County Solid Waste.  The County charges us by weight and volume for anything in the Garbage Compactor Dumpster and the Construction Dumpsters.  However the Town pays a single, fixed, annual fee that covers an unlimited weight and volume for anything in the Cardboard Dumpsters or the Mixed Recyclables Dumpsters!  So a glass bottle that accidentally ends up in the garbage compactor costs the Town money, whereas if it goes into the mixed recyclables it is already paid for.

Town of Lodi
W10919 County Road V
Lodi, WI 53555
Phone: (608) 592-4868
Fax: (608) 592-2024
Email: townoflodi@townoflodi.com