The Northwest Cleansweep program was established in 1995 to demonstrate a safe, regional solution for the collection and disposal of hazardous wastes in our northwest Wisconsin region. The program is open free to households and farmers and also provided to agricultural-related businesses and very small quantity generator businesses at reasonable rates.

 Materials are collected from these groups via scheduled events held during the spring, summer and fall throughout the ten-county region.

 The major objective of the Cleansweep program is to eliminate the indiscriminate dumping of hazardous materials on the land or in our water systems and watersheds.

 In 1996, the Northwest Cleansweep program won the Governor’s Award for Excellence in Hazardous Waste Reduction for the design and implementation of its program.  As has been noted, the program has expanded considerably since that time and now also provides various special collections to member counties, particularly in the area of critical pollutants, such as mercury, PCBs, dioxins and others.