Madison is continuing its Organics Collection Pilot Program and expanding funding to include a $120,000 filter on recycling trucks to prevent non-compostable plastic from contaminating organic waste.

Madison Recycling Coordinator George Dreckmann said a new piece of equipment called a trammel screen, which is similar to a sifter one would use for flour, or for sand at the beach, was recently approved for funding by city officials.

This will make it possible for a pilot program that’s been ongoing since 2011 involving the recycling of organic materials to move forward. Dreckmann said the program was supposed to be suspended due to problems with non-compostable plastic getting into the organic materials and prohibited those items from being recycled.

Currently, the organic waste is sent to UW-Oshkosh where it is put through a biodigester to break it down more before it is able to be composted, Dreckmann said. When non-recyclable material is mixed with organic material, he said the equipment won’t work.

“Neither the digester nor the composter we work with are set up to remove contaminants from the material,” Dreckmann said.

The new screen is designed to filter out these contaminants, mostly plastics, which naturally end up in residential material, Dreckmann said.

Mayor Paul Soglin said there is some risk following the purchase of filter. First of all, he said the filter may not work.

“The folks who run the biodigester in Oshkosh may still be unhappy with the quality of the organics even after we use the filter,” Soglin said.

In addition, some have expressed uncertainty as to whether or not the biodigester at UW-Oshkosh will even stay open, according to Soglin.

Even so, Dreckmann said there are plans to add 25 to 30 businesses to the organic waste project as soon as possible. In addition, about 1,600 households are going to be added in the spring of 2015.

Dreckmann said composting is hugely beneficial to the city of Madison, because it allows these organic materials to be used elsewhere after they are decontaminated, as opposed to simply being thrown away. The screen is simply a first step in what many officials and residents hope will eventually become a full-scale and citywide program, he said.