Final field announced for 2025 AmFam Champ: Former champions and fan favorites headline event

76 PGA TOUR Champions players in 38 teams of two will vie for the “Dream Achieved” trophy June 6-8

MADISON, Wis. (May 30, 2025) – The final field for the 2025 American Family Insurance Championship was announced today and features a star-studded field of 76 players that includes tournament host and 2023 champion Steve Stricker, defending champion Ernie Els, and two-time champion Jerry Kelly.

The annual PGA TOUR Champions stop will take place for the first time at TPC Wisconsin, beginning next Friday, June 6. The second 18-hole round will be played on Saturday, with the final round on Sunday. In addition to a new location, this year introduces a unique team format, with 38 teams of two playing two days of best ball and one day of scramble format.

Tickets are available at www.amfamchampionship.com for this year’s tournament, which will include all seven former champions of the AmFam Champ returning: 2024 defending champion Els, host Stricker (2023), Thongchai Jaidee (2022), two-time winner Kelly (2021, 2019), Scott McCarron (2018), Fred Couples (2017), and Kirk Triplett, the inaugural champion (2016).

This year’s tournament will also see returning players such as Steven Alker, Angel Cabrera, John Daly, David Duval, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Jose Maria Olazabal and Vijay Singh.

“The AmFam Champ field is as strong as ever, showcasing some of the finest talent on the PGA TOUR Champions schedule,” said Nate Pokrass, tournament director. “Hosting this year’s event at our new home at TPC Wisconsin, along with a new team format, sets the stage for dynamic play and thrilling moments. The community has embraced the AmFam Champ, and this year’s tournament offers fans the chance to witness golf legends compete at a high level on a new course and with a fun and unique format.”

Who’s playing in the 2025 American Family Insurance Championship

This year’s AmFam Championship field features an exciting lineup of both U.S. and international golf legends that includes:

• Five members of the World Golf Hall of Fame: Fred Couples, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Jose Maria Olazabal, Vijay Singh.
• Five former No. 1 players in the world: Fred Couples, David Duval, Ernie Els, Bernhard Langer, Vijay Singh.
• Sixteen winners of the Masters, U.S. Open, The Open Championship or PGA Championship: Angel Cabrera, Stewart Cink, Darren Clarke, Fred Couples, John Daly, David Duval, Ernie Els, Retief Goosen, Lee Janzen, Bernhard Langer, Davis Love III, Jose Maria Olazabal, Corey Pavin, Vijay Singh, David Toms, Y.E. Yang.
• Nine of the top 10 players on the current Charles Schwab Cup money list: Miguel Angel Jimenez (1), Angel Cabrera (2), Steven Alker (3), Stewart Cink (4), Ernie Els (5), Retief Goosen (6), Jerry Kelly (7), Y.E. Yang (8) and Thomas Bjorn (9).
• Seven players with multiple PGA TOUR Champions wins in 2024 and 2025: Ernie Els (4), Angel Cabrera (3), Steven Alker (2), Paul Broadhurst (2), Stewart Cink (2), Miguel Angel Jimenez (2), Jerry Kelly (2).
• Eight recipients of the Payne Stewart Award, an honor presented annually by the PGA TOUR to a player who best exemplifies Stewart’s steadfast values of character, charity and sportsmanship: Billy Andrade (2022), Bernhard Langer (2018), Stewart Cink (2017), Ernie Els (2015), Steve Stricker (2012), David Toms (2011), Davis Love III (2008), Jay Haas (2004).
• Jay Haas, with 18 PGA TOUR Champions titles and 84 top five finishes since joining the tour in 2004; Kirk Triplett with eight PGA TOUR Champions wins and 40 top five finishes; Rocco Mediate with five PGA TOUR Champions titles and 17 top five finishes; Darren Clarke with four PGA TOUR Champions wins and 16 top five finishes.
• Two winners of the former Greater Milwaukee Open/U.S. Bank Championship: Jay Haas, Corey Pavin.
• Five first-time players at the 2025 AmFam Champ: Stewart Cink, Hiroyuki Fujita, Brendan Jones, Soren Kjeldsen, Mark Wilson.

2025 American Family Insurance Championship Player Field

The entire player field of 38 teams is listed below and posted on the American Family Insurance Championship website. The field is subject to change pending any player withdrawals prior to official play.

Mia Hamm, Justin Herbert and Charles Woodson join North for celebrity foursome event

The second round of the tournament on Saturday, June 7, will feature the annual AmFam Champ Celebrity Foursome hosted by Andy North. Joining North, a Wisconsin native and two-time U.S. Open champion, will be soccer legend Mia Hamm, Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert, and Pro Football Hall of Fame member Charles Woodson. The group will play a 9-hole exhibition for charity starting on hole one following the final grouping of tournament play. The expected tee time is 2 p.m. CST. 

Tournament ticket information

Tickets for the American Family Insurance Championship are available for purchase at www.amfamchampionship.com. Tickets, which can be used for any one day of the tournament, and prices include:  

• Adult general admission ticket: $25 
• Champions ticket (age 50 years or older): $20 
• Youth general admission ticket (with paid adult): Free 
• Active duty, reserve and retired military personnel ticket: Free 
• First responder ticket: Free 

 # # # 

2025 AmFam Championship Final Field

Team pairings

Vijay Singh / Tom Pernice	Thomas Bjorn / Darren Clarke
Bernhard Langer / Steven Alker	Rod Pampling / John Senden
Davis Love III/Scott Verplank	Doug Barron / Dicky Pride
Ernie Els / Tim Herron	Rocco Mediate / Lee Janzen
Retief Goosen / Mark Wilson	Greg Chalmers / Steve Allen
Paul Goydos / Steve Flesch	Bob Estes / Wes Short Jr.
Fred Couples / Jay Haas	Joe Durant / Billy Andrade
J. M. Olazabal / Miguel Angel Jimenez	Ken Duke / Shane Bertsch
Richard Green / Mark Hensby	Tim Petrovic / Harrison Frazar
Y.E. Yang / Charlie Wi	Thongchai Jaidee / Brendan Jones
KJ Choi / Hiroyuki Fujita	Stuart Appleby / Michael Wright
Stewart Cink / David Toms	Cameron Percy / David Bransdon
Ricardo Gonzalez / Angel Cabrera	Jason Caron / Brett Quigley
Steve Stricker / Mario Tiziani	Corey Pavin / Paul Stankowski
Paul Broadhurst / Kirk Triplett	David Duval / Matt Gogel
Jerry Kelly / Justin Leonard	Fred Funk / Gene Sauers
Alex Cejka / Soren Kjeldsen	Kenny Perry / John Huston
Ken Tanigawa / Scott McCarron	John Daly / Michael Allen
Tim O’Neal / Robert Karlsson	Woody Austin / Scott Parel

About the American Family Insurance Championship
The American Family Insurance Championship was created in 2016 by American Family Insurance, PGA TOUR Champions and PGA TOUR player and Wisconsin native Steve Stricker. Since its inception, the championship and associated events have raised $19.7 million for the American Family Children’s Hospital and other charities. The 2025 championship will be held June 2-8 at TPC Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin with tournament play June 6-8.  For more information: Web: www.amfamchampionship.com; X: @AmFamChamp; Threads: @AmFamChampionship; Facebook: American Family Insurance Championship; Instagram: amfamchampionship. TikTok: @amfamchampionship #AmFamChamp 

About PGA TOUR Champions 
PGA TOUR Champions is a membership organization of professional golfers age 50 and older, including 35 members of the World Golf Hall of Fame. The Tour’s mission is to provide financial opportunities for its players, entertain and inspire its fans, deliver substantial value to its partners, create outlets for volunteers to give back and generate significant charitable and economic impact in tournament communities. Follow PGA TOUR Champions online at PGATOUR.com, on Facebook, on X (@ChampionsTour), on Instagram (@pgatourchampions) and on TikTok (pgatourchampions).

All events are televised in the United States on Golf Channel, the exclusive cable-television partner of PGA TOUR Champions. Internationally, PGA TOUR Champions coverage is available in more than 170 countries and territories via 22 media partners.

Carnelian Art Gallery Announces Four New Solo Shows

MADISON, WI – Carnelian Art Gallery, located at 221 King St., Suite 102, in downtown Madison, is pleased to announce its third art exhibition of the year, which is a collection of four solo shows.

“Synchronized Burn” by Madison artist Maria Schirmer is all about finding togetherness amidst chaos. “Expressions of Home” by Madison artist Mark Soderling tells stories about belonging. “Found Forms” by New Mexico artist Camille Davis celebrates her connection to nature. “Trial and Error” by Madison artist Dylan Waddell explores the value of taking risks and experimentation with collaging.

This collection of shows opens on Thursday, July 3, with a reception to officially kick it off set for Friday, July 11, starting at 5 p.m. The exhibition will last until the end of August.

For the first time, Carnelian Art Gallery has partnered with cocktail bar, Oz by Oz, 113 King St., to offer the first 25 visitors to the reception a ticket for a free drink at Oz by Oz. Light refreshments will otherwise be served, and as always, admission is free.

At 6 p.m. on the night of the reception, Schirmer is set to deliver a half-hour artist talk regarding her solo show, which includes an interactive piece titled “Murmuring.”

The work is a representation of how large flocks of birds, specifically starlings, create and coordinated almost hypnotizing aerial formations as they fly together in the sky.

This behavior, scientists say, is meant to prevent predators from singling out and attacking a specific bird. Reception visitors will be able to interact with “Murmuring” starting at 6:30 p.m. by designing their own bird-shaped plastic mirror and affixing it to a large batik 8’ by 8’ canvas — becoming part of the larger flock of birds.

Schirmer will also invite reception visitors to reflect on their own contributions to their community, as well as how we might synchronize our actions at a time when many societal structures are “burning,” she said.

“Before colonization, fire was used strategically by indigenous land stewards to support thriving ecosystems,” said Schirmer. “If we take this concept and apply it metaphorically to the political and economic landscape of 2025, What do we want to see burn? And what do we hope grows in its place? How can we synchronize our actions like a flock of murmuring birds?”

“It’s been a fun experience to work with Schmirer to put this artist talk together,” said Emilie Heidemann, Carnelian Art Gallery marketing director. “I can’t imagine a more timely theme.”

About each artist

Davis grew up in the mountains of Wyoming, and has painted natural ephemera for decades. Her recent work celebrates the desert and her connection to it. The earthy tones, pops of vibrant color and layered texture offers dynamic harmony. As a nature-based artist, Davis is interested in the rhythm of the land- light and shadow, line and form, pattern and color. Davis attempts to capture the natural cadence, flow, and life of the desert through movement, and emotional tone. She currently resides in southwestern New Mexico.

Soderling was born in Madison, Wisconsin. He attended University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire where he earned undergraduate degrees in art and biology. Soderling then moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where he attended the Maryland Institute College of Art. Those three years in Baltimore really cemented his interest in art and his need to be a painter. New Hampshire would be Soderling’s subsequent home for five years where he received his graduate degree from the University of New Hampshire. During graduate school, Soderling traveled to Italy to explore his passion for painting outside. He continued painting outdoors when he returned to New Hampshire, re-creating scenes of water bodies and mountains, among other things. Now, and for the past 10 years, Soderling has been painting in and around Madison. The Capitol, lakes, ponds, bridges and streets are all part of his visual language. This visual language is backed up by mark making, color, composition and light. The formal elements are stressed in his painting to give the viewer a feeling of place and season.

Schirmer is a social practice artist based in Madison, Wisconsin. Her work, grounded in printmaking, letter press and book arts, embodies collaborative, participatory creative processes, and is driven by a deep-seated belief in the power of storytelling, collective imagination and the possibility of healing. Schmirer works predominantly with youth in the court system and uses art as a medium for dialogue; witnessing grief in tandem with a yearning for a world of possibility, connection and change. She earned her graduate degree in social work from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee specializing in trauma-informed care and will be attending the University of Alabama in the fall to earn a graduate degree in book arts. 

Waddell grew up in Columbus, Wisconsin. He now lives and works in Madison as a collage artist. He did not start taking his art practice seriously until after college, and works on the same easel he bought at a Goodwill 17 years ago. When not making art, Waddell enjoys spending time with his girlfriend, Elizabeth, and their two dogs.

“Carnelian Art Gallery is proud to work with a pool of such talented artists for this summer show,” said Evan Bradbury, Carnelian Art Gallery head curator. “We are also excited to have partnered with Oz by Oz, a staple cocktail bar on King Street. We hope you stop by our gallery to not only view this incredible collection of exhibitions, but to experience the eclectic culture King Street has to offer.”

Madison Night Market Celebrates Madison Sports

Showcase of 50+ Local Businesses, 100+ Unique Vendors, Live Music and Food Trucks

DOWNTOWN MADISON, WI – Madison’s Central Business Improvement District (BID) welcomes the entire community to the return of the expanded Madison Night Market on June 12, from 5-9 p.m. Last year’s expansion onto N. Carroll and W. Mifflin Streets on Capitol Square is back, along with State Street and Gilman Street, showcasing more local artisans and food vendors in the heart of Madison’s fast-growing downtown district.

Celebrating Madison Sports!

Get ready to meet some of Madison’s favorite mascots at the Madison Night Market! Forward Madison FC’s “Strut” and the Madison Mallards’ “Maynard” will be on-site bringing the energy and handing out goodies to eager fans. Plus, the Madison Nightmares women’s softball team will be there repping the city’s newest sports sensation. Come snap a selfie, score some goodies, and show your hometown pride. Don’t miss this one-of-a-kind chance to hang with your favorite local teams!

Madison is known for great shopping, amazing food and a talented arts scene, and the Madison Night Market brings our urban experience together in celebration. Vendors and State Street retailers combine to showcase handmade products, local art, artisan gifts, artisanal foods, and fresh produce. The event includes live music, special visiting food carts, and pop-up restaurant experiences.

NEW: Family Activity Zone

Fun for the whole family! Where State Street meets Capitol Square, you’ll find the Madison Night Market Family Activity Zone, filled with a rotating slate of family-friendly activities to keep kids (and their grown-ups!) engaged and entertained. Stay tuned for a new batch of activities for each market in 2025. The June 12 market will feature:

• Madison Mallards, Forward Madison & Madison Nightmares

Layer on your hometown sports gear and head down to the market to meet your favorite teams. Participate in pop-up activities with Forward Madison and the Madison Mallards on the Capitol Lawn and find your favorite teams’ mascots roaming the market. Fun for the whole family!

• Madison School & Community Recreation Mobile Programs

Visit Play on the Go and the mobile Art Cart for kid-friendly activities that channel your child’s creativity and imagination.

Live music lineup

Peace Park Music Stage – 452 State Street

5:00 – 6:30pm – Mona Augustin
7 – 9pm – Kat & the Hurricane

Capitol Square @ State Street

5:00-9:00 p.m. – Eric De Los Santos

200 Block of State

5:00-7:00 p.m. – Wendy Lynn Marcus

Frances Street Plaza

6:00 p.m. – Becca Murray

The most up-to-date market details, including vendors and participating businesses, can be found here: https://madisonnightmarket.com

Follow along on Facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/madisonnightmarket/

And on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/madisonnightmarket/

Stay up to date on ALL downtown events here: https://visitdowntownmadison.com/events/

The Madison Night Market is brought to you by Madison’s Central Business Improvement District and the City of Madison. Special thanks to our generous sponsors: Madison Gas & Electric, Steve Brown Apartments, Bubbl’r, Henry Vilas Zoo and Findorff.

ABOUT MADISON’S CENTRAL BUSINESS IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT (BID)

The BID represents more than 370 businesses and 250 property owners. It is dedicated to supporting the economic vitality, safety and vibrancy of downtown Madison. We serve the greater State Street, Capitol Square and First Settlement district, working collaboratively with property owners, small businesses and city stakeholders to make downtown Madison the best place to shop, dine, work, live and explore. As a special assessment district, we provide important services, including marketing, public programming, small business support and storefront advocacy to ensure a thriving downtown.

Image Credits: Beth Skogen Photography

Agrace Offers New ‘Learning to Live with Dementia’ Education Series

MADISON, Wis. — Agrace knows that caring for a loved one with dementia can be both rewarding and challenging, and that caregivers often find themselves searching for guidance and help. To support any person providing care or navigating this journey, Agrace is offering Learning to Live with Dementia,a comprehensive education series.

The Learning to Live with Dementia education series consists of eight classes taught by experienced Agrace staff who have experience caring for people with dementia and by experts from the community. These sessions provide valuable insights into the unique needs of individuals living with dementia and offer caregivers a space to learn, ask questions and connect with others who share similar experiences.

Classes are $20 each and take place at Agrace, 5395 E. Cheryl Parkway, Fitchburg, or online using Microsoft Teams. In July, Agrace is offering these classes:

• “Legal and Financial Decisions” – July 1, 11 a.m.
• “Facility Support when You Need It” – July 17, 12 p.m.
• “Living at Home with Dementia” – July 26, 12 p.m.

Whether you’re new to caregiving or have been supporting a loved one for years, these classes will help you navigate legal and financial planning, options for facility care and strategies to help individuals who are living alone with dementia. You do not need to be receiving Agrace services to attend—these classes are open to any caregiver looking for guidance and support.

Attend all eight classes for $100 or register for an individual class for $20. To register, visit Agrace.org/Dementia. For questions, contact DementiaSupport@Agrace.org or call (608) 276-4660.

Founded in 1978, Agrace is a nonprofit, community-supported health care organization dedicated to providing high-quality care and support to people who are aging, seriously ill, dying or grieving. With offices in Madison, Wauwatosa, Watertown, Janesville, Baraboo and Dodgeville, Agrace serves more than 1,700 patients and clients across southern Wisconsin every day.

Pellitteri Waste Systems: Three Generations of Growth

This article was sourced from Waste Advantage Magazine. you can read the full story on their website here.

The Pellitteri tradition of service began more than 85 years ago in Madison, WI, when Tom Pellitteri’s father, Tony, and his uncles used a borrowed truck to deliver coal and haul away garbage for merchants on Madison’s Capitol Square. Steady business and a strong dedication to customer service ensured the growth of the business to a point at which the Pellitteri brothers purchased their own trucks and built a respected reputation in the disposal business. Pellitteri was the first company to bring mechanized packer trucks and automated container systems to Madison to reduce the “back-breaking” lifting of 55-gallon drums and GI garbage pails. Tony continued to operate the business, Tony Pellitteri Trucking Service, until his death in 1968, after which it was sold to a national trucking company, SCA Waste Services.

In 1979, Tom Pellitteri and his wife, Michele, founded Pellitteri Waste Systems, Inc., which has become a comprehensive waste disposal and recycling business. They built their business on the principle of always looking for a better way to meet the needs of their customers. Today, the third generation of the Pellitteri family oversees the business’s day-to-day operations and long-term planning.

Currently serving 44 communities and more than 80,000 households, as well as thousands of commercial accounts, Pellitteri Waste Systems provides waste and recycling collection, specialty recycling services, onsite confidential data destruction and single-stream recycling processing to commercial, industrial and residential customers throughout Southern Wisconsin.

In 2024, the company sorted more than 77,500 tons of mixed recycling at its local MRF, recycled almost 27,000 tons of specialty recyclables from manufacturers and industrial customers, hauled over 6,500 tons of construction materials to be recycled and shredded and recycled more than 1,400 tons of confidential data.

With roughly 170 employees, 110 trucks in their fleet (with CNG vehicles added to the fleet in 2015, and maintenance facilities expanded internally to accommodate the servicing and maintenance of CNG trucks), a materials recovery facility (MRF) and an industrial recycling facility, Pellitteri Waste Systems continues the family business’s tradition of service.

Growth Strategies
In late 2020, one of Pellitteri’s largest competitors acquired another competitor in its area, and the company saw a large increase in customers looking to switch to its services, but trucks, parts, containers and employees were all hard to find on short notice. Fortunately, Pellitteri had built strong relationships with its vendors and had access to everything they needed to bring on the new business growth.

“Our vendor partners were right beside us, working with us to prioritize our needs because they knew we weren’t just there for today and wouldn’t walk away tomorrow,” explains President David Pellitteri. “We’ve always looked at our vendors as valued business partners with whom we work hard to develop strong relationships. We shed off vendors we feel are not valuing partnerships and replace them with vendors who take the time to understand our needs and help us fulfill them in the short and long term. Between 2021 and 2024, our revenues increased by 68 percent. We work hard to earn our new customer accounts one at a time, and our vendors helped to provide what we needed to support our growth.”

A recent situation exemplified how having good business partnerships is crucial to long-term growth and success. David explained that he always recommends that communities that go out to RFP give haulers six to nine months to get the equipment, trucks and communications lined up for a smooth hauler transition.

“This is essential to the success of the transition to deliver on our mission,” he says. “Our families live in these communities. We want to hear great feedback when we meet someone at a kid’s sporting event that they love the new collection program, not how spotty the service was at first, or that the cart delivery got screwed up. However, in early December, we received a call from a community that was on the fringe of our service area and wasn’t on our radar. They had awarded a new curbside contract to a hauler starting a couple of weeks later, but the hauler had just backed out. They heard about our good reputation from other communities in the area so they reached out and asked if we could start servicing their community of 1,000+ homes, spread out over 30 square miles, starting January 1st. Our cart manufacturer, Cascade Carts, was able to remove all the prior hauler’s carts and install our carts before the first service in January. In situations like these, strong vendor partnerships show their true value above a couple of pennies in pricing. Now, we will have a customer for a minimum of 10 years. As an extra kicker, business owners involved with the community are seeing how well we were able to handle the issue and are asking us to service their commercial businesses.”

Facing Challenges
Over the years, labor challenges have limited the ownership team’s ability to spend time growing the business. For much of the organization’s history, the team struggled to find experienced drivers because pay and benefits were not keeping up with the market.

“It took us a while to understand how big this issue was and how it cost us more than we thought,” says David. “Around 2015, we systematically began increasing our pay and benefits package by adding or upgrading a new program each year. By 2021, we felt we had a top-tier package that could compete with any private trucking company and the local government CDL-level jobs. As part of the plan, we put a truck replacement program in place to keep our fleet fresh and provide the trucks experienced drivers would want to drive. We also remodeled our headquarters to provide a more professional environment and help attract new sales and administrative talent. Our employee count has increased by 50 percent in the past four years, and we are hiring experienced, well-qualified drivers from both our industry and other hauling industries.”

Working safely is one of the company’s core values. Pellitteri has weekly safety meetings with all employees and bi-weekly management safety meetings to review any recent safety issues or concerns.

“Over the past 18 months, we have revamped and updated our new driver training program and also added more safety reward programs to ensure we are emphasizing and encouraging employee safety, each and every day,” says Operations Vice President Drew Cochrane.

Pellitteri Waste Systems says battery fires currently pose the greatest industry challenge and risk to its trucks, recycling facilities, and workers. Other recycling facilities continue to experience catastrophic damage from fires that are believed to have begun by rechargeable and lithium-ion batteries. The number of fires will continue to grow if these batteries are disposed of by traditional methods.

“I serve on a number of committees that are working to create a safe and easily accessible infrastructure for battery disposal in Wisconsin to ensure the batteries are not put in the normal waste stream,” says David. “There are answers and solutions available, and we will learn best practices as other states also try different disposal methods.” In the meantime, the company has been running paid campaigns on social media channels to educate the public on proper battery disposal.

Working Efficiently
Not only did Pellitteri Waste Systems open a new Data Destruction Division in 2002 to protect customers’ confidential information, but the company was also proud to be the first Wisconsin data destruction service provider certified by the National Association for Information Destruction.

In 2012, Pellitteri Waste Systems added a BHS single-stream MRF in Madison. For many years, the third generation of Pellitteris traveled around the country attending the NWRA Chairman’s Council tours and learning about MRFs, as well as connecting with other industry leaders to learn how to build, design and run an MRF. Since the build-out of the MRF, the company has had two major upgrades. The first upgrade added robotics and a glass cleanup program. The second upgrade added additional opticals, more robots and AI technology.

All of the communities they serve now have expanded single-stream recycling collection so residents and businesses can co-mingle and recycle more materials than what is required by Wisconsin law. Recyclables are sorted, baled and shipped to manufacturers to be made into new products. Items that are acceptable for recycling at the MRF beyond what is required by state law include:

• Paper cups (hot and cold)
• Cartons
• Metal pots and pans
• Shredded paper in clear plastic bags (smaller than a basketball)
• Small metal appliances like toasters and blenders (smaller than a basketball)
• Small metal plumbing fixtures, faucet, valves and short pipe
• Aluminum foil
• Pizza boxes

In 2021, Pellitteri Waste Systems created a new Recycling Solutions Division to provide specialized recycling services for manufacturing companies. Operating in a facility between Madison and Milwaukee, the division has expanded the scope of materials that can be recycled for industrial and manufacturing customers.

“Diverting materials from the landfill and finding reuse/recycling options has always been a priority for the company. By offering more specialized recycling services to higher volume waste generators who can source separate their materials upfront instead of intermingling them, it opens up more marketability of the materials for reuse,” says David. Organizations with large volumes of pre-and post-consumer paper, plastics, cardboard, metals and other materials can benefit from a customized recycling plan to save money and reduce waste. The company also accepts stretch film/clear bags, electronic waste, ingredient bags and wood and plastic pallets. They also host e-waste events and refer communities they serve to their local Clean Sweep for household hazardous waste.

Educational Outreach
Pellitteri Waste Systems has developed several educational resources over the years to help customers and communities become better recyclers and divert more unnecessary waste from the landfill.

“We created more than two dozen short recycling tips videos that can be found on our website and have been promoted through paid YouTube and social media campaigns, and we regularly publish recycling tips on our social media channels,” says Vice President of Sales and Marketing Danielle Pellitteri.

In fact, their seven-minute video showing how recyclables are sorted at their MRF is shared with many organizations and schools and shown on MRF tours. In addition, they are featured in a great educational video for kids called “Becoming Stewards of Recycling,” and their mobile app and website include a Recycle Right Search Tool, allowing users to verify if items can be recycled.

“We are proud that our company has been recognized for its educational outreach by several organizations. In 2023, Pellitteri Waste Systems received the Recycling Excellence Award from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, the Outstanding Achievement in Education Award from the Associated Recyclers of Wisconsin and the Business Friend of the Environment Award from Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce,” comments Danielle.

“The response to our investments in recycling education programming has been great,” notes Marketing Coordinator Joleen Engeseth. “We’ve always received a lot of questions about recycling and our availability for in-person presentations. Building up our digital resources in recent years has helped us to reach and educate a much larger number of people, making access to recycling education easy and fun while better using staff time.”

Giving Back
The company also supports many local fundraising events and charitable causes, such as fire/police departments, youth sports teams, non-profit organizations and community festivals, providing monetary support as well as in-kind service donations.

“Additionally, last year Pellitteri Waste Systems supported 84 local community programs and raised thousands of dollars for food pantries in Southern Wisconsin as part of its ThanksGIVING Back employee fundraising effort,” says Vice President of Information Technology Tim Pellitteri.

“Giving back to the community is extremely important at Pellitteri Waste Systems,” adds Tim. “In fact, it is part of our mission statement—foster an environment which benefits our team, clients and community. This isn’t just lip service; our families and employees live in the communities we serve, so we want to do our part to strengthen our communities.”

Future Success
Pellitteri’s ownership team believes the company’s most outstanding achievement to date is transitioning ownership from one generation to the next while honoring its mission and core values.

“We continue to prepare for our children, the next generation, to have an opportunity to become equal partners in the future,” says David. “We’ve evolved from a strong mom-and-pop hauling business to a professional organization providing waste and recycling collection, recycling processing, expanded specialty recycling and onsite confidential data destruction services to commercial, industrial and residential customers throughout Southern Wisconsin.”

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For more information, visit www.pellitteri.com.
To see their MRF in action, visit www.pellitteri.com/mrf.
To see the list of acceptable recyclable items, visit www.pellitteri.com/residential-recycling and www.pellitteri.com/industrial-recycling.