State-mandated recycling, in place in Wisconsin since 1995, would be eliminated under Gov. Scott Walker's budget. And payments to local governments to run those programs — a total of $32 million this year — would be halted.

The change is likely to dramatically affect many of the 1,018 counties, cities and villages to which the state Department of Natural Resources now provides recycling grants, said Mary Teves, community financial assistance director for the agency.

"Some communities will cease to have a program," Teves said.

Teves said small communities are especially dependent on the grants and will have a harder time running their programs on their own, especially with other cuts to local governments that are included in the governor's budget. Larger cities with well-established programs will have an easier time maintaining their recycling efforts, she added, though even a city such as Madison receives a substantial $1.1 million recycling grant from the DNR.

Other DNR programs fared somewhat better in the budget. The state Stewardship Fund, a land-buying program that has protected more than 600,000 acres of land since 1990, will continue under Walker's budget though changes in how money can be spent are likely to result in fewer land purchases.