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As recycling materials begin making their way to Sioux Falls for processing, the cost for taking the materials will be zero — for now.
Rock County Commissioners, however, are leery that could change, based on recent observations outside of the city of Luverne.
Diapers, dog feces — and the latest, a barbeque grill complete with utensils — were recently thrown in one of the nine large canisters available for recycling in Kenneth, Jasper, Beaver Creek, Hardwick, Hills (2), Steen, Kanaranzi and Magnolia.
None of these materials are acceptable for recycling.
“It (the finding of garbage in the recycling containers) will continue to be a struggle for us,” County Administrator Kyle Oldre told commissioners Aug. 4.
“The public can do us a lot of help by putting in what goes in and not anything else.”
On Friday, Aug. 7, Shannon Dwire, general manager of Millennium Recycling, viewed the collection facilities of Ketterling Services Inc. in Luverne.
She and Bill Ketterling examined recyclables collected during the morning’s route from the city of Luverne.
Dwire said the load was typical of what is sorted at the Sioux Falls facility.
“That looks fine,” she said as she examined the mound of plastics, tin cans and paper.
At their Aug. 4 meeting, commissioners grappled with the outlying recycling containers, which contain unacceptable amounts of household waste. They discussed limiting the current 24/7 access to the drop off sites by installing gates or using cameras to curtail improper dumping.
Commissioner Jody Reisch, however, said he would like the county to take a more proactive approach by educating the public first.
“It (the placing of garbage in the recycling containers) reflects poorly on us as a county in what we are doing here … if recycling here is truly an important thing.”
The state of Minnesota is challenging counties to raise their recycling rates to 60 percent in the next decade. A possible reduction in state funding could result in counties not making that threshold.
Currently Rock County recycles 46 percent of its waste, according to the Land Management Office (LMO).
Commissioners urged LMO Director Eric Hartman to develop signs indicating what is not acceptable for the recycling containers and suggested possibly manning the outlying county sites.
Chairman Ron Boyenga pointed out that current signage points to what is acceptable.
“It doesn’t say what’s not allowed,” he said.
Plastic grocery bags have been the bane of recyclers because they can become trapped in the sorting machines. These frequently show up in recycling sheds and are often filled with recyclables.
Plastic bags are not recyclable, Dwire stressed.
Keeping to Millenium’s standards will avoid a per ton charge to accept Rock County’s recyclables.
Rock County generates about 800 tons of recyclables a year. A possible charge of $35 per ton could mean as much as $28,000 in additional costs.
Additional transportation costs could also be incurred if Millennium rejects a load of recyclables from Rock County.
The rejected loads would be brought back to Luverne and later hauled to the municipal landfill near Marshall. Each trip adds additional expenses, plus a charge at the landfill.
Ketterling Services began negotiating for processing services with Millennium Recycling after its major workforce supplier, Rock County Opportunities, gave notice in July they would no longer provide workers for the manual sorting.
RCO cited safety hazards and changes in the recycling industry as reasons for no longer providing workers.