Recycling Part 2: County by County
by Sheila Helmberger
By George, I think we've got it.
It may have taken a little while for the ideal of separating our garbage piece by piece to catch on - but it has. Just a few years ago they were introducing us to the idea of rinsing and sorting and working to educate us on the many benefits of doing all that extra work. It turns out that (almost) everything old really can be new again.
We're practically experts in the sport of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Across the board counties in northern Minnesota are releasing numbers that back up the success of our efforts. We're sending less and less to area landfills and putting more in those bins marked for recycling.
The one downside is now that we're turning in so many items for recycling, counties are finding it a little costly to sort, handle and ship all those materials. Most report that they're actually losing money on their recycling programs- but still the effort is more than worth the expense. Crow Wing, Cass and Itasca counties all report increases every year in the amount recycled. The numbers are staggering when you think all of that used to sit in our dumps.
"In the last four years our landfill volume has gone down," said Doug Morris, Crow Wing County Solid Waste Coordinator. "In 2005 - 2006 we saw an 8 percent reduction in waste and the volume that's going to the landfills continues to decrease."
Morris said, "The household programs have been increasing ever since we started. The first year, in 1991, residential recycling took in 255 tons and in 2007 3,650 tons. Last year the number was close to 49,000 tons.
The newest items added to the growing list of goods we can recycle are mattresses and electronics. "A couple of years ago we started the mattress program," said Morris, "They need to be dry and not too soiled," he said. This past year Crow Wing County collected 67 tons of mattresses and box springs. The upcoming change from analog to digital has meant an increase in electronics to recycling centers.
In residential recycling alone this past year Crow Wing County collected over 2,324 tons of paper, 685 tons of metal, nearly 2,000 tons of glass, 319 tons of plastics.
Mary Jo Davis, assistant solid waste administrator in Itasca County said it's easy to see why the programs have been a success. "Recycling is saving space in our landfills and participation is high because it's free to participate." Davis said residential recycling efforts in Itasca County collected 9,624 tons of material and general commercial recycling collected was 2,149 tons.
In Bemidji, residents are no longer offered curbside recycling. Mike Albright, office manager of Waste Management in Beltrami County said discontinuing curbside pick-up hasn't lead to a drop in collection... "We actually have better participation," he said, " Before we weren't getting the rural participation like we are now." Pickup bins are located in six outlying communities: Blackduck/Kelliher, Ten Lakes, Waskish, Nebish, Pinewood and Fourtown. Four bins are located in and around the city of Bemidj.
Last year Beltrami County collected 91 tons of newsprint, 3 tons of phonebooks alone, 52 tons of plastic containers, 565 tons of glass, 34 tons of aluminum and 1,109 tons of tin. Our automobiles make waste that can be recycled also. Seventeen tons of vehicle batteries were recycled in Beltrami County last year, 9 tons of motor oil, 127 tons of tires, and 3 tons of anti-freeze.
"There's still more that can be done, there always is," said Albright. We continue to try to promote recycling. Even though, right now, it actually costs us money."
Commercial efforts are hard to tally in the counts. Most businesses enact recycling programs of their own and some, such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Home Depot are able to bale their own cardboard. "A lot of businesses handle their own recycling, and they do a good job of it," said Morris of collecting, compacting and transporting the items.
By George, I think we've got it.
It may have taken a little while for the ideal of separating our garbage piece by piece to catch on - but it has. Just a few years ago they were introducing us to the idea of rinsing and sorting and working to educate us on the many benefits of doing all that extra work. It turns out that (almost) everything old really can be new again.
We're practically experts in the sport of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.
Across the board counties in northern Minnesota are releasing numbers that back up the success of our efforts. We're sending less and less to area landfills and putting more in those bins marked for recycling.
The one downside is now that we're turning in so many items for recycling, counties are finding it a little costly to sort, handle and ship all those materials. Most report that they're actually losing money on their recycling programs- but still the effort is more than worth the expense. Crow Wing, Cass and Itasca counties all report increases every year in the amount recycled. The numbers are staggering when you think all of that used to sit in our dumps.
"In the last four years our landfill volume has gone down," said Doug Morris, Crow Wing County Solid Waste Coordinator. "In 2005 - 2006 we saw an 8 percent reduction in waste and the volume that's going to the landfills continues to decrease."
Morris said, "The household programs have been increasing ever since we started. The first year, in 1991, residential recycling took in 255 tons and in 2007 3,650 tons. Last year the number was close to 49,000 tons.
The newest items added to the growing list of goods we can recycle are mattresses and electronics. "A couple of years ago we started the mattress program," said Morris, "They need to be dry and not too soiled," he said. This past year Crow Wing County collected 67 tons of mattresses and box springs. The upcoming change from analog to digital has meant an increase in electronics to recycling centers.
In residential recycling alone this past year Crow Wing County collected over 2,324 tons of paper, 685 tons of metal, nearly 2,000 tons of glass, 319 tons of plastics.
Mary Jo Davis, assistant solid waste administrator in Itasca County said it's easy to see why the programs have been a success. "Recycling is saving space in our landfills and participation is high because it's free to participate." Davis said residential recycling efforts in Itasca County collected 9,624 tons of material and general commercial recycling collected was 2,149 tons.
In Bemidji, residents are no longer offered curbside recycling. Mike Albright, office manager of Waste Management in Beltrami County said discontinuing curbside pick-up hasn't lead to a drop in collection... "We actually have better participation," he said, " Before we weren't getting the rural participation like we are now." Pickup bins are located in six outlying communities: Blackduck/Kelliher, Ten Lakes, Waskish, Nebish, Pinewood and Fourtown. Four bins are located in and around the city of Bemidj.
Last year Beltrami County collected 91 tons of newsprint, 3 tons of phonebooks alone, 52 tons of plastic containers, 565 tons of glass, 34 tons of aluminum and 1,109 tons of tin. Our automobiles make waste that can be recycled also. Seventeen tons of vehicle batteries were recycled in Beltrami County last year, 9 tons of motor oil, 127 tons of tires, and 3 tons of anti-freeze.
"There's still more that can be done, there always is," said Albright. We continue to try to promote recycling. Even though, right now, it actually costs us money."
Commercial efforts are hard to tally in the counts. Most businesses enact recycling programs of their own and some, such as K-Mart, Wal-Mart and Home Depot are able to bale their own cardboard. "A lot of businesses handle their own recycling, and they do a good job of it," said Morris of collecting, compacting and transporting the items.
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