Clarification: Currently, curbside recycling pickup is only available for the residents within the cities of Austin, Mapleview, Adams, Brownsdale, Grand Meadow and LeRoy. There is no rural pickup. A switch to single-sort recycling would bring residential pickup countywide. Rural residents can sort their recyclables and drop them off at the recycling center. 

The Mower County board wants to help its residents recycle more to keep trash out of landfills, but county officials aren’t yet sure of the best way to do that.

After first discussing the issue last summer, the county is ramping up discussions on whether to switch to single-sort recycling or keep its current curbside pickup method. The county’s curbside recycling is for all residents in Austin, but residents must sort recyclables into separate bins for newspapers, cans and glass, and plastics. With single-sort recycling, each residence in the county would likely receive a 96-gallon trash receptacle for recycling — though there was talk about using 65-gallon containers — and all recyclables would be collected in one container and later sorted at a recycling facility.

The county board discussed three options at its regular board meeting Tuesday: keeping its current curbside recycling but promoting it through an advertising campaign, offering single-sort to only residential properties in the county to be picked up every other week, and a third option that offers similar residential single-sort pickup but also includes apartments and senior housing complexes.

Under all single-sort options being discussed, businesses, churches and schools would not be included and would have to pay for recycling services with a disposal company. The board is also discussing monthly pickup for rural homes. For now, there would no be no drop off sites if the county converts to single-sort.

“There’s a lot questions, a lot of work to be done yet before we decide on any of these options,” Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said.

Currently, all residential properties pay $16 to $18 a year for curbside recycling as part of county property taxes, whether they recycle or not. The single-sort fee would also come off property taxes, but it would cost an estimated $4.25 to $5 a month — $51 to $60 a year.

“The cost to the single-sort program is considerably higher than our current program,” Reinartz said.

However, Commissioner Mike Ankeny said homeowners have been able to offset the costs by disposing of less trash in other single-sort counties.

“People are able to go to a smaller trash container,” he said.

However, fees could also increase if the county kept its current curbside recycling, because the board discussed an ad campaign costing as much as $80,000 to $100,000 to promote the recycling program.

Despite the added cost of single-sort, the main benefit is simplicity. Single-sort is said to be much easier, which leads more residents to recycle more materials. Single-sort would also increase the types of plastic recyclables accepted in Mower County. Many area counties have switched to single-sort with positive results. Last summer, Collin Wittmer, the recycling coordinator in both Freeborn and Steele counties, estimated 58 percent more recyclables had been picked up in Steele County since the change, with similar numbers in Freeborn.

But questions in Mower go beyond just recycling volume. Currently, Cedar Valley Services contracts with the county to help pick up recycling. If the county switched to single-sort, a trash contractor would pick up the recyclables and sort them at a recycling facility. That could cost Cedar Valley Services 15 to 18 jobs, as Cedar Valley Division Director Rich Pavek estimated last year.

If the county changed to single-sort, the Mower County Recycling Center would close and be used for other county purposes, possibly an indoor police impound or for public works storage.

Currently, curbside recycling pickup is only available for the residents within the cities of Austin, Mapleview, Adams, Brownsdale, Grand Meadow and LeRoy. There is no rural pickup. Rural residents can sort their recyclables and drop them off at the recycling center.

A switch to single-sort recycling would make residential pickup countywide.

The solid waste committee and board will continue discussions until at least April, when the board could tentatively vote on the issue. If the board opts to switch to single-sort, the change likely wouldn’t occur until March 2016 when the current Cedar Valley Services contract expires.

County commissioners said they were interested to hear opinions from the public on the potential recycling changes.

 

Mower’s current curbside recycling

Newspaper bin: Newsprint, magazines, white office paper, cardboard

Cans & glass bin: Glass jars/bottles, aluminum, tin cans

Plastics bin: Type 1 and 2 plastics

For more on the current recycling, visit www.co.mower.mn.us/files/public-works/recycling-hhw/AcceptableMaterialsList2011.pdf

Possible single sort recycling

One bin: newsprint, magazines, white office paper, glass jars/bottles, aluminum, tin cans, Type 1-7 plastics

(Mower County may collect cardboard separately)

For more on other counties one sort recycling, check out www.co.winona.mn.us/sites/winonacounty.new.rschooltoday.com/files/New%20Curbside%20Recycling%20Guide.pdf and www.co.steele.mn.us/departments/environmental_services/docs/Single_sort_photo_add_1_14_14.pdf