Mower County Commissioners opted to keep the county-operated sorted recycling program in Mower County, but residents could still see changes.

The Mower County board voted unanimously at its Tuesday meeting to keep its current recycling program where recyclables must be sorted by plastics Nos. 1 and 2, paper, and glass and cans after months of discussing a single-sort program, which would have been operated by Waste Management Inc.

Commissioners spoke of the need to keep recyclable trash out of landfills, but they felt that could be accomplished through changes to the county’s recycling program.

“I think there could be some definite improvements to our current system,” board Chairman Mike Ankeny said.

Driven by cost, jobs

Commissioners said the loss of 14-17 Cedar Valley Services jobs and a $40 yearly increase for single-sort were two key factors in rejecting Waste Managements single-sort recycling bid.

“We should hold off on any change, mainly due to the increase in cost,” Commissioner Jerry Reinartz said. “We had only one bidder. It would have been nice if we had two to make it more competitive. Plus the possible loss of these jobs.”

Cedar Valley finds jobs for people with physical and mental disabilities and has contracted to assist with the county recycling program since 1989. Cedar Valley leaders have said replacing those recycling jobs would have been difficult based on industry changes stemming from the Olmstead Plan, which is a nationwide push for integrated jobs for disabled individuals.

“One of the big issues was the loss of jobs, and we’re all very concerned about that and know that the people with the disabilities are very committed to what they do and they get used to what they’re doing,” Commissioner Polly Glynn said. “And they take a lot of pride in the job that they have to do.”

Reinartz said he’d supported single-sort recycling since discussions started, especially after hearing of the program’s success in counties like Steele and Freeborn.

“It’s a green issue, that’s why we got involved,” Reinartz said. “We were trying to keep things out of the landfill.”

However, he felt the timing wasn’t right for a change, especially after the board put a year-long moratorium on all new solid waste requests in May so county staff could review the county’s outdated solid waste ordinance.

Reinartz hoped the recycling discussions have themselves encouraged recycling.

“If anything, we’ve raised the awareness of the importance of recycling and keeping things out of the landfill,” Reinartz said. “Hopefully by staying with the current program, we’re going to increase our recyclables just because of all the publicity we’ve had.”

Improvements coming?

Commissioners indicated it won’t be business as usual for its recycling program, which has drawn public criticism for the design of recycling bins, a confusing pickup schedule and for not taking plastics Nos. 3-7, which would have been accepted in single-sort.

Ankeny said the board will next look at a “minimal cost increase” to improve its current system, possibly through larger bins, education, an advertising campaign and improvements to dropoff sites. If the improvements aren’t successful, Ankeny said single-sort discussions could resurface in the future.

“I believe with the changes, the people of Mower County can make a difference,” he said. “And it would be much easier to try and improve our current recycling system now, and if it doesn’t work, a change could be made in the future.”

The county could also discuss accepting business cardboard. However, County Coordinator Craig Oscarson indicated any changes won’t happen immediately. The county’s solid waste committee will likely instruct county staff to study potential changes to gauge costs and benefits. Those suggestions would then need to pass through the solid waste committee and eventually the full county board.

“Each idea has merit, but needs to be studied,” Oscarson said.

The public is already calling on the board to improve the recycling program and the Mower County Recycling Center. Mike Postma, who originally posted a Change.org petition in favor of single-sort, posted an update calling for the board to invest in equipment to begin accepting recyclables Nos. 3-7. He also called for larger recycling bins with lids.

“We need them to invest in new equipment and resources to make it a viable operating center,” Postma wrote on Change.org.

But sometimes added costs, which would likely be added to the recycling charge on taxes, can outweigh the recycling benefits, according to county officials. The county could discuss adding plastics Nos. 3-7, but that could prove complicated. Oscarson and other workers have said that’s an issue based on buyers — there’s just not a market for them on their own.

“If there’s no market, what does it cost for us to dispose of it?” Oscarson asked.

When there’s not a buyer, such plastics would either go to the landfill or need to be blended in with plastics Nos. 1 and 2, but that would diminish the value of those recycling bundles.

Currently, all Mower County properties pay about $16-$18 a year through property taxes for recycling whether the owners recycle or don’t. Curbside pickup is currently offered twice a month in Austin, Taopi, Mapleview, Adams, Brownsdale, Grand Meadow and LeRoy at homes, businesses and apartments. The recycling is also picked up from several drop boxes around the county and at the recycling center, 1111 Eighth Ave. NE.

Single-sort would have only been offered to residences and would have cost $55.36 for countywide residential pickup, though the board discussed cheaper options with city-only pickup and rural drop boxes.

Businesses and apartments would have had to pay a waste contractor for individual recycling service, a concern Commissioner Tim Gabrielson referenced.

“We get a good product,” he said. “There’s going to be an increased cost to the apartments, businesses. I think we should stay where we’re at.”

Response

After more than a year of on-and-off discussions and weeks of public feedback, the board’s discussion Tuesday took about eight minutes. Commissioners did not take comments from a crowd of about 17 people, stating they’d already received enough public feedback in recent weeks to make a decision.

“I’d like to thank everyone for the tremendous response we received on this issue,” Ankeny said.

The board said public feedback was split. A county survey completed by 689 people showed 60 percent in favor of single-sort with 411 voting for single-sort and 278 voting to keep the current program.

However, Glynn noted the survey didn’t tell the whole story. While she found younger generations voting online, older residents felt more comfortable calling, talking in person or exchanging emails with commissioners. Glynn said the feedback she received was about 50-50. Gabrielson said about 90 percent of people talking to him supported the current program.

She thanked the public for coming forward to voice their opinions.

“Both sides are very passionate about what they believe,” Glynn said. “They’ve come up with some very, very good reasons for feeling the way they do.”

Ankeny also thanked the public for their feedback and acknowledged many single-sort supporters are likely unhappy.

“It definitely hasn’t been an easy decision to make,” Ankeny said.