Perhaps you’ve heard the familiar motto: “There’s a proper place for your waste in Olmsted County.” According to Anthony Wittmer, communications specialist for Olmsted County Environmental Resources, those words represent “more than just a cute jingle. We really do have a proper place for everything on the solid waste hierarchy.”

If you have ever put trash in a garbage can in Olmsted County, then you have contributed to the approximately 1 million pounds of waste produced here every day. Approximately 43 percent of that waste is recycled. The rest requires other types of disposal.

Waste-to-Energy Facility

“Waste haulers” are the companies that pick up recyclables and trash from local homes and businesses. The haulers then deliver county garbage to the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility (OWEF).

About 1 million pounds of trash are produced every day in Olmsted County

There are about 100 waste-to-energy facilities in the U.S. with the majority of them being on the east and west coasts. Olmsted County garbage is used as fuel at the OWEF to create steam for heating and cooling and electricity. The energy produced is used by buildings like the Rochester Public Library, Olmsted County Government Center, Rochester City Hall, Rochester Art Center, and the Mayo Civic Center (among others).

After passing through the OWEF, only 10 percent of the garbage’s original volume is left in the form of ash. This ash gets taken to the Kalmar Landfill about seven miles west of downtown Rochester.

Most garbage ends up at the OWEF, but not all of it. In Olmsted County, specialized types of waste go to the following three locations: 1) the Hazardous Waste Facility, 2) the Compost Site and 3) Recycling Center Plus. Olmsted County residents have free access to an online tool called the Waste Wizard available through the county’s website. If you’re unsure of what to do with something in your household, just type the name of the material into the online tool and recommendations will be provided.

Hazardous Waste Facility

Poisonous, flammable and corrosive items can be taken to the Hazardous Waste Facility. One example of a potentially hazardous object often overlooked: the electric toothbrush. Sharon Schreiver, regional programs manager for Olmsted County Environmental Resources shares, “People don’t know that if you have an electric toothbrush, there’s a rechargeable battery in there. Rechargeable batteries are hazardous. They can get in a packer truck and lead to fires.” Other types of hazardous materials that need to be disposed of properly include paint, varnish, household cleaners and pesticides.

Compost Site

The Compost Site is a place where yard waste (primarily leaves and grass clippings) can be disposed of free of charge. The organic materials break down over time to become compost. Finished compost adds nutrients to lawns and gardens and can be self-served any day of the week during daylight hours. Suggested donation rates as well as a comprehensive list of what’s allowed at the Compost Site are available online.

Olmsted County Recycling Center Plus

The Olmsted County Recycling Center Plus is specially geared toward individuals who want to transport their own garbage and recyclables rather than use a professional waste hauler. Some items can be recycled and disposed of free of charge and others require a small fee. Recyclable materials allowed at the county’s Recycling Center Plus include:

Aluminum cans
Clear glass bottles and jars (no window glass, dishware or ceramics)
Colored glass bottles and jars: green, brown and other colors
Corrugated cardboard (clean only; no food waste)
White office paper
Newspaper and colored paper
Magazines
Telephone books
Plastic bottles #1 and #2 (with a neck)
Tin/steel food cans, empty aerosol and paint cans
Clean scrap iron, aluminum, copper, brass and stainless steel

This list of allowed recyclables applies specifically to those who are dropping off their own recycling directly at the Recycling Center Plus. For those of us who pay for curbside pick-up, it is important to ask the individual waste hauler for a list of what recyclables they collect.

Curbside Recycling

So what about those recyclables you put out in the bin? After the waste hauler retrieves a household’s recyclables curbside, the items are then taken up to one of several materials recovery facilities near the Twin Cities. The facilities receive, separate and prepare recyclable materials for sale to manufacturers who use them in the production of new products.

Sharon Schreiver and Anthony Wittmer of Olmsted County Environmental Resources

Wittmer and Schriever encourage county residents to pay careful attention to what they recycle and avoid the cultural phenomenon of “wish-cycling.” Wish-cycling is putting something in the recycling bin even if you’re not actually sure it's recyclable. Waste can’t be wished into recyclability.

Wish-cycling can lead to contaminated loads of recyclables. “Materials recovery facilities were set up to sort clean recyclables. Sorting through other gunk is a contaminant,” Schriever reflects. If loads are too contaminated, the recyclables can be refused by materials recovery facilities and end up in landfills. “It’s very important to get the right things in the recycling bin, and if you don't know, check it out on the Waste Wizard,” Schriever says.

While recycling and proper disposal techniques are key elements of the county’s waste management strategy, there are two other important practices which can drastically decrease the amount of waste produced: 1) waste reduction and 2) reuse. Wittmer expressed that these two prioritizes can be challenging for any household because they require behavior change. Yet they are also key ways to impact the overall volume of waste being created each day.

Want to learn more?

Waste is part of the lives of everyone in Olmsted County. The more we understand what happens to garbage after it enters the wastebasket, the more intentional we can be about disposing of it in responsible and planet-conscious ways.

If you are interested in visiting the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy facility, schedule a tour. Such an experience, “makes garbage real,” shares Wittmer. Tour experiences can be adapted for a variety of age levels.

Emily Carson is a curator of curiosity. She loves exploring southeastern Minnesota with her husband, Justin, and their Redbone Coonhound, Finn. In addition to her work as a local columnist, she is also an ordained Lutheran pastor. Find Emily on Twitter and Instagram at @emilyannecarson.