Crow Wing County has four recycling drop sites that are available for use to all county residents:
Crow Wing County Landfill: 15728 State Highway 210, Brainerd.
Ideal Township Transfer Station: 33503 West Island Lake Drive, Pequot Lakes.
City of Nisswa: 25636 Main St., Nisswa.
Crow Wing Township: 6930 Cuyuna Ave., Brainerd.
Historically there were 12 drop sites located throughout the county; however, increasing costs have led to a reduction in the number of sites. Two sites that recently closed recycling operations include the city of Crosby and Crosslake Roll-Off.
The city of Crosby had challenges with contamination, overfilled dumpsters and overall monitoring of the site, so the city requested the county provide extra funding to help with monitoring or remove the dumpsters altogether. Contamination fees have amounted to more than 20% of Crosby’s overall recycling bill.
Crosslake Roll-Off was challenged with increasing costs.
Looking forward into 2021, the county is considering moving forward with two drop-off sites: at the county landfill and the Ideal Transfer Station. The county is also considering offering a 50% cost sharing program for cities and townships that prefer to have a recycling drop site in their jurisdiction.
“An option where local governments can partner with the county is one of the best ways to share costs and continue to provide additional recycling opportunities,” Ryan Simonson, Environmental Services supervisor, said in a news release.
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The Nisswa City Council is considering options, and the Crosslake City Council agreed Monday, June 8, to look into requiring licenses for trash haulers and requiring those haulers to offer curbside recycling pickup.
In addition to the drop-off sites, an even better recycling method is curbside service, the county news release said. Four cities have ordinances in place requiring haulers to provide curbside recycling in their cities. These cities include Brainerd, Baxter, Pequot Lakes and Ironton.
“The county encourages these types of curbside recycling ordinances because the volume speaks for itself,” Simonson said.
The cities of Brainerd and Baxter recycle more volume through curbside service than is recycled at all of the drop-off locations combined.
The landfill site and Ideal Transfer Station are located in the south-central and northwestern portions of the county, respectively, and serve a large number of residents. The distance from downtown Nisswa to the Ideal Transfer Station is 10.9 miles. Downtown Crosslake is 12 miles from the transfer station.
Farther south, the distance from downtown Deerwood to the landfill is 9.6 miles, while downtown Crosby is 6.8 miles from the landfill.
For more information, contact the Environmental Services Solid Waste Office at 218-824-1290 or visit the county website at www.crowwing.us and search for “Solid Waste.”
