Representatives asked Transfer Station Supervisor Jeremy Clasemann questions about the recycling operation during the tour.
An overhead view of the transfer station.
Reps from around the state visit transfer station as part of bonding tour
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by Karin L. Nauber
Most of the time when you think about garbage, you don’t think about taking a tour of a processing plant that handles it—literally.
But that is what about 20 legislators and representatives from around the state did on Friday, September 6 when they visited the Todd County Solid Waste Transfer Station in Browerville as part of a statewide bonding tour.
The transfer station is seeking funds as part of a capital investment project.
The proposed project would include several improvements including:
• New Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) transfer station with a larger tipping floor and office space
• New Hazardous Household Waste (HHW) facility
• New scale house and 70 foot truck scale (the current truck scale is only 40 foot and is inadequate)
• Improved safety, traffic routing and code compliance (fire suppression, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) accessibility, leachate collection and overhead doors)
• Renovate existing building into Material Recovery Facility (MRF) (recycling) with new higher capacity equipment
• Construct source separated organics material (SSOM) compost pad (no other facility in the area has one).
The proposed project would cost approximately $9.5 million. The county is requesting $5.9 million in state bonding dollars.
On a tour led by Solid Waste Director Chris McConn, Transfer Station Supervisor Jeremy Clasemann and Wenck Associates Architect Marlon Mackowick, the representatives saw the facility in action and how the many areas are inadequate in the expanding, regional operation.
The facility has been expanding, especially in the recycling area over the last two years. A couple of years ago, the facility managed around 600 tons of recyclables. They are on track this year to do over 2300 tons. . . .