Reduce, reuse, recycle, revise

Talk about it

Goodhue County and the city of Red Wing could save more than $1 million with changes to recycling and waste hauling operations, according to a recent outside audit.

Officials from Waste Management - the trash hauler city and county officials asked to complete the free analysis - talked to county commissioners Tuesday about the findings.

Hoping an audit would spark discussion, city and county officials approached Waste Management earlier this year after solid waste talks between the two parties and the state collapsed.

The audit indicates Goodhue County could save more than $250,000 by processing material collected from its eight countywide recycling drop boxes at a third-party site instead of the county's recycling center in Red Wing.

"Nothing would change in terms of what residents would see or their ability to use drop-boxes or to recycle," said Randy Triplett, Waste Management customer experience manager. "What you're getting is a reduction in spending without a reduction in services to county residents."

About 60 percent of the county's current recycling operation expenses come from labor costs, the audit found.

Triplett said eliminating a "minimal" number of county jobs and hiring a trash hauler to take materials to another site would create better processing costs per ton.

He said the county does not take in enough material, making it more expensive to process locally and difficult to market.

Making changes at the recycling drop off boxes also would be beneficial, Triplett said.

The county's current collection system forces residents to sort their recycling.

Triplett said implementing a system so residents can drop their items off in one bin without sorting would lead to more material because it makes recycling convenient.

"It sounds attractive," Commissioner Ron Allen said. "We all want savings."

Waste Management also analyzed the Red Wing's solid waste collection and incineration.

Officials said the city could save more than $900,000 through process changes at the incinerator.

Money could be saved by either entity, regardless of whether the other decides to follow the audit's suggestions.

"We can't tell the city what to do," Commissioner Jim Bryant said. "How they handle the information is totally up to them."

Triplett said Waste Management would be interested in handing material from the county recycling center and the incinerator.

The job would be open to other businesses, who would have to submit proposals.

"This is just one piece of the puzzle," Bryant said. "They provided us a tool for us to consider and look at."

More on city officials' reaction to the audit will be in an upcoming edition of the Republican Eagle.

Tags: local government, goodhue county board, goodhue county, solid waste, news