by April Scheinoha
Reporter
Pennington County has received a grant to educate residents on how to recycle. At its meeting Tuesday, June 8, the Pennington County Board accepted the $2,425 grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. The county is also required to provide an in-kind local match of $1,155, which will be labor and administration related to the grant.
Solid Waste Officer Kyle Jore noted the grant will be used for additional publicity for a 4-H recycling event and signage for the recycling bins.
Pennington County 4-H hosted a 4-H Green Recycling Team event on Earth Day (April 22). “It was a good learning experience for them,” said Jore, who noted the county hopes to host a similar event in the fall or spring.
As part of the event, 4-Hers learned about recycling and then educated others about what and how to recycle.
There are issues with recycling in the county. County Board Chairperson Neil Peterson said some residents don’t know what items can be recycled and where items can be taken for recycling.
County leaders want to limit the amount of recyclables placed in landfills. While processing recyclables, Les’s Sanitation often needs to remove unwanted items from the collected recyclables since residents don’t realize what is recyclable. As a result, some recyclables are also sent to the landfill.
In Pennington County, glass, plastic, aluminum and corrugated cardboard are recycled. The numbers 1 or 2 need to be visible on plastic items in order to recycle them. In Thief River Falls, county residents may drop off their recyclables at dumpsters outside of Hugo’s and the Cenex Travel Center. Jore said Les’s Sanitation empties the dumpsters multiple times a week outside of Hugo’s. The other dumpsters are emptied less frequently.