Hubbard County Solid Waste Administrator Josh Holte anticipates the new south transfer station will open for business within the week.
The public was invited to tour the 20,600-square-foot facility on Saturday. The Hubbard County transfer station is part of a larger, regional project funded by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Solid Waste Capital Assistance Program.
"We tried our best to make this a one-stop shop," explained Laura Wessberg, a Minnesota GreenCorps member serving with the county until August 2019.
First of all, the four express lanes are located inside the transfer station. Hubbard County residents will be able to drop off their household garbage and mixed recyclables without crossing lanes like they do now, Wessberg said.
A commercial trucking lane is in the other half of the new transfer station. An attendant area includes an office and bathroom.
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Traffic will flow in one direction.
"At the back of the building, we'll have a small area for oil and oil filters, metal, tires and yard waste," Wessberg said. "Once you've dropped off those things, you'll circle around. We'll have an area for appliances. Our recycling center is going to be converted mostly into our household hazardous waste center."
Examples of household hazardous waste are paint, stain/varnish, and leftover cleaners or pesticides. Paints, stains, etc. that may be reused will be set aside for county residents to pick up and take away.
"Right now, we only take household hazardous waste between April and September. The reason is because so much of it is temperature sensitive," Wessberg said.
Now that the "household hazardous waste reuse area" is located within a heated building, "we'll be able to take it year 'round," she said.
The recycling center will also accept electronics, bulbs and batteries.
An organics bin will be located at the recycling center as well for those who have registered for the county's new organics program. Through the project, food waste and food-soiled paper is converted into compost. Currently, 170 people have signed up, according to Wessberg.
The existing transfer station, built in 1987, will become a storage area, she noted.
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A larger "reuse area" will be situated where there are currently express lanes. Holte explained, "That's where we'd like to direct people for anything that can be reused," such as two-by-fours, furniture, etc.
"Right now, we have people driving out to our metal pile and scavenging through there. We'll try to keep all of that up here (at the reuse area), so if we see anything good we'll pull that out, put it in that area so people can look through and take stuff," Holte said.
Truckloads of demolition materials or brush will be directed toward the rear of the property.
Fresh concrete was poured by the commercial trucking area on June 10, then landscaping and a little bit of painting are all that need to be finished, Holte said.
