Minnesota county seeks MRF funding

Backers of a new material recovery facility (MRF) in Olmsted County, Minnesota, reportedly have asked the state’s Senate Capital Investment Committee for $17.4 million to help construct the new recycling center.

A late-November meeting included a presentation on the proposed MRF, according to Rochester, Minnesota, television station KIMT. Rochester is the county seat and largest city in Olmsted County.

KIMT the presentation was well received by state Sen. Carla Nelson, who represents Olmsted County.

The proposed 75,000-square-foot MRF would be located next to an existing waste-to-energy (WTE) plant and other waste- and recycling-related operations in Rochester.

According to KIMT, presenters at the meeting said building an upgraded MRF would help expand recycling services in Olmsted County and would help the county meet its long-term sustainability goal to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and reduce its carbon footprint.

The Senator Nelson as commenting, “There are better ways to handle waste than landfilling," Nelson tells KIMT. "That’s why it behooves us as legislators to look at ways we can handle that waste. As we say in Olmsted County, there is a proper place for your waste and, believe me, it’s not in a landfill.”

Should the Senate Capital Investment Committee approve the funding request, construction and planning would start in 2026 and the facility would start operating in the first half of 2027, according to KIMT.