Wabasha County planning staff outline hauler rules, recycling access and landfill partnerships

Wabasha County planning and zoning staff on Wednesday described the county’s solid waste and recycling program, laying out hauler reporting rules, enforcement for missed reports, site options for municipal solid waste and recent diversion and conversion figures from partner facilities in La Crosse and Red Wing.

The briefing by planning staff offered a technical overview of how licensed haulers must report monthly and annually, how the county enforces late filings, where haulers may deliver municipal solid waste under current agreements and the state- and regional-level facilities the county uses for waste‑to‑energy conversion and landfill disposal.

Kayla, a planning and zoning staff member who led the presentation, said licensed haulers must submit a monthly tonnage report by the 15th of the month following collection. “They are the haulers are responsible for submitting a monthly tonnage report to me by the fifteenth of the following month,” she said. She added that the first reporting infraction in a year is a written warning; subsequent missed reports trigger a $100 fine. “The first infraction is a warning, and every infraction after that is automatically assessed a $100 fine,” she said, describing the county’s enforcement sequence and late‑fee process under the Wabasha County fee schedule.

Staff listed the county’s currently licensed haulers as Wabasha Rubbish, Lake City Disposal, Hagedorn’s (a transfer station), Hardridge Disposal of Minnesota, LRS of Minnesota, Interstate Disposal LLC, Waste Management of Rochester, Waste Management of Northfield and King Scrap. Planning staff said transfer station license applications are due Sept. 1 each year to comply with county ordinances; previously the renewals appeared on a December timeline.

On disposal locations, staff said haulers most commonly take municipal solid waste to the French Island waste‑to‑energy facility in La Crosse and to Red Wing. Olmsted County facilities were also mentioned as an option. Staff described the La Crosse facility as a regional partner that converts large volumes of waste to energy; the presentation said the facility currently converts about 85,000 tons of waste to energy annually and that last year 83,925 tons were received from a five‑county area, with a 75.5% conversion rate that produced enough electricity to power more than 7,000 homes. Staff said roughly 32% of received material was either diverted or converted to energy on the landfill side of that system.

Staff also reviewed county recycling access. County-operated public recycling sites have been reduced in recent years; the remaining county recycling roll‑offs are at the Plainview Highway Shop. County staff said several former recycling sheds in Kellogg, Conception, Zumbro Falls and Millville were permanently closed, and that some overfilling at Plainview has triggered overfill fees charged back by contractors.

Household hazardous waste collections are run jointly with neighboring counties; planning staff said the county collaborates with Goodhue and Olmsted counties for spring and fall events in Wabasha, Plainview and Lake City. Staff said La Crosse County’s facility handles more than 40 waste streams and processed a little over 523,000 pounds of material in 2024, with electronics, reusable items distributed through a reuse room, and latex paint listed among top streams.

Commissioners asked about rural access to recycling after the county’s shed closures; staff said adding sites would be costly and likely require county levy funds. Commissioners and the board chair thanked planning staff for the presentation and noted the department’s other work on aquatic invasive species and related programs.

The presentation was informational only; the board did not take formal action on program changes during the meeting.