Board commits $100,000 from solid‑waste fund to St. Cloud waste‑to‑energy pilot for schools

The Stearns County Board on June 24 authorized a $100,000 allocation from the county’s solid-waste fee fund (Fund 43) to help the City of St. Cloud and St. Cloud School District 742 restart a small-scale waste‑to‑energy pilot to process separated school food scraps at the city’s nutrient, energy and water recovery facility.

Environmental Services supervisors and city utilities staff described a project to depackage and co‑digest food scraps with the treatment plant’s high‑strength waste stream to increase biogas production. Jacob Ethan, wastewater services manager for St. Cloud, said staff received quotes for a depackager, hopper and auger and the piping and integration work needed to feed solids into the plant’s digesters.

The city said it previously ran a pilot in 2022 supported by an MPCA grant; COVID and subsequent grant outcomes delayed further work. City staff requested county partnership to buy equipment sized to serve an initial cluster of elementary schools (the district plans to restart in elementary schools first) and to demonstrate the approach for potential later expansion to larger generators.

Commissioners asked whether Benton and Sherburne counties, or other partners, would be approached; presenters said the county-focused ask covers Stearns schools and the county could engage neighboring counties later. Commissioners discussed future scaling, digester availability in rural areas, and the county’s role as a partner. After discussion a motion to allocate $100,000 from Fund 43 passed by voice vote.

County staff said Fund 43 is financed by an $8-per-residential-parcel fee and an 8% commercial surcharge on solid-waste accounts; the $100,000 would come from those environmental-service fee revenues.