To that, city recycling coordinator and center manager Colleen Sinclair would add another thought: It needs to be bigger. In the coming months, Coon Rapids will complete a recycling center expansion project that has been on the north metro city’s wish list for years. The facility, open to Anoka County residents, already takes in more than 1.5 million pounds of small appliances, mattresses, batteries, paper, light bulbs and other recyclables each year — but with heavy usage, space is running out. “We need a place to put it all,” said Sinclair, who has overseen the center at 1827 111th Av. NW. for the past 18 years.
The $860,000 redo, paid for with money included in the 2020 state bonding bill, Anoka County grants and city dollars, includes a new building on the east end of the property. The 130-foot-long building will include space to store cardboard, which currently sits on pallets outside and doesn’t fetch as much money from buyers when it’s dirty and wet, Sinclair said.