By implementing national recycling trends locally, McLeod County is expecting its recycling quantities to increase at least 25 percent per household. The County’s switch from five-sort to single stream recycling at its Hutchinson, Minn. recycling facility is possible through a retrofit by Burns & McDonnell, an engineering firm with an office in Bloomington, Minn. Burns & McDonnell reused select portions of the building’s equipment and infrastructure, saving McLeod County $1 million on a facility that will divert up to 20,000 tons of waste from landfills per year. The move from five-sort to single stream recycling addresses both local demand for and a national trend towards increased sustainability and greater convenience. Facts include:
- The $4.4 million design-build project was recently completed by Burns & McDonnell’s Solid Waste and Resource Recovery Group for McLeod County
- Located in Hutchinson, Minn., the facility serves McLeod County, its municipalities and businesses, and the surrounding region
- The retrofit project transitioned the building from five-sort to a single stream recycling system, addressing local demand for increased recycling sustainability and greater convenience
- By implementing the single stream recycling program County-wide, McLeod County projects household recycling quantities to increase at least 25 percent
- The facility is expected to process at least 10,000 tons of recycled materials per year, up from 6,000, within the first 18 months of start-up
- The recycling processing capacity will quadruple from approximately 5,000 tons to 20,000 tons of material per year
- The project is anticipated to more than double the number of Adult Training & Habilitation Center (ATHC) staff at the facility, providing more than 20 jobs
- By reusing portions of the facility’s equipment and building infrastructure, Burns & McDonnell helped save McLeod County an estimated $1 million
- The development was funded entirely through McLeod County’s Solid Waste Abatement Fund
For more information, visit www.burnsmcd.com.