Otter Tail County Kicks Off Organics Recycling Pilot Program

PERHAM (KDLM) – The Otter Tail Solid Waste Department, along with partner sites around Otter Tail County will kick off the Organics Recycling Pilot Program this week

Organics recycling is the industry term for composting food waste and other organic material on a large scale. Otter Tail County currently has no organics recycling program, and this program is a first step toward diverting a large amount of organic waste from disposal in landfills or the Perham Resource Recovery Facility where it doesn’t burn well. The Organics Recycling Program will collect food scraps and other organic waste from larger waste generators such as schools and health care facilities and deliver it to the Glacial Ridge Composting Facility located near Hoffman, MN.

Participating pilot sites have been equipped with green bins, compostable bags, signage, and green refuse carts to collect the organic waste. Both pre-consumer and post-consumer food waste, including meat and dairy are accepted in the program. Steve’s Sanitation out of Perham will be performing the weekly collection route for the program.

During the duration of the grant project which continues through June of 2023, the program is expected to divert approximately 200 tons (40,000 lbs.) of organic material from the waste stream for composting.