Recycling Center will continue to accept 1 and 2 plastics

Plastic recycling in Cook County became a topic of conversation over the past several weeks as potential changes in sorting requirements raised questions around capacity at the Cook County Recycling Center. The uncertainty had some residents concerned that the Recycling Center would stop accepting plastic all together. Some of this stemmed from an interview with County Commissioner Dave Mills on The Shore Thing podcast, when Mills mentioned that plastic recycling was in jeopardy.

In an interview with WTIP, Land Services Director Tim Nelson said that, while there was a chance that plastic recycling in the county would become much more complicated, at this time, there are no anticipated changes to what plastics the Recycling Center accepts.

Nelson explained that after recyclables are collected and sorted locally, they are then hauled down to a broker. Currently that broker is Hartel’s in Proctor, MN. After that, the broker sells on the separated items to processors and manufacturers who do the actual recycling of the materials. He said that the broker can dictate what materials are accepted based on their ability to sell the recycled items on. The market for plastics through Hartel’s is limited to just those items marked with ones and twos.

Those plastics have historically been able to be processed together in mixed bales. Nelson said, though, that a request came from the broker to separate that single stream into three, collecting number ones, number two naturals, and number two colors, all in separate bins. This would have created logistical issues for the Cook County Recycling Center, where space for additional collection bins and storage of bales before they are hauled to Proctor, is limited.

While that requirement could have meant that the Recycling Center stopped taking plastics, Nelson said that Hartel’s reconsidered. He said, “Through further discussions with them, and the fact that this is kind of a regional issue – they’re a broker for the whole Arrowhead region – they kind of backed off on that, and we are going to be able to continue to do the plastics as we do those, as a kind of commingled number one and number two, at this point.”

While plastic recycling in Cook County remains unchanged, Nelson said that there are ways that residents can continue to support recycling efforts in the area. He said that whether residents are taking items to the Recycling Center in Grand Marais or using the remote trailers outside of town, it is important that materials be sorted correctly and be delivered clean. A full list of what materials are accepted at the Recycling Center is available on the county website. Nelson also mentioned that the Recycling Center staff spend time resorting recyclables, plus removing things like household garbage from the collection bins.

Contaminates in the collection bins can lower the value of the materials, waste time for staff, and can be hazardous. Nelson said, “A few times since I’ve been here we’ve had some people actually put in their used hypodermic needles into a soda bottle.  It is dangerous, and we’ve had a few members stuck with those needles and they’ve had to take the time to go to the clinic get tested and everything like that.” He said that the remote trailers tend to see the most misuse, and urged residents to make sure that they are disposing of any waste properly.

According to Nelson, Cook County recycles 800 to 1,000 tons of material each year, but he also pointed out that waste management is not limited exclusively to garbage disposal and recycling processing. He said, “We do have those the three R’s and the the chasing arrows and you have reduce and reuse that come before recycling. So recycling is the last option.”

WTIP’s Kirsten Wisniewski spoke with Land Services Director Tim Nelson about recycling in Cook County and how plastics are collected. Full audio of the interview is below.

Kirsten Wisniewski February 2, 2024