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1. Doesn’t most garbage just end up in the landfill?

No. Most Public Entity waste is processed into fuel to produce electricity at Xcel Energy's Wilmarth Power Plant.  It is a part of Blue Earth County's overall Integrated Waste Management System.

2. Why is it OK to burn garbage in an incinerator and not in a Burn Barrel?

The burn temperature of a permitted municipal waste incinerator is much higher than the temperature of a burn barrel. Poisons produced readily in the low heat of a burn barrel are destroyed in a municipal waste incinerator. Incinerators also have filters, and other pollution control devices. Studies have shown that significantly higher levels of poison are produced in backyard burn barrels than in municipal incinerators.

EPA Backyard Burning Webpage

MPCA Backyard Burning Webpage

3. Why is Resource Recovery preferred by the County over landfilling?

Resource Recovery converts a waste material (garbage) into energy. It “recovers” the energy “resource” contained in the garbage that would otherwise be thrown away. It reduces pollution and greenhouse gas emissions by replacing coal as an energy source. Currently the State of Minnesota considers Resource Recovery a renewable energy. On the Waste Hierarchy, Resource Recovery is above landfilling. 

4. Where can I bring my waste if I want it to go toward Resource Recovery?

The MWPC transfer station is the entry point for the resource recovery system. Waste brought to MWPC will be processed and turned into refuse-derived fuel that will be burned at Xcel Energy's Wilmarth Power Plant. to produce enough energy to power around 20,000 homes. 

5. Why does the County run a Landfill?

Even though the County encourages use of the Integrated System for waste disposal, there are still many wastes which cannot be processed. The Landfill provides environmental protections for disposal of waste that cannot feasibly be disposed of through processing.