Great job Lyon County! In 2019, residents in our area worked really hard at recycling and disposing of things in the right place. Residents recycled 31 more tons of materials in 2019 compared to 2018 through the curbside recycling or community recycling program. Since 2015, Lyon County has been recycling right around 2,000 tons of materials every year. It takes a little bit of effort to have a big impact on what we are trying to dispose of.

It is always a proud moment to be able to share with you a job well done. Residents of Lyon County recycled 533 car seats that were no longer needed or wanted. Car seats can be brought to the Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) Facility for no charge. The plastic and the soft covering of the car seats are all recycled and used for making things like car parts or pet beds.

Residents recycled 3,874 mattresses. This is a huge space saver on our landfill. These also come to the HHW Facility to be recycled. Eighty percent of a mattress is recyclable. They need to be clean and free of bedbugs. Here, too, mattresses are recycled into different things such as pet beds.

Residents disposed of 1,895 televisions through our disposal program for TVs. It is against the law to place certain things into the landfill and televisions are one of them. The small fee that is charged for disposing televisions goes toward the fee we are charged for their proper disposal.

A total of 1,758 residents brought their unwanted paint, lawn chemicals, household chemicals, batteries, and much more to the HHW Facility in Marshall. A whopping “575 tons of liquid cleaners and 132 tons of toilet bowl cleaners are washed down the drain each month” according to the MPCA. Rechargeable batteries can cause fires when they are crushed or opened. These fires can start in your home, in the trash or recycling truck as well. Rechargeable batteries are everywhere from cellphones and computers, to handheld tools, telephone systems and much more.

One hundred computers were refurbished and given away to those who couldn’t afford computers for their homes. Residents are able to bring computers and their components to the HHW facility for free. The old style CRT computer monitors are not free to dispose of and are not used in the ResQZone program.

We also provide several other programs that residents can use such as: needle disposal, soft and hard covered book recycling (made into insulation), shredded paper recycling (also made into insulation), plastic shopping bag and plastic film recycling (made into park benches and decking boards) and now Styrofoam recycling too (made into picture frames or molding).

Businesses have also been on the fore front of recycling materials as well. We see everything from fluorescent lights to cardboard and paper, electronics and much more. We appreciate what businesses have been able to do with finding alternative sources for items they no longer need or want as well.

If any given resident participates in all of the disposal and recycling programs that we have in Lyon County, you would not have very little trash left each week.

Since we have turned the page into a new year and a new decade, there are more programs coming your way including classes on waste-less living, composting and much more. This will be the decade to watch for manufacturers to provide more products that have recycled content packaging or less packaging and there will be a larger focus on reducing the amount of materials that each family throws away. Reducing does not mean that a resident has to give up foods, beverages or other things that they love. There are ways to reduce according to what each individual family needs in their own home. It’s not about perfection; it’s more about making better choices.

For more information, please call Lyon County Environmental at 507-532-8210. The Household Hazardous Waste facility is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. and every second Saturday of the month from 9 a.m.-2 p.m. The Landfill can be reached at 507-865-4615 and is open Monday-Friday from 6 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturdays from 7 a.m.-noon.