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Do you recycle? Do you compost? Do you prevent wasted food? Do you try to attempt to fix broken things instead of just throwing items out? If you are trying to do your best at one or more of these things, you are a champion of waste reduction!
Minnesota's governor recently signed a bill for Minnesotans to reduce their waste by 90% by 2045. This is a huge challenge for all Minnesotans. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is now challenged with finding a way to meet this goal. If you are not sure what this means to your household, take a look at your trash and other items that you want to dispose of and imagine only getting to dispose of 10% of those items in the future.
As citizens of Minnesota and in particular, Lyon County, we need to recognize the importance of waste reduction in our own lives. If we go "all-in," we may be discouraged because it is not easy and it is much better to try things with your family, one small step at a time.
There are many small adjustments that we can all make such as making sure that everything that can be recycled in your home or business is actually getting into the bins. Please remember that our recycling carts or our drop sites are for recycling only. It is a huge waste to find trash, particularly in our drop sites, because these are hauled to Redwood Falls to the same transfer station as our curbside recycling. Trash is pulled out and sent back to Lyon County to the Lyon County Landfill. It is a huge waste of resources when this happens.
We can also make some simple swaps at home such as using bar soap instead of liquid soap because there is less packaging. Watch for more information coming out on how to make small changes within your home.
Residents can self-haul bulky trash items to the Lyon County Landfill for a fee. It just depends on how heavy your items are. They are open just about every Saturday morning for those who can't make it out during the week. During the summer months, plastic flower pots in particular and home remodeling items make their way into the recycling drop sites. These items are not recyclable and residents should check with either the landfill or their waste hauler if some of these items can be placed into the trash in the first place. Absolutely no grass, tree branches, weeds or other lawn and garden debris should ever be placed into the trash or recycling. Some of these items can be composted while others can be brought to the tree and compost site near your community.
Minnesota's Governor also signed the "Digital Fair Repair Act or also known as "Digital Fair Repair." What does this mean to consumers of digital items? This means that for any digital electronic equipment sold or used in Minnesota, the manufacturer must make available documents, parts and tools to repair the electronic item.
While the "Right to Repair" is new to our area, in the Metro area, they have been holding FixIt Clinics for many, many years. Lyon County will be holding its first-ever FixIt clinic from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 10 at the Marshall-Lyon County Library. These FixIt clinics do not guarantee that a broken item will be fixed but we will give it a good try to see if we can fix it. This first session will encompass such items as computers or small appliances that, for example, need a new plug-in cord. Please watch for more information from the Marshall Lyon County library. We are always looking for individuals who would like to volunteer their time to help at FixIt clinics as a FixIt coach. Residents may bring in one item and the resident will be guided by the FixIt coach on how to fix the item. The resident must do the work. If you have a talent for tinkering or a similar talent, please contact the Library or the Environmental Office for details.
This is just one more way to reduce waste in the first place by reducing waste at home: fixing items, recycling and composting are a good place to start! For more information on waste disposal, call the Lyon County Landfill at (507) 865-4615 or the Environmental office at (507) 532-1307.