(Spirit Lake)– Dickinson county supervisors are again assessing their options for recycling drop-off sites now that another city, Spirit Lake, has discontinued it’s public drop-off site, joining Milford which did the same thing recently. That’s left some residents in the unincorporated areas where curbside recycling is not available without a place to take their items. The matter came back up for discussion at Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Supervisor Kim Wermersen again proposed the county establish three drop-off locations…
“If we had one that’s on the east side, over here kind of in the Arthur Heights area or East Oaks area, if we partnered with Orleans and we partnered with Okoboji, in their two recycling processes, we would be multi-jurisdictional and then we would then pursue a company that would do both garbage and recycling curbside pick up, because that’s going to be the answer here.”
Wermersen repeated his desire for the Landfill Commission to take over the recycling discussions…
“What can we do to be responsible? We want to save our landfill. And that’s why to me the Landfill Commission ought to be the ones to have some skin in this game.”
Wermersen says he’s also frustrated by the fact that some residents in the unincorporated areas have curbside pick up available, while others do not…
“Chalstrom Beach folks have a company that takes both garbage and recycling up for $17 a month. Four houses over into Loch Nolls they pick up only this person’s garbage for $34 a month. Is that something I should be concerned with? Maybe not, but I don’t think it’s right.”
Meanwhile, supervisors say they continue to get earfuls from people who no longer have a place to take their recycling. And Wermersen says for now, atleast, there isn’t much they can tell them…
“What do we tell them? We can’t just say hey, dump in Orleans and Okoboji they’re the only two that are left, without partnering with them and helping them. Because you know what’s going to happen if we don’t? Those two are going to go away, too, because of the cost.”
Wermersen plans to meet with the two cities to see if they might be interested in working with the county on the matter.
