Clearwater County spring cleaning dumpster site

 

With spring cleaning season upon us it’s a good time for a reminder about proper use of the County’s dumpster sites for rural garbage collection.  For better or worse, this is the way Clearwater County has committed to serve its residents in rural areas for collection of garbage, and we need everybody to work together and respect the system to make it continue to work.

Did you know that the rural dumpster sites are unique to Clearwater County?  There are 15 sites, one in almost every township so there is a disposal site within 6 to 8 miles of most homes.  For those of you who have family or friends in Polk, Beltrami, Hubbard and Becker or other surrounding counties, go ahead and ask them about garbage… it’s a super exciting conversation topic!  Ask how they dispose of their trash, how much they pay for the service they have and how far they have to travel if they self-haul to a collection facility.  Or, if they have curbside collection, ask what the cost is for this service.  If you’ve never given it a second thought then you might be in for a reality check, because we really have it good in Clearwater County!  What you will find if you ask these questions is that on the other side of the county line collection sites are fewer and much further between, so many residents have to use curbside service, which in rural areas gets very expensive.

You and I pay an annual solid waste service fee on our taxes.  The fee is $90 for single family residences, and for that we get garbage collection at the dumpster sites, garbage disposal at the incinerator in Fosston, use of the services at the demolition landfill/transfer station and use of the recycling program.  Of course, curbside collection for trash is more convenient if you choose to pay extra to have the truck come by your house, but in Clearwater County we have the alternative of using the dumpster sites as part of the services covered under our $90 solid waste service fee.  A lot of people in other counties don’t have that alternative, so they pay for curbside because self-hauling is too inconvenient.  Rural garbage collection service commonly runs in the range of $25 to $40 per month where it is offered.

As we all know the problem with the dumpster sites is the mess.  At one time, Beltrami County provided a similar service but discontinued it years ago because they simply couldn’t keep up with the inevitable mess caused by people, bears and wind.  In Clearwater County, we’re doing our best to maintain the service as residents have told us it’s a very important service that they want to keep.  

The County continues to spend thousands of dollars on hired labor to clean up the mess people make, erect fences to keep windblown garbage in and electric fences to keep bears out, and generally improve the appearance of these facilities.  Many of the sites are located at our Town Halls; there is a sense of pride in keeping these community gathering places in good order.  We need all of you to help by disposing only household garbage at the sites, making sure everything gets inside the containers and shutting the lids, and picking up a little if there’s litter around.

Clearwater County is committed to keeping its solid waste system working at a reasonable cost and in doing so we want your help and your input.  If you have questions or comments about solid waste issues, please call or stop by Environmental Services, 694-6183, located in the Courthouse.