SEATTLE (Waste Advantage): The Minnesota House Rochester delegation toured the Olmsted Waste-to-Energy Facility as it seeks capital investment to build and equip a Materials Recovery Facility (MRF), which improves recycling by removing non-combustible waste items like metals, glass, and grit. Construction of an MRF facility, which would reside on the same site as the Olmsted County Waste-to-Energy Facility (OWEF), would also increase local recycling rates, enhance the county’s current solid waste system, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions emitted in transport to other facilities, none of which currently exist in Southeastern Minnesota.

The Rochester Delegation of the Minnesota House is made up of Representatives Tina Liebling (DFL – Rochester), Andy Smith (DFL – Rochester), and Kim Hicks (DFL – Rochester). The delegation released the following statement:

“Building an MRF right here in Rochester is a sm.Last year, the Capital Investment committee stopped at the OWEF facility to learn about Olmsted County’s recently adopted 10-year solid waste management plan, which identifies strategies for rethinking “waste” and addressing materials in terms of resource management.