MANKATO — A seemingly mundane topic is once again in the spotlight in Blue Earth County.
Since mid-2025, the Blue Earth County Board has been discussing solid waste management in the county, specifically debating on the pros and cons of a new refuse-derived fuel plant by Ponderosa Landfill.
Next week the board will take another look at a topic related to the issue. Included in the agenda for the Tuesday meeting is the creation of a Recycling and Waste Reduction Advisory Committee.
The purpose of this committee is to “help provide community insight into solid waste challenges within the county, and to provide additional resources for solid waste education and community engagement,” the agenda stated.
Members of the committee would be appointed by board members for two-year terms.
While no specific topics or ideas are listed in the agenda for this new committee, members likely would be working closely with the county to help gather community input and impact on the potential for a new RDF facility.
That discussion, happening in board work sessions since last summer, has surrounded the fact that Xcel Energy will be ending its lease for RDF in 2027. With an opening coming up, the county began discussing the advantages of building its own facility or determining if partnering with a third party is the best way to go. No specific conclusion has been reached yet, and the board is still getting regular updates.
The first five members the Property and Environmental Resources Department is recommending for the new committee are: Julie Dempster, one of the founders of the Makerspace and someone who “continues to be involved with reuse and waste diversion efforts in the region”; Nancy Gruenhagen, a member of the former solid waste committee in Blue Earth County; Andrew Leith, an environmental consultant; Gina Cooper who “has worked with the Lake Crystal City council and Lake Crystal Zero Waste to help encourage reuse, recycling, composting, and other solid waste programs throughout the area”; and Stefanie Janike, a city clerk for St. Clair who helped establish a new recycling program.