Despite neighbor opposition, Blaine OKs trash plant expansion for metro's curbside composting

Ramsey and Washington counties will have another facility to send food scraps to as part of their growing organics recycling program, after the Blaine City Council approved the project on Wednesday.

Despite strong opposition from residents who live near the waste facility, the council agreed to let Walters Recycling & Refuse expand, with several conditions. Last year, the company won a 10-year contract with the counties to process food waste and will update its facility to use artificial intelligence-controlled robotics to separate organics from other trash.

The Blaine Planning Commission previously voted against the request, as Walters asked to expand its capacity from 140,000 tons of waste to 340,000 per year. Walters agreed ahead of the City Council vote to lower that to 230,000 tons.

Ramsey and Washington counties have been expanding their food scrap program to meet the state requirement that all cities with a population over 5,000 offer curbside organics recycling by 2030. Counties also are rushing to meet a statewide goal of recycling 75% of solid waste by the same year.

As more cities participated, the counties' Recycling and Energy Board last year sought to add more transfer facilities for the program.

The board selected Walters to serve northeastern metro cities, and the company's initial plans stated it would have space to serve more communities as curbside composting expands, including in Anoka County. But the council approved a smaller expansion, allowing the plant to take in 900 tons of waste per day, compared with 480 tons received now on average.

Neighbors in the Sanctuary subdivision north of the Walters plant have protested the expansion, saying they already deal with a strong odor that drives them indoors on warm days. Residents argued the issues would only get worse with the expansion.

"The phrase, 'Dad, it stinks again,' is something that I dislike a lot," neighbor Todd Wright said, explaining that his two children are sometimes unable to play outside because of the smell.

Blaine City Council members voiced frustration over trying to address residents' concerns while also playing their part in helping the metro meet statewide recycling goals.

"We have all become garbage experts," Council Member Jess Robertson said of the governing body, explaining that the trash issue has taken up more of her time than most others in recent months.

"We don't have to live where you live for it to be important to us," Robertson said to neighbors at Wednesday's meeting. "On that same note, Walters is not the bad guy here. Walters is the conduit trying to navigate a mandate from the state of Minnesota."

Mayor Tim Sanders, who argued for the decision to be put off so more data could be collected, was the only "no" vote on Wednesday.

Walters has committed to implementing a smell mitigation plan, including using odor-neutralizing liquids and adding high-plume fans to push air up and away from the nearby community. Among several conditions, the council also required the company to pay a third party to monitor the plant's odor and provide reports to the city.

Some council members said they were hopeful the odor mitigation plans would help eliminate current issues with smell in the area and said they would monitor how the expansion goes.