Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority (PLMSWA) recently received Case-Specific Beneficial Use Determination from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency for ash reutilization. This will allow PLMSWA to use up to 30,000 tons per year of municipal solid waste combustor ash from the Perham Resource Recovery Facility as a partial aggregate replacement in roadway aggregate base. This will lessen ash currently being landfilled at the Northeast Otter Tail Landfill and offer a sustainable source of aggregate in lieu of mining virgin aggregate in local gravel pits.
It is anticipated that ash-amended aggregate will initially be used in road, highway, and property improvement projects owned and funded by member counties (Becker, Clay, Otter Tail, Todd, and Wadena). PLMSWA has be coordinating with MnDOT and other counties that have already done ash recycling projects and will continue to coordinate with these entities on future projects using this material.
Initial steps include completing a pilot project, constructing a fabric covered building for storage of ash, and processing ash for ferrous and non-ferrous recycling at a facility in the region. It is estimated that ash recycling will lead to 8,000 tons of usable road construction material yearly in addition to 800 tons of metal recovery per year.