Big changes are coming to the RRRSWA, but few of them will actually impact the public.

With recent news that the Redwood-Renville Regional Solid Waste Authority (“RRRSWA” for short) will soon be getting out of the recycling sorting business, there has been confusion among the public about what changes that will mean for recycling in Redwood and Renville Counties.

Brian Sams, of RRRSWA, explained to KLGR this morning that, as far as the public is concerned, there will be few changes come January 1. Recycling will still be picked up curbside on the same schedule as now. The difference will be that Redwood and Renville Counties’ recycling will be taken to a facility in Shakopee to be sorted.
Sams explained the change is due entirely to how the economics of recycling have changed in the last few years:

If the Redwood and Renville County boards approve the proposed changes to RRRSWA, approximately 15 sorting employees will lose their jobs. The trade off is that for the 2020 fiscal year, RRRSWA would operate under a balanced budget, and not need to be subsidized by Redwood and Renville Counties.