By Tom Hintgen

Otter Tail County Correspondent

In 2023 Otter Tail County received a grant from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to implement single sort recycling for high population areas in the southeast quadrant of the county. 

By installing a Smart Camera System into one recycling collection truck, approved by the county board of commissioners, Otter Tail County employees will be able to analyze the contents of each recycling cart and automatically detect non-recyclable materials.

With the anticipated large increase in recycling, educating the public and minimizing contamination will be a primary goal. Based on research in recycling collection, some type of quality control program needs to be implemented to manage contamination.

Later on, single sort recycling will be expanded to the other three areas of the county (northeast, northwest and southwest).

Solid waste scale

purchase approved

The county’s Fergus Falls solid waste transfer station receives and transfers between 60 and 100 tons of municipal solid waste (MSW) per day to the Perham Recovery Facility (refuse burner) in Perham and the Dakota Landfill in Gwinner, N.D. 

The truck scale is one of the most important pieces of equipment used at the site to weigh all the incoming solid waste. The scale is about 20 years old and is outdated.

The county Solid Waste Department requested and received approval from the county board of commissioners to have Prairie Scales replace the scale at the Fergus Falls Transfer Station. Used were funds set aside in the 2025 county budget for this purchase. 

The scale needs to be certified each year by the State of Minnesota. Prairie Scale has reliably maintained the county’s scales for a long time.

County child support

awareness recognized

The Otter Tail County Board of Commissioners, on Aug. 26, recognized August 2025 as Child Support Awareness Month and Aug. 26 as Child Support Appreciation Day. All five commissioners urged county residents to meet the needs of children throughout Otter Tail County.

Minnesota’s collection of monthly child support and overdue support continues to rank at the top nationally, with many thousands of dollars collected and disbursed in 2024.

“Our county child support staff goes above and beyond the call of duty to collect current support. They arrearage that result in direct payments to children and public assistance,” said County Board Chairman Wayne Johnson of Pelican Rapids.