BRAINERD — The inner workings of landfills often go unappreciated.

Most people rarely question what happens to their trash. At Crow Wing County Landfill, a large team is working to keep the environment clean and reuse and recycle as much as possible.

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With a large expansion on the horizon, the landfill is more important today than ever, according to Tom Strack, environmental services supervisor for Crow Wing County.

The expansion is necessary to keep up with the solid waste disposal demands of the area.

“We’re coming tight on airspace here in the next couple years,” Strack said. “We need to start the environmental processes so that the residents of Crow Wing County have a place to bring their garbage and know it’s being environmentally done correctly.”

Despite the upcoming changes, all of the landfill’s services — from trash disposal to recycling and its environmental protection systems — will stay the same.

1 / 2: The landfill expansion site, pictured here Wednesday, July 9, 2025, is a 48.3 acre area that will hold 4 million cubic yards of waste. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 2 / 2: The landfill expansion site, pictured here Wednesday, July 9, 2025, is a 48.3 acre area that will hold 4 million cubic yards of waste. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

How does the landfill protect the environment?

Landfills are divided into “cells,” each of which is contained in a liner that keeps the trash isolated, according to Marvin Stroschein, the landfill manager. When a cell is full, it is covered in soil and grass — but the buried trash is not merely forgotten.

Systems in each of the liners monitor and manage the waste, ensuring no harmful materials escape into the groundwater or outside environment. For example, a gas capture system prevents the escape of methane and other landfill gases that can be odorous and toxic. This system will be extended during the expansion.

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“As the garbage breaks down and settles, it produces methane,” Strack said. “We need to capture that.”

Methane is concerning because it is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and worsens climate change, according to Chris Pence, environmental services manager for Crow Wing County.

The flare tower burns off methane gas Wednesday, July 9, 2025, at the Crow Wing County Landfill. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

Methane at the landfill is burned in a flare tower, which releases carbon dioxide, another greenhouse gas. However, carbon dioxide is not nearly as impactful to the environment as methane.

“If you look at what methane does compared to carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide is much reduced,” Pence said.

Burning the methane also produces heat, which does not go to waste — during the fall, winter and spring months it heats two buildings, including the landfill’s maintenance shop, according to Strack.

“Marvin Stroschein uses it to heat his shop in the winter, so we’re not using any propane or natural gas for that. It’s the landfill gas,” Strack said.

Burning methane can also be used to generate electricity, but a system for this does not currently exist at the landfill, Pence said.

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Many other systems exist at the landfill to limit its impact on the environment.

“We also have leak detection and stormwater collection basins,” Strack said. “Landfill gas is just one of those pieces.”

The landfill liners also collect any water that leaches out of the landfill — called “leachate” — and prevents it from entering the environment.

Strack said that whenever it rains, water seeps through all the trash in the landfill, so pipes in the liners collect the water and pump it to holding ponds for treatment. The leachate collection systems will be expanded alongside the landfill.

The water treatment ponds process between 4-8 million gallons of water every year, depending on the amount of rain, Stroschein said.

1 / 2: Holding ponds at Crow Wing County Landfill treat leachate for heavy metals, PFAS and other contaminants on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 2 / 2: Holding ponds at Crow Wing County Landfill treat leachate for heavy metals, PFAS and other contaminants on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

“It doesn’t directly release back into the groundwater. We’re treating it for heavy metals, PFAS, and that type of thing,” Strack said.

According to the environmental assessment worksheet released by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are chemicals of particularly high concern because they exist in a wide variety of human products, do not break down naturally in the environment, and can be detrimental to human health.

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The 4 million cubic yard expansion will consist of two new cells on a 48.3 acre section of land to the north and east of the existing landfill, extending the landfill’s lifespan by 15 years. Stroschein said the expansion area is already within the landfill’s property and is ready to go.

The MPCA’s environment assessment worksheet for the landfill expansion project is open for public comments until July 31, at which point it will be determined whether the project needs a full environmental impact survey.

If a survey is not needed, the project will go through the permitting process, and Strack says construction is planned to begin in 2027.

1 / 3: Crow Wing County’s Recycling Center has a drive-thru for dropping off recyclables on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 2 / 3: Materials are sorted within Crow Wing County’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 3 / 3: Vehicles drop off items for recycling at Crow Wing County’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

What recyclables are accepted at the landfill?

The Crow Wing County Landfill is the hub for the county’s recycling programs. Users can drive up and deposit a wide variety of recyclables in dozens of bins.

“We take metal, tin, aluminum, metal cans and glass, together and separate,” Stroschein said. “The plastic green neck top bottles can go with the tin and aluminum. And then we take regular cardboard and light cardboard.”

Many types of plastic are not recyclable and can only be disposed of in the landfill. However, the recycling center accepts many other unique items that many people may not think are recyclable, Strack said.

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“Whether it’s oil-based paint, latex paint or batteries, we get them to the right places that can safely recycle those,” Strack said. “We also have a reuse center within the landfill, so things that are still in good, decent shape like spray paint, bleach, or household items, the public can come in during normal business hours and pick those items up for free.”

The Reuse Area at the Crow Wing County Landfill offers free products including cleaning supplies, spray paint and bleach on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

Stroschein said the landfill recycles 300 to 400 tons of scrap metal every year. Mattresses, electronics, appliances, tires, fluorescent light tubes, and more are also accepted at the recycling facility.

“Any household hazardous waste they can bring in for free to us,” Strack said. “We properly dispose of those, like paint, bleach and batteries.”

Strack recommended that anyone who has questions about how to dispose of an item should call the landfill office and ask. Most items are accepted at no charge, with a few exceptions.

“We do charge a small fee for recycling things like propane tanks, white goods like your washer, dryer or refrigerator; tires and scrap metal,” Strack said.

Crow Wing County receives funding for recycling through the state of Minnesota’s Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment. All of these funds go to the landfill’s recycling center, but they do not cover everything, according to Pence. Other sources of revenue, like a $25 fee charged to landowners, also support the recycling center.

1 / 6: Scrap metal, old appliances and more items are stacked for recycling at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 2 / 6: A dedicated station accepts oil and batteries at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 3 / 6: Electronics, including old televisions, are processed for recycling at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 4 / 6: Mattresses are processed for recycling at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 5 / 6: Paint cans are processed for recycling at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch 6 / 6: Recyclables including scrap metal, tires, glass, cardboard and more are sorted and processed at the Crow Wing County Landfill’s Recycling Center on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

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How do the landfill’s tipping fees work?

Although most simple recycling at the landfill is free, bringing solid waste wood, cement and loose garbage requires a tipping fee because no tax levy in the county exists to fund the landfill. Certain types of waste, like leaves, are free for individual residents but businesses are charged a fee. The full fee schedule is available on Crow Wing County’s website.

“If you’re not dropping off garbage, you’re not paying money for solid waste management in the county,” Pence said.

Strack said tipping fees are determined based on the type and weight of the garbage.

“The landfill isn’t levy-funded,” Strack said. “It’s all based on user tipping fees. The residents that come in and the commercial haulers that pick up garbage pay tipping fees, and that’s how we’re able to operate and run the landfill.”

A bulldozer sits at the demolition materials deposit site at Crow Wing County Landfill on Wednesday, July 9, 2025. Jasmine Shackleford / Brainerd Dispatch

Pence said dumping garbage without paying a tipping fee harms the landfill’s ability to operate.

“We have worked to try to get our tipping fees at a reasonable rate, yet we still see a lot of illegal dumping, and we do a lot of cleanup,” Pence said. “We want to encourage people that while they think dumping garbage on county land is free, it’s not.”

Additionally, Strack said that every year, a $20 coupon is mailed out to property owners that can be used on any services at the landfill. The coupon also comes with information on how tipping fees and recycling at the landfill work.

“It’s part of our requirements that we have some advertising and education, so that’s one way that we reach out to the residents of Crow Wing County,” Strack said.

Stroschein said the fluctuations in landfill usage throughout the year due to tourism make his job especially chaotic. Weekends in the summer are especially busy. The landfill sees hundreds of cars and trucks bringing in trash every day.

“In the wintertime it’s more relaxed, but with summer it gets wild,” Stroschein said.

The landfill is open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday year-round. Additionally, during the summer it is open 8 a.m. to noon on weekends.

For as long as humans create trash, it will need places to go. Although the landfill rarely receives attention, it is a critical system that keeps the county running smoothly.