It has always been difficult for St. Paul residents to dispose of yard waste, hazardous waste, fluorescent bulbs, gasoline, and recyclable electronics. Ramsey County has a new hazardous waste facility where residents can drop stuff off. It replaces the old hazardous waste collection facility, which was kind of hidden under a bridge, on Empire Street, just off of Jackson Street near downtown.
At the old facility, it wasn’t unusual to end up in a line of 3 to 12 cars and to have to wait in line for a short time to drop off waste. At the new facility in Roseville, there is a very long line and wait. I asked about it on my first visit and was told that there isn’t always a long line. On my second visit, several weeks later, there was a long line.
The facility is large and new and modern, but doesn’t appear to be designed to handle the demand. Perhaps it is already obsolete? Maybe in planning, the county did not anticipate the demand.
I try not to buy anything that I may later have to dispose of at the hazardous waste collection site, but some items like batteries and electronics are necessary. For information about disposing of hazardous waste in Ramsey County, just ask Google. I would include a link, but government agencies like to rearrange websites, leaving me with dead links.
There is often a long line at the yard waste drop-off sites. In fact, there have been a couple of times when I have had to turn around and head back home because I did not allow enough time to wait in line. The yard waste sites take fewer items, leaving us to figure out new ways to dispose of tree stumps and brush.
You can’t tell from the picture, but there are actually two lines that merge together near the building. The staff at the collection site are fast and courteous. I think whoever designed the system made a mistake that we will have to live with for a few decades.
I won’t even guess at how much environmental harm is caused by so many cars idling and waiting in lines day after day.
