Otter Tail County approves carts for curbside recycling expansion

Otter Tail County approved the purchase of 6,192 recycling carts for its northeast quadrant, a move that will put curbside single-sort recycling in place for residents in Ottertail, New York Mills and selected lakefront properties. The carts are set to arrive in summer 2026, and the purchase will be paid for with Minnesota Pollution Control Agency grant funding at no cost to residents.

Haulers must begin providing single-sort service in January 2027 for households in the designated service area. The northeast rollout is part of a phased countywide transition to single-sort recycling that will take several years, with service concentrated first in the most densely populated areas where curbside collection is most cost-effective.

The northeast service map includes lake properties on waters such as Big McDonald, Big Pine, Otter Tail, Rush and Walker, along with other listed lakes. Current source-separated drop-off sites will remain open countywide, and Fergus Falls and Perham already have municipal single-sort programs in place.

The cart purchase follows the county’s southeast quadrant pilot, which began in January 2026 and covers Battle Lake, Henning, Parkers Prairie and lakefront property owners on several named lakes. Roughly 3,000 recycling carts had already been distributed in that pilot, which is gathering data and resident feedback before more areas are added.

The county is working toward zero landfilling. Expanding curbside single-sort recycling is expected to increase participation and recycling volume while reducing landfill disposal, a shift that depends on standardized carts, regular pickup and enough density to make collection efficient.

On April 12, 2024, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency awarded Otter Tail County Solid Waste a $250,000 grant for a $476,080 project to buy 3,000 household recycling carts for single-sort recycling, part of the agency’s Greater Minnesota grant program.