Red Wing’s incinerator on the chopping block

It seemed like a good idea at the time, 28 years ago, but residents in Red Wing may no longer be able to afford their recycling/garbage-burning operation.

Ground Level reporter Nancy Lebens explores how the financial pressures affecting all Minnesota cities these days have the city trying to figure out how to stop losing $500,000 a year on its incinerator. The on-air version of the story was on Morning Edition today.

You could tell during council discussions the past few months that Red Wing officials are reluctant to give it up. They've been encouraging residents to recycle for years, and the steam heat from the incinerator has been used by a local company.

But the facility needs more garbage and more steam customers to break even, so it joins the list of municipal activities under pressure -- from police patrolling to street maintenance to streetlighting -- as residents figure out what they want to do for themselves.

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