Bemidji Waste Transfer Station Starts $5 Million Renovation Project

The Bemidji Waste Transfer Station has officially kicked off a $5 million renovation project that’s designed to make life a little easier for everyone who’s getting rid of their garbage.

First, there’s a new By-Pass lane that’s specifically designed to make trash disposal and sorting recyclable faster. There have also been new compactor units added, as well as some new pavement, a new scale and a few new editions to the Tipping floor. There will also be new signage to keep everything organized. Officials say the renovations were much needed and should last for at least twenty years.

Brian Olson, the solid waste manager, says, “Our transfer station not only was getting too small just because of the demographics – Bemidji’s growing and Beltrami County’s growing – but also, we just needed to put some money into it to improve the infrastructure. We had, you know, there’s holes in the wall. The foundation was needing some repairs, so all of this is take care of that and to gain some life expectancy.”

Right now, only the By-Pass lane at the Transfer Center is open, but the other lanes will re-open Friday. The full renovation project is expected to be complete by July 27th.