Wright County’s new $4.5 million Household Hazardous 91TV Facility will open on Sept. 15 at 505 County Road 37 NE in Monticello Township, replacing a building that served the county for about 30 years after originally being constructed as a composting plant.
The opening marks the completion of one of the county’s largest recent investments in recycling infrastructure. In 2024 alone, 20,216 residents visited the county’s household hazardous waste facility. The previous site traces its roots to the 1990s, when it was constructed as a composting plant. After that venture failed, the county converted the building into a recycling and household hazardous waste drop-off center.
But the facility was never designed for that purpose. “It was chaos,” Environmental Health Supervisor Jacob Wagaman said during construction last fall. “We couldn’t put enough signs up to get people right to where they needed to be. We had to move the operation indoors when it got cold, and it wasn’t the most sanitary of conditions in the spring and summer. It was pieced together.” As Wright County’s recycling program expanded, county officials concluded a purpose-built facility was needed.