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Cook County seeking out new, environmentally-friendly waste management plan

GRAND MARAIS, MN. (KBJR) — From Tesla to BMW, electric vehicles are becoming a popular choice for people looking to save money on fuel, and help the environment.

But it’s not just personal vehicles that are going electric.

Soon, electric garbage trucks could be coming to the North Shore.

Grand Marais is one of the most popular tourist destinations along Minnesota’s North Shore.

The small town only has a population in the thousands but sees hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.

That means a lot of trash.

To help improve solid waste management in Cook County, North Shore Waste is spearheading a new five-year initiative.

The first step of that plan is to build a brand new waste transfer station.

That transfer station would be solar-powered and equipped to host a fleet of electric garbage trucks, step two of the plan.

North Shore Waste co-owner Dustin Hanson said with the rising cost of fuel, his company can spend up to $1200 a day on diesel when they need to refuel.

He said not only would electric garbage trucks save money, but they would also create fewer carbon emissions.

“Being able to do things more environmentally conscious- you know on one side we have Lake Superior and on the other, we have the BWCA,” Hanson said. “People in Grand Marais are probably more environmentally conscious than in most places in the state.”

Hanson said the third step in this five-year plan would be to create a composting system for Cook County.

The project is in its beginning stages.

Hanson said architects and developers are working on the initial design process.

Once they have an estimated cost, they will begin seeking funds.

No word on exactly how much each truck could cost.

They did not say how many electric garbage trucks they hope to purchase in the future, but they did say they hope to have the new transfer station completed by 2024.

North Shore Waste has already purchased 11 acres directly across from the current transfer station, where they hope to build the new one.

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