Residents accustomed to dropping recyclables in Crow Wing Township will need to adjust to a new routine following the collection site’s closure last week.

The change comes with the new year as the county’s updated recycling policy went into effect, reducing available funding for two of four remaining recycling locations and focusing spending on a single contracted hauler to the two larger drop-off areas — the Crow Wing County Landfill and the Ideal Transfer Station. The city of Nisswa elected to continue providing its recycling site while sharing half the cost with the county, but the increased expense and logistical challenges led Crow Wing Township officials to pull the plug.

Township Supervisor Doug Kern said Tuesday, Jan. 5, they’ve heard from a number of residents upset by the change, particularly those in southwestern Crow Wing County for whom the landfill site is significantly farther away. He said the decision to discontinue stemmed from the new expense for hosting the site coupled with long-standing difficulties with staffing and misuse.

“It just wasn’t feasible for us to keep it going,” Kern said. “ … It’s nice that we still have a recycling program in Crow Wing County, but it just is more inconvenient for people to take their stuff to the areas that are open.”