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RESOURCES

 FACILITY TOURS

 Picture Tour of OWEF

Group tours of the Olmsted County Solid Waste Facilities are available. 

Call 507-328-7070 to schedule.

Find out how the Olmsted Waste-to-Energy Facility uses renewable biomass fuel (garbage) to produce energy for 36 buildings. Visits to the Olmsted County Recycling Center, Hazardous Waste Facility and compost site can be included for tours scheduled during normal business hours. Group tours typically take about an hour and must comply with the tour guidelines.

GUIDELINES FOR SOLID WASTE FACILITY TOURS

  • Minimum group size must be eight people or larger, if your group is smaller, please ask for a combined tour.

  • Tours are available Monday through Friday 8:00am - 4:30pm by appointment.  Call 328-7070.

  • Casual attire is recommended. Slacks are recommended for ladies.  Some of the processes involved are less than fragrant, so plan accordingly. 
  • Sturdy shoes are recommended in all of our facilities, and high heels are not allowed in the waste-to-energy facility. 
  • All safety rules must be complied with at all times. Since these rules are site specific, they will be explained by the tour guide at the beginning of the tour. This may involve the wearing of hardhats and/or safety glasses. 
  • Although the waste-to-energy facility is handicapped accessible, climbing of open grated stairs to some heights is involved. Please ensure that members of the group are aware of these conditions and plan accordingly when scheduling the tour. 
  • Children must be in first grade or older, this includes siblings.  Chaperones must be provided by the participant in order to provide one adult for every five children under age 10, and/or one adult for every 10 children over age 10. 
  • It is the responsibility of the chaperones to ensure responsible, safe behavior of all tour group members. 
  • No more than 25 people (including chaperones) can normally be accommodated for any single tour. It is possible through special arrangement, to accommodate larger groups. However, this service can only be provided when additional tour guides are available.

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