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Road sand collection begins at designated sites March 24

[DULUTH, MN] The City of Duluth will again place road sand collection sites in various locations, beginning Monday, March 24. As residents begin spring clean-up activities, the collection sites serve as a place for the disposal of road sand, salt, and other by-products of winter maintenance. Picking up the sand and salt left in the boulevards, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters helps to keep area streams clean and water quality at a high level. In the past, Duluthians utilized these sites to save an average of 15 tons of sand and winter maintenance material from entering the City’s stormwater system, thereby keeping that material from contaminating area lakes, rivers, and streams.

Large roll-off dumpsters labeled “Road Sand Collection Site” are placed in five disposal locations throughout the city. The five disposal locations, which are similar to locations used previously, are:

-Wheeler Field

-Piedmont Community Center

-Duluth Heights Community Center

-Chester Park

-Portman Community Center

The disposal dumpsters will be available for residents to use from March 24 until mid-April.

Street sweepers collect road sand from the streets as quickly as possible in the spring, but any additional clean-up help is greatly appreciated and helps keep streams clean, eco-systems healthy, and the water supply safe. City of Duluth street sweepers collect an average of 6,000 tons of road sand from city streets annually.

Additionally, residents may help mitigate water pollution by choosing to adopt a storm drain The Adopt-a-drain program encourages residents to clean up around their adopted storm drain and report on their clean-up activities at regular intervals. Participants will receive instructions on how to adopt a drain near them, get to choose and name their storm drain, and receive a welcome packet with a small yard sign showing their participation. Residents can sign up at https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/

Please do not sweep or rake road sand or other debris or materials into the streets or ditches. Road sand collection dumpsters are monitored for illegal dumping. Please dispose of any brush and yard waste at the WLSSD yard waste site.

Stormwater catch basins lead directly to area streams, St. Louis River, and Lake Superior, not to the wastewater treatment plant. Please do not dump anything into them. Contact the City of Duluth at (218) 730-4130 during business hours or (218) 730-4100 on evenings and weekends to report any illegal discharge or dumping.

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