Compost Facility Near Good Thunder Running Again After Approval From County Board

A compost facility near Good Thunder is back up and running again after the Blue Earth County Board of Commissioners gave unanimous approval for it to resume operations.

MFS Compost was first approved in 2012 to recycle organic food waste into compost.  While the facility struggled with odor issues and an uncertain market for the finished product, Commissioners and the operators’ said lessons learned, a variety of changes at the facility and new requirements should ensure further operations.

A key change is that the facility will now be under a Solid Waste License that requires and annual review by the County.

The facility is owned by Gary, Kevin and David Fitzsimmons and managed by Max Milinkovich.

Since the facility was first permitted, the County has updated its ordinances regarding composting, something Commissioners said gives the county more ability to address any problems at the compost site quickly.

The former facility was plagued by complaints by neighbors about odor.  The facility hasn’t accepted food waste since June of 2019 but has continued to process piles of compost that were on the site.

The compost facility and county staff worked on a variety of changes and new requirements to try and limit problems in the future.

The compost facility is now working with Ag Solutions of Mapleton and Diamond T Ag Corporation, of Wisconsin, to create and sell a finished product called Living Carbon.  Living Carbon is a natural soil amendment that is typically sold for use on farmland.