MINNEAPOLIMEDIA NEWS | Coon Rapids Recycling Center To Close Saturday For Memorial Day Weekend

COON RAPIDS, MN (May 22, 2026) As Memorial Day weekend approaches and households across the Twin Cities prepare for travel, cookouts, spring cleaning, and seasonal home projects, the City of Coon Rapids is reminding residents that the Coon Rapids Recycling Center will be closed all day on Saturday, May 23, 2026, in observance of the Memorial Day holiday.

Because the facility already operates under a regular Sunday and Monday closure schedule, the temporary holiday shutdown will extend through the long weekend before normal operations resume Tuesday, May 26, at 9 a.m.

For many residents across Anoka County, the closure represents more than a routine municipal scheduling notice. The Recycling Center has steadily evolved into one of the region’s most visible local sustainability hubs, functioning not simply as a disposal site, but as a broader community-centered environmental resource focused on waste reduction, reuse, recycling education, and landfill diversion.

Located at 1827 111th Avenue NW in Coon Rapids, the facility operates as a zero-waste recycling center open to all Anoka County residents. Unlike standard curbside recycling systems, the center accepts a wide range of specialty items and hard-to-recycle materials that often have limited disposal options elsewhere.

City officials encourage residents planning post-holiday cleanup projects to review accepted materials before arriving at the facility. According to the city’s official recycling guidance, visitors can consult the center’s extensive A-to-Z Recycling List to determine whether specific items qualify for drop-off.

Electronics, cardboard, scrap metal, appliances, Styrofoam packaging, household recyclables, organics, and numerous specialty materials are accepted at the site, though some items require preparation before arrival. Styrofoam food containers, for example, must be cleaned before being recycled, while traditional construction debris and standard household garbage are generally not accepted.

One of the facility’s most utilized programs is its Organics Recycling initiative, which allows residents to divert food waste from landfills through composting collection. The program accepts food scraps often excluded from backyard compost systems, including meat, bones, coffee grounds, spoiled leftovers, and other compostable organic material.

The Recycling Center has also developed several reuse-focused programs that reflect broader statewide and national efforts to reduce unnecessary consumer waste.

Its Reuse Room operates as a small-scale circular economy exchange where residents can leave behind usable household materials and pick up items free of charge. Paint, packing materials, games, home supplies, and miscellaneous reusable goods routinely cycle through the space, giving otherwise discarded items a second life.

Nearby, the facility’s increasingly popular Odds and Ends Trailer addresses another modern recycling challenge: flexible and difficult-to-process packaging waste. The collection station accepts items such as candy wrappers, toothpaste tubes, condiment packets, coffee pods, snack packaging, and other materials typically excluded from traditional municipal recycling programs.

The center also serves as a recurring community engagement site throughout the year. City and county sustainability programming periodically brings residents together through bulk paper shredding events, repair clinics, swap events, environmental education classes, and volunteer opportunities ranging from administrative support to hands-on yard assistance.

Despite the community-oriented atmosphere, city officials stress that the facility operates under strict safety and operational rules designed to manage heavy traffic flow and industrial equipment movement safely.

The Recycling Center functions as a fully self-service operation. Staff members wearing high-visibility green apparel are available to direct traffic, answer questions, explain disposal procedures, and process payments, but they are unable to physically assist residents with unloading vehicles. Visitors transporting large or heavy items are encouraged to bring additional help.

Because heavy machinery regularly operates on-site and vehicle congestion can increase during peak periods, visitors are required to park only in designated areas and follow all staff instructions while moving through the facility.

Most recyclable materials can be dropped off free of charge, though disposal fees apply to certain items, particularly appliances and electronics. Residents recycling electronics must first weigh or measure the items before placing them into designated trailers. Payment forms located inside the trailers must then be completed and submitted to on-site staff.

The facility accepts cash, checks, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, and most major credit cards, though American Express is not accepted.

City officials also emphasize that the center is not a public trash disposal facility. Materials not accepted for recycling must be removed from the property by the visitor. Public garbage bins are not available on-site.

To discourage illegal dumping and theft of recyclable materials, the entire property is monitored through continuous video surveillance. According to city guidance, scavenging, dumping, and failure to pay required recycling fees may result in prosecution.

Outside of holiday-related closures, the Recycling Center currently operates under its spring and summer seasonal schedule from April through September:

• Tuesday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Wednesday: 1 p.m. to 7 p.m.
• Thursday through Saturday: 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
• Sunday and Monday: Closed

Additional information regarding accepted materials, disposal fees, recycling preparation requirements, organics recycling, volunteer opportunities, and upcoming recycling events is available through the city’s official recycling webpage.

For more information, visit the official Coon Rapids Recycling Center webpage.

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