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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
City of Duluth Communications Office
411 West First Street • Duluth, Minnesota 55802 • www.duluthmn.gov
For more information, please call 218-730-5309
DATE: 4/20/2026
SUBJECT: City of Duluth announces annual road sand collection sites
BY: Kelli Latuska, Public Information Officer

City of Duluth announces annual road sand collection sites

 

 

[DULUTH, MN] The City of Duluth will place road sand collection sites in various locations to serve as a place for residents to dispose of collected road salt, sand, and other winter maintenance by-products as they do their spring cleaning. Picking up the sand and salt left in the boulevards, sidewalks, curbs, and gutters help to keep our area streams and waterways clean and our water quality high. In past years, Duluthians have averaged a whopping 15 tons annually of road sand dropped off at collection sites.

 

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

 

  • Wheeler Field
  • Piedmont Community Center
  • Duluth Heights Community Center
  • Chester Park
  • Portman Park

 

The disposal dumpsters will be available for use starting April 27,, 2026 and will be available for three weeks.

 

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 our streams clean, our eco-systems healthy, and our water safe. City of Duluth street sweepers collect an average of 6,000 tons of road sand from city streets annually.

 

Additionally, through the Adopt-a-Drain program, residents may choose to adopt a storm drain near them, and report on their clean-up activities. Participants will receive instructions on how to adopt a drain near them, choose a name for their storm drain, and receive a welcome packet with a small yard sign showing their participation. There are now almost 550 drains adopted in the City of Duluth. Residents can sign up at https://mn.adopt-a-drain.org/

 

Residents should not sweep or rake road sand or other materials into the street or ditches. These sites are also monitored for illegal dumping. Please dispose of any brush and yard waste at the Resource Renew yard waste site.

 

Stormwater catch basins lead directly to our streams, rivers, 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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