Public Input Sought on Zero Waste Draft Plan

In June of 2015 the Minneapolis City Council established a goal to recycle and compost 50% of its citywide waste by 2020 and 80% by 2030. The resolution also called for zero-percent growth in the City’s total waste stream from levels set in 2010. In 2015 the city of Minneapolis formed the Zero Waste Policy Work Group to develop a plan to meet those goals and set new ones. The city is has begun the drafting of a zero-waste plan and will host a series of engagement sessions for residents and business representatives.

 The draft plan can downloaded here: https://www.scribd.com/document/358292142/Zero-Waste-Draft-Plan

 Resident/Community Meetings

 6-8 p.m. Sept. 11, Minneapolis Urban League, 2100 Plymouth Ave. N.

 6-8 p.m. Sept. 14, Matthews Park, 2318 29th Ave. S.

 6-8 p.m., Sept. 18, City Church, 1501 W. 54th St.

 6-8 p.m. Sept. 21, Sabathani Community Center, 310 E. 38th St.

 Session for Haulers/Business Community

1:30-3:30 p.m., Sept. 19, CR Currie Conf Ctr 135 PW (100), 1220 Currie Ave. North

 For those residents unable to attend one of the above sessions, an online survey is available. Please share your thoughts by completing the survey.

First Full Year of Organics Recycling Data Released

More than 45,000 households have signed up to participate in the City’s organics recycling program. The City collects food scraps, coffee grounds, meat trimmings, paper towels and many other items weekly from households for composting. In the first full year since organics recycling rolled out citywide, participating residents – almost 43 percent of Solid Waste and Recycling customers – diverted almost 4,000 tons of organics from the trash for composting. That’s 175 pounds of organics per household.

And it’s pretty clean; less than 1 percent of what residents are placing in carts is not acceptable material. The most common contaminants were plastic-lined paper products. This includes decorative paper plates, boxes from frozen pizza and other frozen foods, take and bake pizza trays, paper ice cream tubs, milk cartons, non-compostable to-go containers and coffee cups, Chinese food containers, butcher paper and butter wraps.

Customers who participate in organics recycling allow organic material to be put to a better use through composting. Solid Waste & Recycling customers who have not signed up to participate in the program may do so at any time by visiting www.minneapolismn.gov/organics. There is no extra cost, but they have to sign up. Residents who participate in the program may be able to reduce the size of their garbage carts and save money on their City of Minneapolis utility bills.

Organics recycling includes:

• All food scraps including fruits, vegetables, bones, meat, breads, pasta, nut shells, eggshells and dairy products.

• Non-recyclable and food-soiled paper products including paper towels, napkins, facial tissues, egg cartons and pizza boxes.

• Certified compostable paper cups, plates, bowls, utensils, bags and takeout containers.

• Other compostable items including coffee grounds; tea bags; wood chopsticks, Popsicle sticks and toothpicks; hair; and houseplant trimmings.

Organics recycling does not include yard waste; pet waste, litter or bedding; milk cartons; ice cream tubs; Chinese food containers; dryer lint; dryer sheets; diapers; sanitary products; cleaning or baby wipes; grease; oil; Styrofoam; foil-lined products; non-certified compostable bags and food service items; or products labeled “biodegradable.”

Find more information at www.minneapolismn.gov/organics.

City Recycling Guides & 2016 Recycling Results

City of Minneapolis recycling customers should watch their mailboxes for City Solid Waste & Recycling services guides arriving soon. The guides include information on all City Solid Waste and Recycling services from recycling and organics to large items such as mattresses, furniture and TVs. They even include information on how to get rid of excess household garbage and construction and demolition debris at the City’s transfer station, how to dispose of hazardous waste and resources to reduce waste. The guide also lists what customers can and can’t recycle through the City’s Solid Waste and Recycling service, and it shows all their recycling pickup dates through March 2018. Customers can sign up at www.minneapolismn.gov/solid-waste to get email reminders before every recycling day.

2016 recycling results

In 2016, Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling customers recycled 500 tons more of paper products and plastic, glass and metal food and beverage containers than in 2015. The 29,500 tons of recyclables collected in 2016 were sorted by material in Minneapolis and sold to make new products. Customers should remember that many items – such as plastic bags and clothing – that cannot be placed in their recycling carts can still be recycled through drop-off sites. Check the City’s “what to do” list if you don’t know how to dispose of something.

By the end of 2016, 40 percent of eligible customers had signed up for the organics recycling program, which finished rolling out citywide in June. Throughout the year participating residents diverted more than 3,300 tons of compostable materials including food scraps, food-soiled paper items including paper towels, napkins, pizza boxes and egg cartons and other compostable items.

Customers who have not yet signed up may do so by visiting www.minneapolismn.gov/organics or by calling 311. There’s no extra cost to have organics picked up every week. By participating in organics recycling, customers may be able to reduce the number or size of their garbage cart(s) which saves money on their City of Minneapolis utility bills.

For more information about recycling in Minneapolis, visit www.minneapolismn.gov/recycling.

Organics Recycling Training Session: October 13

Come to a training session on Thursday, October 13, 6 - 8 p.m. at Windom Park, 2251 Hayes Street NE to get your organics recycling questions answered with hands-on learning, demonstrations and tips that make organics recycling easier in your home. Learn what happens to organics once they are collected. Pick up a yard sign to promote the organics recycling program. Organics collection containers will be distributed to attendees while supplies last. 

Contact Laura Horner at 612-673-3318 or laura.horner@minneapolismn.gov with questions. Click HERE to RSVP.

Organics Recycling Training Sessions

Do you like the idea of organics recycling but you don’t know how to do it? The City is offering two organics recycling training sessions in the fall. Get your questions answered with hands-on learning, demonstrations and tips that make organics recycling easy in your home. Learn what happens to organics once they are collected. Pick up a yard sign to promote the organics recycling program on your block. Hear about the City’s new Recycling Block Leader program and how you can sign up to be the leader on your block.

Come to either session:

6-8 p.m., Tuesday, Sept. 27
Longfellow Recreation Center, 3435 36th Ave. S.

6-8p.m., Thursday, Oct. 13
Windom Northeast Recreation Center, 2251 Hayes St. NE

RSVPs are encouraged.

Help Minneapolis Prevent Recycling Theft

Recycling theft, also known as "scrapping" or "scavenging" is the unauthorized collection of recyclable materials set out by residents for authorized collection programs with the City. City of Minneapolis Ordinance 244.355(c) states that it is against the law. Although you may feel this is a harmless crime, scavenging gives individuals an opportunity to survey what items you have in your alley, garage and home and takes revenue from the City that could have helped keep your solid waste fees lower.

You can discourage scrappers and scavengers by not putting your recyclables out until the day of pickup and encouraging your neighbors to do the same. Call 911 if you see scrappers and scavengers taking items.

Order a Compost Bin or Rain Barrel

Get a jump-start on gardening by ordering a $59 compost bin or a $74 rain barrel for your home. (These regularly cost $105 and $139.)

By using a compost bin, you can keep more than a quarter of your household waste out of the garbage while making valuable compost for your garden.

A rain barrel will help you save water and money by using rainwater rather than the faucet for your garden and trees. Rain barrels are also a way of trapping the stormwater that runs toward the storm drains – picking up pollutants along the way – and into our lakes, streams and rivers.

Order now and you’ll be able to pick up your compost bin or rain barrel at 3607 E. 44th St. in Minneapolis Saturday, April 30. To place your order, find more information or see other dates and locations, go to www.recycleminnesota.org.

Zero Waste Forum Recap: Recycling as An Economic Development Tool

 (Above: CM Reich, panelists & forum attendees at Northeast Library).

Last month Council Member Reich and Eureka Recycling co-hosted a forum that gathered panelists from a variety of disciplines to talk about how recycling can function as a job creator and economic development tool. The forum brought together a diverse group of organizations to share their unique viewpoints on the topic.

Panelists included representatives from: the University of Minnesota's Northstar Initiative for Sustainable Enterprise; Eastside Food Co-op; Momentum; Second Chance Recycling; and Better Futures Enterprises. Each panelist offered a unique glimpse into a specific aspect of the larger picture of our waste stream and the imaginative reuses that have been and continue to be developed to reduce it. They also talked about the social, economic and environmental costs of waste and opportunities for economic benefit from recycling.

Click HERE for a brief recap of the discussion.

Organics Recycling Goes Citywide

The City of Minneapolis’ organics recycling program is about to go citywide. Right now, the City collects food scraps, coffee grounds, meat trimmings, eggshells and many other items from about 12,000 residences for composting. Starting this spring, the rest of the city will be able to recycle organics too. Residents living in the second phase areas of this program will need to sign up by Feb. 1 to get their recycling carts during the spring rollout.

The City already has more than 19,000 organics carts to deliver for the next phase of organics recycling and will put together a residential delivery list this winter. To get on that list, residents must sign up by Feb. 1. Those who sign up after that date will get their carts in the summer. (Residents in the first phase rollout area who aren’t already in the organics recycling program can sign up now to receive a cart within a couple weeks.)

About 34,000 households have signed up to participate in the organics recycling program. To be part of the program, call 612-673-2917 between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, or email SWRcustomer@minneapolismn.gov. There is no additional cost to participate.

Organics recycling includes:

• All food scraps including fruits, vegetables, bones, meat, breads, pasta, nut shells, eggshells and dairy products.
  
• Non-recyclable and food-soiled paper products including paper towels, napkins, facial tissues, waxed paper, egg cartons and pizza boxes.
  
• Certified compostable paper cups, plates, bowls, utensils, bags and takeout containers.
  
• Other compostable items including coffee grounds; tea bags; wood chopsticks, Popsicle sticks and toothpicks; hair; and houseplant trimmings.

Do not include: yard waste, pet waste litter or bedding, milk cartons, ice cream tubs, Chinese food containers, dryer lint, dryer sheets, diapers and sanitary products, cleaning and baby wipes, grease, oil, Styrofoam, foil-lined products, non-certified compostable bags and food service items, or products labeled “biodegradable.”

Find more information at www.minneapolismn.gov/organics.

Unwanted Paint Disposal

If you have unwanted paint, know the right way of disposing it. Oil-based paint is considered a hazardous material and can’t go in the regular trash. Latex paint is non-hazardous and if dried can be placed in a residential garbage cart.

Hennepin County residents can bring all paint and paint-related materials to a Hennepin County facility for no charge, and now there are more options too.

PaintCare provides many locations in and around Minneapolis where you can drop off cans of unwanted paint. To find the location nearest you, just put in your zip code at www.paintcare.org/drop-off-locations. To find out exactly what you can drop off and get tips for using up old paint, visit here.

One-Sort Recycling: Year in Review

David Herberholz, Director of Solid Waste and Recycling (SW&R), offered a review report on the One-Sort initiative to the Transportation & Public Works Committee this past October. As you will recall, the roll-out of the program was completed mid-June of 2013.

In its first year, the recycled component of our total waste has increased to 25%. At the same time, the simplified system has enabled SW&R to reduce its routes by half, saving in energy costs. Workman’s compensation claims have also been reduced over 62% due to automation of pick-up. Check out the Powerpoint report http://www.minneapolismn.gov/www/groups/public/@clerk/documents/webcontent/wcms1p-132719.pdf . The map below allows you to see how your neighborhood is doing.

Recycling in Minneapolis Parks

Minneapolis residents will recognize new garbage and one-sort recycling carts in Minneapolis parks as the same ones they use at home. Minneapolis neighborhood parks are now part of the City of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling program.

Recycling in the parks is now an easier choice, because each garbage cart will be paired with a recycling cart. The one-sort carts collect glass, plastic, paper, aluminum and cardboard into one container. Remember – no plastic bags, trash, clothes, items that have food or wax on them, Styrofoam or other kinds of plastic foam.

For more information on what you can recycle in Minneapolis, click here.

Organics Recycling Comes to the Eastside

The City of Minneapolis Public Works Department, in partnership with the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, Audubon Neighborhood Association and Southeast Como Improvement Association, has opened residential organics drop-off locations at Audubon Park, 1320 29th Ave NE, and Van Cleve Park, 901 15th Ave SE.

Residential organics include all food waste, food-soiled and non-recyclable paper, and other compostable materials such as coffee grounds, filters, cotton swabs, dryer lint and popsicle sticks. Yard waste and pet waste are not accepted. Residents must drop off their organic materials in a compostable bag (either paper or certified compostable plastic). Larger items such as pizza boxes and wax-coated boxes do not need to be bagged.

The drop-offs will be open to all Minneapolis residents at no cost. For the first two months, the drop-offs will be open Tuesdays, 4 – 7 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. During these first two months, volunteers will be on hand to answer questions and gather some participant information from residents. Some information gathered will include the participant’s neighborhood, the number of dwelling units in the home of the participant, if he/she rents or owns their home, etc. Following the volunteer-staffed time period, participants will be given the code to the locks on the organics carts to use the drop-off at their own convenience.

The purpose of these organics drop-offs is to engage and educate as many residents as possible on what organics recycling is and how to participate prior to implementing a city-wide program. Information gathered from the drop-offs will be used to develop an effective educational plan for the implementation of a city-wide organics program. Information about the drop-offs can be found on Solid Waste & Recycling’s organics recycling webpage: www.minneapolismn.gov/organics.

Hennepin County Business Recycling Grants Grants

Hennepin County provides funds for businesses, non-profit organizations and institutions to start or improve programs to divert recyclables and organics (food and non-recyclable paper) from the trash.

The grant program is open to for-profit and non-profit businesses, organizations and institutions, as well as multifamily housing, located in Hennepin County. Option 1 is available anytime, with accelerated approvals, and offers up to $10,000 toward containers, equipment purchase and installation, hauling service charges and improvements to loading docks and waste enclosures. No match is required and grantees are given a 12-month term to complete their project. Option 2 is available spring and fall, through a competitive selection process, for large or innovative projects. This option offers up to $50,000 and requires matching funds of at least 25% of total project costs.

For further information about these two grant programs, call 612-543-1316 or visit www.hennepin.us/businessrecycling.

One-Sort Recycling Rollout Update

One-sort recycling bin distribution resumed on April 22 and will be complete by June 7. You will receive a letter with instructions in the mail one week prior to receiving your new bin. When you get notice that you will be receiving your new cart, you may either leave the old bin out to be recycled or keep it for your personal use. If the old bin is left at your recycling pick-up point, crews will recycle it. If you would like more information about when you’ll receive your new cart, please contact the Ward One office.

One-Sort Recycling Rollout Update

The second phase of the One-Sort recycling rollout will commence late April this year. Customers who did not receive a new blue, one-sort recycling cart last fall, will receive one this spring and will receive letters in the mail with instructions about a week before the cart arrives. These customers will stay on the same schedule and keep the same recycling day as before. When they get the new cart, customers may choose to either leave their old bins out to be recycled or keep them for other uses such as garage storage. If you choose to keep your old bin, do not leave it outside near your pick-up location after you receive notice of the new cart to ensure that it’s not picked up. Tip: if you find, after trying out your new cart, that it’s too large for your needs, you may request a smaller cart by calling 612-673-2917. Last year, Minneapolis expanded the types of plastics and paper it collects. Recycling customers can now include plastics numbers 1 through 7, which includes yogurt, pudding and fruit cups; disposable cups and bowls; margarine, cottage cheese and other containers; and produce, deli and takeout containers. New paper items accepted include milk cartons, juice boxes, and soup, broth and wine cartons. For more information, visit www.minneapolismn.gov/onesort.

Proposed City-County Environmental Facility Update

The City of Minneapolis now has a web page for information related specifically to the proposed City-County Environmental Facility at 340 27th Ave NE. The web page contains an overview of the proposal, site map and Frequently Asked Questions. Other information, such as the traffic study, environmental test results, etc., will be posted as it becomes available. To check out the web page, go to http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/solid-waste/solid-waste_city-county

City staff will present the results of their traffic study of the Lowry and University Avenue area at the Holland Neighborhood Improvement Association (HNIA) general meeting on Thursday, October 14, 7 p.m. The meeting will be held at the Firefighters’ Hall & Museum, 664 22nd Ave NE.

Recycling News

Many of us are trying to cut back on paper bag use by taking our own bags to the grocery store. If you find that that practice leaves you short of paper bags for separating your recycling, the City of Minneapolis has an alternative for you. You may use wastebaskets, pails or corrugated boxes for separated paper, plastic or cans. These alternative containers should be 10 gallons or less and there must be a city recycling sticker on at least one side of the container.

The Ward One office has a supply of recycling stickers, so if you need some, just give us a call at 612-673-2201. We would be happy to mail or drop them off for you.

Proposed Minneapolis-Hennepin Environmental Center

Since 2005, representatives from the City of Minneapolis and Hennepin County have been discussing the potential of the City and County partnering on a household hazardous waste facility in the City of Minneapolis. Currently Hennepin County operates facilities in Bloomington and Brooklyn Park.

However, participation data collected by Hennepin County has shown that only approximately 5% of Minneapolis residents utilize these facilities on a regular basis. Both the City and the County felt that more convenient access would increase participation by Minneapolis residents, to reduce the amount of improperly disposed of waste ending up in the river, ground and air.

In June 2010, the City began the process of evaluating the environmental and public purpose of the property at 340 27th Ave NE as a potential location for a Minneapolis-Hennepin Environmental Center. The evaluation includes environmental investigations and a traffic study to analyze traffic flow in the area.

There have been three public information meetings about this proposed site over the summer. Upcoming meetings will review the traffic study. In addition, the City of Minneapolis is in the process of developing a website so that the public may be further informed about the proposed site, environmental study, traffic study and details about further public meetings. For information about upcoming meetings, the traffic study and/or the website, please feel free to contact the Ward 1 office.

East Side Thrift Store

Thrift stores offer a great way to practice the mantra of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The East Side Thrift Store, located at 1928 Central Ave NE, is a non-profit operation run by East Side Neighborhood Services. The store offers clothing for all ages, accessories, jewelry, housewares, antiques, collectibles, books and much more. For further information, check out the website at www.esns.org.