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.
