Organics recycling resources for businesses and organizations

Implementing organics recycling programs allows businesses, organizations and schools to expand their recycling programs, ease their burden on the environment, reduce taxes waste disposal, and show customers that they care about the community.

Businesses, organizations and schools have three main options for recycling organic waste:

Organics recycling for composting: food waste, unlined paper and certified compostable foodservice ware is recycled into compost, a valuable soil amendment
Food to people: edible food is donated to organizations that help people in need
Food to animals: food scraps are processed into feed for livestock

Plan your new program with our guide on how to start organics recycling at work (DOCX).

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Food waste recycling requirements for businesses

Certain businesses (see the list of covered sectors below) that generate one ton of trash per week or contract for eight cubic yards or more of trash per week must have food waste recycling in place. Food waste recycling requirements apply to businesses (including commercial businesses, nonprofits and public entities) in the following sectors:

Restaurants
Grocery stores
Food wholesalers, distributors and manufacturers
Hotels
Hospitals
Sports venues
Event centers
Caterers
Nursing and residential care facilities
Office buildings with dining services
Farmers markets
Food shelves and food banks
Colleges and universities with dining services
Shopping centers
Airports
Golf clubs and country clubs
Rental kitchens or shared use commercial kitchens

The food waste recycling compliance for businesses page provides information about requirements, how to properly use and label bins, inspections and enforcement, and additional resources.

Food to people

Donate unserved, prepared food to hunger-relief agencies in our community.

How to get started

Second Harvest Heartland offers MealConnect, an innovative online platform that gives caterers, special event centers, restaurants, corporate cafeterias and other commercial food preparers a convenient, free and safe way to donate food. Donations are collected directly by the receiving organization or delivered by a trained volunteer. Learn more from Second Harvest and check out the MealConnect platform.

Why donate?

In the United States, as much as 40 percent of food produced for people to eat is wasted along the food chain. Grocery stores, restaurants and institutions are responsible for about 40 percent of this waste. Meanwhile, 11 percent of Minnesotans don’t have a steady supply of food to their tables. Donating surplus prepared food helps local hunger-relief agencies serve those in need.

Donating food also helps the environment by preventing waste. Wasted food is the most prevalent material in the trash by far, representing about 20 percent of the trash by weight. When food is wasted, the water, energy, fertilizer and cropland that went into producing the food is wasted, too.

You are protected from liability

Food donors are protected by the Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Act. Organizations that donate food in good faith to a nonprofit for distribution to needy individuals are not subject to liability that arises from the condition of the food.

Save money on your taxes

The federal tax code allows eligible businesses to receive a deduction for donated food. Contact your tax professional to determine its application to your business.

Resources

How to prepare safe food donations poster

Food rescue in Hennepin County

Hennepin County conducted research in 2022 to understand the food rescue system in the county. This research included interviews, focus groups, and surveys with organizations involved in the food rescue system and community members who have experienced food insecurity.

Goals were to identify gaps and opportunities to divert more food to people that would otherwise go to waste and increase the food rescue system’s responsiveness to community needs for both highly nutritious and culturally significant food.

Read about the key learnings and recommendations in the food rescue in Hennepin County report (PDF).

Food to animals

Food that is no longer safe for people to eat can still find a use. By contracting with a farmer or recycler, your food waste will be hauled away and processed into animal feed.

Accepted items at food-to-animals organics recycling programs

Food prep waste
Plate waste
Unpackaged spoiled or outdated food
Unpackaged frozen food

Food-to-livestock

Local farms collect your food scraps on-site. Before being fed to livestock, food scraps are cooked and processed to eliminate harmful bacteria.

For collection ease, the farms provide businesses with lined plastic carts on wheels that they wash out and re-line after pick-up. Pick-up is offered up to six times a week.

The following farms provide food-to-livestock programs:

Barthold Recycling

Second Harvest Farms (North)

Isanti, MN
763-434-9044

No Rest Ranch

Cambridge, MN
763-689-4615

Information about materials

Accepted

Unpackaged produce
Meat or meat fat trimmings
Prep food trimmings, food scraps, cooled grease or cooking oil
Unpackaged dairy products (meat, cheese, eggs, eggshells, etc.)
Unpackaged spoiled or dated food
Fish or fish by-products (shells, peels)
Unpackaged frozen foods

Not accepted

Non-edible products, such as coffee grounds, plastic, paper, and cardboard

Plan your new program with our guide to starting organics recycling at work (DOCX).

Share information with your employees using this article on food-to-animals (DOCX)

Food-to-animal feed manufacturing

ReConserve Inc.

ReConserve collects and processes bakery goods and food by-products to produce nutritious livestock feed ingredients. Collected food waste is delivered to a manufacturing plant in Rosemount, Minnesota where it is processed into various feed products and then sold and shipped to livestock producers.

ReConserve supplies on-site collection equipment and services their customers with company-owned trucks 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Contact Rick Cook at 651-438-7618 or by email at rcook@reconserve.com.

Organics recycling for composting

In an organics composting program, all food scraps, unlined paper, and certified compostable products are placed in a single container. A hauler picks up the waste and delivers it to a composting facility. After six to nine months, the material has been recycled into compost that is put to good use in landscaping and road construction projects.

Finished compost is an organic-rich soil amendment that is used to improve soils, prevent soil erosion and runoff, and capture carbon dioxide for climate protection.

Plan your new program with our guide on how to start organics recycling at work (DOCX).
Share information with your employees using this article on organics recycling for composting (DOCX)

Materials accepted

Acceptable materials are all food products (fruit, vegetables, meat, dairy), unlined food-soiled paper (napkins, paper towels and egg cartons), other compostable items like coffee grounds and toothpicks, and certified compostable foodware (paper and plastic cups, bowls, utensils). These materials are often collected in a certified compostable bag.

Due to concerns about levels of contamination - or materials that don't belong in the organics recycling - that compost facilities receive, possible changes are being considered to organics recycling programs.

Compostable bags and foodservice ware

As part of your organics recycling program, you may be interested in using disposable foodservice ware that is compostable or collecting organic waste in compostable plastic bags. If you are using these items, you will want to make sure that the materials are certified as compostable.

Find a local vendor of compostable products (PDF).

Certification for compostable plastics

Look for the label

The Biodegradable Products Institute (BPI) is the North American certifying body for compostable plastics. Look for the BPI logo on the products you purchase. You can also check to see whether a product meets the BPI standards for compostability at www.bpiworld.org.

Ask questions

When purchasing products, be sure to ask if what you are buying is certified compostable. Don’t be fooled by products marketed as “degradable”, “biodegradable”, or “made from plants”. Also, some companies that offer BPI certified products may also offer non-compostable products that look similar. Be sure to check to ensure you are buying what you intend to buy!

Commercial organics for composting haulers

The following haulers collect organics for composting in Hennepin County. This list was last updated December 2017.

Aspen Waste Systems

Tom Heuer
612-884-8000

Dick's Sanitation

Jeff Weast
612-849-8875
jweast@dickssanitation.com

LePage & Sons

763-757-7100

Randy's Environmental Services

Dave Hepfl
763-972-4123

Republic Services

Ray Donnelly
952-946-5255
rdonnelly@republicservices.com

Sanimax – Organics

Andy Barnaal
651-451-6858

Waste Management

Lisa Michael (south Hennepin)
952-882-2319
lmichael@wm.com

Dan Mrocek (north Hennepin)
952-229-5324
dmrocek@wm.com

Organics composting facilities

The Mulch Store:
Rosemount, MN
651-423-4401

Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community:
Shakopee, MN
612-233-9191

Grants, signs and assistance

Hennepin County has free assistance, signage and grant funding available for businesses, organizations and schools interested in starting or improving organics recycling programs.

Businesses and organizations

Get grants for recycling containers and supplies, container signage and free assistance. Learn about business recycling grants.

Request assistance

Our committed staff is ready to help you start or improve recycling at your business or organization. Free services include on-site assessments to determine your best options and necessary start-up steps and evaluation of potential costs and savings.

Request assistance by submitting a business recycling request form.

Organics and recycling signs

Order free recycling, organics recycling and trash signs. A variety of signs are available for spaces such as offices, cafeterias, commercial kitchens, public spaces and more.

Schools

Get grants, container signage and free assistance for both private and public schools. Learn more about school recycling help.

Apartment, condo and townhouse recycling

Resources for property owners, including container signage and educational information for your residents. Learn about apartment recycling help.

Education and training resources

Spread the word! Use the following resources to promote your new organics recycling program and train staff and tenants about how to sort waste.