Solid waste planning

The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners will discuss the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) in relation to the county’s Climate Action Plan and Zero Waste Plan at a briefing on September 21,2023. 

A report was prepared for the county board to provide information and context related to decision-making for the 2024 Solid Waste Management Plan, the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC), community concerns, and a provision in the state legislature’s 2023 infrastructure bill that the county must submit a plan for the cessation of operations at HERC to access the $26 million appropriated for the construction of an anaerobic digester.

Read the report: The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center and its role in the solid waste system (PDF)

Hennepin County's Zero Waste Plan

View the Hennepin County Zero Waste Plan (PDF).

Hennepin County is committed to achieving a zero-waste future where all materials are designed to become resources for others to use, the volume and toxicity of waste and materials is systematically eliminated, and all resources are conserved and recovered and not burned or buried.

The county has defined zero waste as preventing 90% or more of all discarded materials from being landfilled or incinerated. The actions in the Hennepin County Zero Waste Plan are designed to collectively move the county as close as possible to the goal of zero waste.

Developing the Zero Waste Plan

In August 2021, the county board passed a resolution directing staff to develop an operational plan to map Hennepin County to a zero-waste future that includes a broad community engagement process with a strong focus on equity and disparity reduction.  

The 1.5 year long process to develop the plan resulted in 62 actions to advance a zero-waste future. The actions were developed with extensive public feedback from more than 1,800 participants.

The engagement process included more than 500 conversations with community members, collaboration with 18 community groups, 10 meetings with industry stakeholders with a total of 170 participants, and surveys, stories and ideas shared by 457 site visitors on Be Heard Hennepin.

The project team collaborated with county staff, stakeholders, and community members to identify and refine programs, actions, and solutions for inclusion in the Zero Waste Plan. Nearly 150 participants formed action planning work groups where, through four virtual meetings, they learned about community and system needs, heard findings from research, and explored and amended the zero-waste actions.

The plan was then drafted and released to the public for comment. In total, 69 participants attended an online community meeting, 333 people completed an online survey, and 8 letters or emails and 111 action alert forms were received. Feedback was received from residents and representatives of 24 cities in Hennepin County, advocacy groups, businesses,
and state agencies. 

Final feedback was considered, changes were made to the plan, and the plan was finalized in June 2023.

Next steps

The county’s waste reduction and recycling staff are now shifting to implementation of the plan’s actions. The county is also preparing to develop the next solid waste management plan. 

The Zero Waste Plan will serve as the foundation of the county’s solid waste management plan, which will be considered for board approval in 2024.

2022 recycling progress report

The 2022 recycling progress report (PDF) provides an update on implementation of Hennepin County’s Solid Waste Management Master Plan, progress toward waste diversion goals, and a summary of the 2022 results for the county’s waste management programs.

Waste management in Hennepin County

About 1.27 million tons of solid waste, which includes recycling, organics, and trash, were generated in Hennepin County in 2022. That is a 2% decrease from 2021, or about 31,000 tons less.

Of the total tons generated, 41% was managed as recycling and organics. The remaining 59% was managed as trash at a waste-to-energy facility or landfill.

2022 highlights and major accomplishments

The following highlights how we made progress on priority initiatives in 2022:

• Developed the draft Zero Waste Plan, informed by a robust community engagement effort and shaped by action planning work groups, and identified actions to significantly increase recycling and decrease waste in Hennepin County
• Expanded organics recycling with implementation of the county’s requirement that residential organics recycling be offered in all cities.
• Celebrated 10 years of Fix-It Clinics and returned to hosting in-person clinics.
• Served 137,000 households at drop-off facilities and collection events to ensure safe disposal and recycling.
• Helped residents adopt low-waste habits through the Stop Food Waste and Plastic-Free Challenges – more than 1,400 people took. actions that resulted in over 5,000 pounds of plastic items avoided and nearly 1,000 pounds of food waste prevented.
• Trained 92 new Community Recycling Ambassadors.
• Reopened education tours of waste facilities and gave 11 tours to 99 participants.
• Drafted actions for the Zero Waste Plan – 62 actions were developed by 167 work group participants based on feedback from more than 1,000 residents.
• Launched a new program called MNimize to help food businesses reduce their use of single-use plastics.
• Continued a food donation/food rescue audit to identify gaps and opportunities in the food donation system.
• Conducted inspections to increased compliance with the Ordinance 13 business food waste recycling requirements and provide education and resources to businesses.
• Selected a preferred proposer for development of the anaerobic digestion facility to expand infrastructure for processing organics.
• Increased outreach and funding for multifamily recycling by contracting with Waste Wise to provide outreach and technical assistance and allocated more state SCORE funds for city projects.
• Received an award from the National Association of Counties for the building reuse grant program.

About the plan

The Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Master Plan for 2018 - 2023 identifies strategies the county will pursue to reach the goals of recycling 75 percent of waste and sending zero waste to landfills by 2030. State statute requires metro counties to prepare master plans every six years that identify strategies to meet the recycling goals and objectives in the state’s Metropolitan Area Solid Waste Management Policy Plan.

The plan was adopted by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on November 28, 2017.

See the Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Master Plan for 2018–2023 (PDF) to learn about the proposed strategies and next steps.

Strategies included in the plan

The master plan includes the following strategies to help meet our goals of increasing recycling, preventing waste, and sending zero waste to landfills:

• Focus on organics recycling, which is the greatest opportunity to reduce our trash, by proposing requirements for cities and certain businesses, increasing local capacity to manage organics, and working to prevent food waste.
• Build momentum for waste prevention and reuse by better understanding consumption habits and promoting waste prevention actions.
• Continue to serve residents where they are, including with single-family and multifamily residences and at work, school and on-the-go.
• Expand drop-off disposal options for certain materials.
• Divert construction and demolition waste.
• Support the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's environmental justice policy, which aligns with the county's disparity reduction efforts.

The strategies were development based on feedback gathered through public engagement efforts from March through October 2017. See the summary of formal comments (PDF).

Supporting materials

The following supporting materials provide more context and in-depth information for the plan:

• Summary of existing waste management system (PDF)
• Summary of existing waste management system in Hennepin County (PDF)
• 2016 waste sort report (PDF)
• Solid waste management master plan public engagement findings report (PDF)
• Hennepin County 2017 solid waste management operating manual (PDF)
• Summary of Hennepin County solid waste ordinances (PDF)
• Hennepin County residential recycling funding policy (PDF)
• City waste hauling contract rates (PDF)

Hennepin County is proposing to build an anaerobic digestion (AD) facility adjacent to the county’s Brooklyn Park Transfer Station at 9401 83rd Avenue in the City of Brooklyn Park. The facility would be capable of processing a minimum of 25,000 tons per year of organics to produce clean, renewable energy and beneficial products such as nutrient-rich soil.

This facility will help the county make progress toward zero waste and climate action goals. Learn more about the AD facility.

Developing a producer responsibility policy for packaging

The Partnership on Waste and Energy, which is a collaborative effort of Hennepin, Ramsey, and Washington counties, partnered with the Product Stewardship Institute to develop a producer responsibility bill for packaging and paper products in Minnesota. The policy is being developed to meet the interests of key stakeholders and will prevent waste, increase recycling, and save cities millions of dollars.

About producer responsibility

Producer responsibility policies hold producers of a product and packaging responsible for that produce throughout its entire lifecycle — from product design all the way through to reuse, recycling, or safe disposal.

Producer responsibility for packaging across the U.S.

The policy development in Minnesota is occurring in tandem with the development of producer responsibility legislation for packaging and paper products in states across the country. Since 2019, a dozen U.S. states have introduced producer responsibility for packaging legislation. The first laws in the U.S. passed in Oregon and Maine in 2021 and California and Colorado in 2022.

With city recycling costs rising and consumer pressure mounting for brands to take action, momentum for producer responsibility bills for packaging and paper products has steadily grown.

Minnesota’s producer responsibility bill for packaging and paper products bill will benefit from the experiences of states that have been working with the Product Stewardship Institute to develop similar legislation and will contribute to the nationwide groundswell of activity in support of a more just and sustainable waste management system.

Timeline for the producer responsibility policy in Minnesota

Phase I: November 2021 to May 2022

A committee with representatives from local government, the state, industry, and environmental groups convened to develop and draft elements of a producer responsibility bill for packaging and paper products customized to Minnesota.

Phase II: June 2022 to June 2023

A series of stakeholder meetings were held in summer 2022 to solicit feedback on the draft elements of the producer responsibility bill for packaging and paper products. Additional meetings were held through May 2023 to refine the draft elements of an extended producer responsibility bill.

Phase III: June 2023 to May 2024

A bill will be developed in late 2023 that incorporates feedback from continued stakeholder meetings. The bill will be introduced during the 2024 Minnesota legislative session.

Learn more

Visit reducepackagingmn.org to learn more and get the latest updates.

Also see the following documents:

• Project summary (PDF)
• Minnesota model for extended producer responsibility for packaging (PDF)  
• Minnesota packaging extended producer responsibility elements (PDF)
• Rethinking Minnesota’s packaging waste (PDF) 

If you have questions about this effort, would like to request a presentation, or want to submit feedback, contact info@reducepackagingmn.org.

Recycling requirements: Ordinance 13

Hennepin County revised its recycling ordinance on November 27, 2018.

New requirements

• Businesses that generate large quantities of food waste must implement food recycling by January 1, 2020.
• Cities must offer curbside organics recycling service to residents by January 1, 2022.
• Multifamily properties must offer adequate recycling service, provide education to tenants and label recycling containers properly.
• Businesses must have adequate recycling services and label recycling containers properly.

Solid waste management fee: Ordinance 15

About the ordinance

The Hennepin County Solid Waste Management Fee: Ordinance 15 was established in 1994 to fund environmental programs that protect human and environmental health. These programs include waste prevention, recycling and organics recycling, environmental education, and environmental protection programs.

The ordinance requires waste haulers to charge a fee on trash service and remit this fee to the county. The fee is not applied to recycling or organics recycling services.

Percentage rate for solid waste management fee

Effective April 1, 2019, the percentage rate of the Solid Waste Management Fee for all mixed waste services provided in Hennepin County:

• Residential rate: 15.5%
• Nonresidential rate change: 21.5%

Rate questions

For questions about how this rate is applied, please contact your waste hauler or Hennepin County staff:

• Randy Kiser
  randy.kiser@hennepin.us
  612-348-5889

• Chris Stubbs
  christopher.stubbs@hennepin.us
  612-348-7813

• Enrique Vinas
  enrique.vinas@hennepin.us
  612-348-4919.

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.

Key learnings

• Intentionally aligned partnerships between donor organizations and food rescue organizations are fundamental to the success of food rescue efforts.
• Although intermediary organizations are key to the current food rescue system, food security organizations have complex and mixed experiences partnering with these organizations.
• Staffing and labor are a significant challenge in the food rescue ecosystem.
• Supply chain and transportation logistics continue to pose a significant challenge to ensuring the safety and quality of rescued food.
• The experiences of community members underscore the need for innovation across the food rescue ecosystem.
• Adequate finances and appropriate donations across the food rescue stream are key to the ability to participate in food rescue and meet community members’ needs.
• Creative adaptations made in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and 2020 social uprising identified promising strategies to improve food rescue efforts.

Recommendations for Hennepin County

In the transition to an equitable, zero-waste future, Hennepin County is poised to have a meaningful and transformative impact on the food rescue system. Through engagement and analysis, 14 strategies were identified for the county to pursue to ensure this impact. These strategies fit into the following recommendations:

• Expand on-the-ground support for donor organizations to operationalize and improve food rescue efforts in their organizations.
• Establish internal and external collaborations focused on continuous improvement of food rescue and county supports.
• Leverage data to promote food rescue efforts and identify system-wide improvement opportunities.
• Work with food rescue and security partners to implement creative and innovative strategies to enhance food rescue efforts and community impacts.
• Embed disparity reduction and racial equity throughout the design and implementation of county strategies.

Learn more

Read the food rescue in Hennepin County report (PDF).

Residential food waste reduction study

Hennepin County conducted a consumer behavior research study in 2021 to design and test optimal messaging strategies to help residents overcome barriers to preventing wasted food. The study utilized focus groups in three distinct cohorts that intentionally received differing levels of communication throughout the study. The purpose was to assess whether varying levels of consumer engagement had an impact on projected behavior change.

Key findings and recommendations

• Develop campaign content that appeals to specific demographic groups such as families, singles, older adults, young adults, and children.
• Create outreach messaging that is simple, quick to read, and emphasizes money savings as a key motivator.
• Emphasize that changing behavior requires addressing multiple behaviors in four specific phases: planning, purchase, preparation, and preservation.
• Cultivate key partnerships such as local grocery stores and provide message placement in locations that will reach consumers at each stage of the decision-making process (planning, food acquisition, consumption, and disposal).

Learn more

Read the engaging residents to reduce food waste report (PDF).

Residential waste sort study

Hennepin County conducted a waste sort in 2016 to learn more about what residents are throwing away and what opportunities we are missing to recycle more.

The study involved sorting residential trash from Minneapolis into new categories to get better, more specific information about what could be recycled now but is not, and what opportunities need to be developed to increase recycling in the future.

Key findings

• Recycling organic materials is the biggest opportunity to reduce our trash.
• Residents are doing a pretty good job of recycling, but there are still opportunities to improve. We could be recycling more paper and cardboard, and people are confused about plastics.
• There are opportunities to improve recycling of materials that are not accepted in curbside recycling programs, including clothing, plastic bags and film, electronics, mattresses, and scrap metal.
• ‬‬Reducing the amount of waste generated is the first place is the most impactful waste management practice, and there is considerable potential to improve waste prevention.

Learn more

• Factsheet: Increasing recycling and reducing waste – what can you do? (PDF)
• Waste sort results video (YouTube)
• Executive summary: sorting out our waste problem (PDF)
• Hennepin County Waste Sort Study 2016 (PDF)
• Hennepin County Waste Sort Study Methodology (PDF)

Multifamily waste study

Hennepin County conducted a waste study in 2017 to assess how well apartment and condo buildings were recycling. The study looked at the recycling diversion rate, contamination levels in the recycling, and the composition of what was being discarded as trash.

Key findings

• Apartment buildings have low recycling rates and high contamination rates
• There are significant opportunities to divert more materials from the trash
• Service levels are not adequate

Learn more

Read the full multifamily waste study report (PDF).

Construction and demolition waste study

Hennepin County commissioned a study in 2015 to assess the capacity for diverting construction and demolition waste through recycling and reuse of materials. These materials include wood, concrete, cardboard, metals, asphalt shingles, sheetrock, vinyl siding, textiles, carpet, brick and more.

The study found that more than 810,000 tons of construction and demolition materials were generated 2013, and 30 percent of those materials were recycled.

Key findings

• The cost of construction and demolition landfill disposal needs to be higher to incentivize higher diversion rates.
• There is ample facility capacity in the metro area to collect and process more construction and demolition waste.
• Diversion of high value and/or readily reusable residential building materials, including cabinets, fixtures and old growth wood, is generally not optimized, and a significant amount of these materials are being landfilled.
• There is a lack of awareness about retail outlets for reused building materials. Physical space to store and sell these materials is one of several barriers to growth of this market.
• Deconstruction, a technique that carefully dismantles a building to salvage materials for reuse, can divert up to 90% of the waste material generated from building removal. The practice is used on larger commercial projects, but few contractors currently provide this service for residential properties.

Learn more

See the construction and demolition diversion capacity study (PDF).