Hennepin County officials are planning to construct a facility that will turn organic waste into usable biogas as part of the county鈥檚 ongoing efforts in environmental sustainability. Approved unanimously by the Board of Hennepin County Commissioners June 1, the anaerobic digestion facility will process household and commercial waste including food scraps, soiled paper and compostable products, which comprise about 30% of the municipal solid waste collected in the county, according to a staff report to the board.
The facility, to be located next to the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station, will be constructed with the county鈥檚 current waste collection goals in mind. The county鈥檚 Solid Waste Management Plan includes a goal of recycling 75% of waste by 2030, an aspiration that will require organics recycling, the staff report mentions.
Also part of that effort, beginning in 2022, cities in the county with populations over 10,000 will be required to provide residents with an option for household organics collection. The anaerobic digestion facility is expected to have a processing capacity of 25,000 tons of matter per year, with the possibility of expansion to 50,000 tons. 鈥淭here is a finite amount of room that we can shove trash into,鈥� said District 1 Commissioner Jeff Lunde, of Brooklyn Park. 鈥淎nd if we can get stuff out of the system and turn it back into energy, I think that鈥檚 a good thing.鈥�