Minneapolis residents eagerly participated in the first year of the city\u2019s new organics recycling program \u2014 the largest of its kind in the metro \u2014 but so far they\u2019re tossing less than anticipated in the green curbside bins. More than 45,000 households have signed up for the program since it expanded to\u00a0the entire city last July, or 43 percent of the eligible single-family homes and small apartment buildings. The city had expected 40 percent of eligible households to participate.<\/p>\n
Those residents sent nearly 4,000 tons of organic matter to be converted to compost at a Rosemount facility, rather than incinerated with other trash. But that\u2019s about half\u00a0what the city expected when it launched the program a year ago, based on a consultant\u2019s projections.<\/p>\n
The city\u2019s director of solid waste, David Herberholz, said people are generally tossing items most associated with composting \u2014 like fruit and vegetable scraps. They haven\u2019t yet grown accustomed to recycling other materials the program accepts, like bones, meat, cheese, pizza boxes and soiled paper, he said. \u201cPeople are very conscious of getting the program right,\u201d Herberholz said. \u201cSo they\u2019re kind of tiptoeing and concentrating on the food waste, initially.\u201d<\/p>\n
State waste officials hope organics collection services eventually become commonplace across the Twin Cities.
\nA handful of other cities and individual haulers offer curbside pickup, and organics drop-off sites are growing more prevalent.<\/p>\n
In St. Louis Park, which has had citywide organics collection since 2013, 27 percent of eligible households \u2014 about 3,300 \u2014 participate. The program collected 281 tons of organic waste last year.<\/p>\n
Across Hennepin County, just 3 percent of all waste was sent for composting last year. The majority was either landfilled or incinerated, but the county estimates that\u00a0about a quarter\u00a0of what ends up in the trash bin is organic waste.<\/p>\n
The Minneapolis organic waste goes to Specialized Environmental Technologies in Rosemount, where it is gradually broken down into nutrient-rich soil. The piles are specially maintained so they heat up to between 140 and 170 degrees, which is why they can break down materials \u2014 like bones \u2014 not meant for backyard composting.<\/p>\n
Although Minneapolis hasn\u2019t reached the projected volume of recyclable organics, Anne Ludvik, director of organic policy development at the Rosemount facility, said, \u201cI think what they\u2019ve gotten has been very remarkable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ludvik said the organic waste coming from Minneapolis has very low contamination, meaning almost all of it is compostable. That\u2019s not always the case with other customers, including restaurants, schools, grocery stores and other commercial entities.<\/p>\n
So where does all that compost go?<\/p>\n
Some of it is delivered back to community gardens in Minneapolis, Ludvik said. But the compost has also been used at the Amazon distribution center in Shakopee, the new Vikings training center in Eagan and the renovated Minneapolis Sculpture Garden.<\/p>\n