Hennepin County Leader: Haulers ‘Taking Advantage’ of Organics Recycling Customers
Hennepin County Commissioner Kevin Anderson says the county’s mandate requiring cities to offer organics recycling has resulted in a lot of confusion and believes haulers are taking advantage of it.
“I know our residents are all feeling the pain of increased bills that led as a result of this confusion,” said Anderson at this week’s Maple Grove City Council meeting.
Anderson was there to discuss the county’s waste reduction efforts and other county initiatives.
Hennepin County does not regulate what a hauler can charge. Residents are also not required to participate in organics collections, but all pay for the costs of the service, similar to recycling.
“That maybe has the most comments of all is the garbage hauler bills and the garbage hauler .. ‘why do we have this charge?’ ‘I can’t afford this charge.’ ‘Why are we having to pay this when we can’t afford other things,'” said Maple Grove Mayor Mark Steffenson at the meeting.
Anderson also addressed how the county does not require bins for organics collection.
“I really do think that finding ways of partnering and working and educating the haulers and making sure they can’t take advantage of citizens and put in unnecessary bins where they are not needed,” he said.
Hennepin County Commissioner Kevin Anderson spoke with CCX News during a recent Newsmakers segment.
HERC Future Addressed
Anderson also addressed how plans for an anaerobic digester in Brooklyn Park to process organics waste didn’t come together because of cost. He said for the county to have received state funds for the project, it would have had to close the Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center (HERC) on the edge of downtown Minneapolis.
“Additional garbage into landfills was a nonstarter for us,” said Anderson. “We’re not interested in closing down one of our waste management facilities if it means putting more garbage into a landfill, which is worse for the environment.”
He said the county would need to reduce garbage in order make the closure work. The HERC is controversial to nearby residents due to emission concerns, though the county says the facility creates a very small fraction of the county’s air pollution. The center incinerates about half of the county’s roughly 750,000 tons of non-recyclable trash each year.
Anderson said in order to close the HERC, garbage needs to be reduced.
“It’s going to be a big lift,” said Anderson. “Hopefully we find a way into the future where we have less garbage.”
Also See: Plymouth Council Approves Organics Recycling Program
Also See: Is This Recyclable? Brooklyn Park Has An App for That
