Minnesota Lawmakers Learn About Organics Recycling Options in Brooklyn Park
Some Minnesota lawmakers are touring sites of proposed capital investments in the northwest metro. Tuesday, House Capital Investment Committee members visited locations in Osseo, Maple Grove, and Brooklyn Park.
One of the stops included the Hennepin County Recycling Center and Transfer Station in Brooklyn Park. Officials want to add an anaerobic digester adjacent to the transfer station.
According to the Enviromental Protection Agency, anaerobic digestion is a process through which bacteria break down organic matter—such as animal manure, wastewater biosolids, and food wastes—in the absence of oxygen. Hennepin County officials say this process is a way to take items out of the landfill, which is quickly filling up.
The Hennepin County Recycling Center and Transfer Station in Brooklyn Park. Officials want to add an anaerobic digester adjacent to the transfer station.
“We’re going to take organics; we’re going to recycle it. We’re going to create gas, which we’re going to sell back to the utilities. So, we’re going to put that back in the system, and we’re going to use whatever is left over to create compost,” explained Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Lunde.
The bonding request for the project was $21 million. Officials say anaerobic digester could recycle about 30 percent of organic waste.
The team of lawmakers also visited the Osseo Lift Station, and Community Center Renovation and Expansion in Maple Grove.
See also: Senate Committee Tours Maple Grove Community Center on Bonding Tour
