9/8/2009 9:34:00 AM Hopkins to try out organics recycling
Wait, that’s not trash
Some items accepted for organics composting:
• All food waste, including meat and bones
• All soiled paper products, including paper cups and plates, paper towels, placemats, napkins, milk and juice cartons, parchment paper, pizza boxes, waxed and cardboard boxes
• Floral trimmings and plants
• Paper vacuum bags
Source: Hennepin County
By David Schueller
Not recycling organics yet? The city of Hopkins could beat you to the punch.
The city plans to start recycling organics at six city buildings using a $12,000 Hennepin County grant.
On Sept. 1 the City Council approved accepting the grant funding and starting the recycling program, which will initially last about one year.
"Source separated organics is a new part of the waste abatement puzzle," said Solid Waste Coordinator Penny Cleve, adding that the program will collect from buildings like the Hopkins Center for the Arts, Hopkins Pavilion, the Hopkins Activity Center and City Hall.
While residential organics recycling is offered in other cities, Hopkins doesn't have such a program. The city is hoping to learn by doing and eventually get its residential and business communities to start recycling organics.
"We'll learn what it takes for our residents and our business community to go in that direction," Cleve said.
Right now, Hopkins provides its own weekly garbage collection and recycling service.
Hopkins is actually following the lead of similar programs run in the Hopkins School District and at The Depot Coffee House.
Starting in 2007, The Depot diverted 5 tons of organics from landfills and reduced the number of trash carts collected there from nine to five.
"So much of what they produce there as far as waste can be collected as organics, and it was just a perfect fit for them," Cleve said.
At the six buildings, there are a total of 33 refuse containers collected weekly, each with a capacity of 90 gallons, though they aren't always full.
The city hopes to cut its trash production in half by diverting 30 percent of what's now thrown away as trash into organic bins and increasing traditional recycling by 20 percent.
It could even save the city some money, though exact costs could change as the program is finalized.
"That would be a savings in our tipping fees and that would become a cost savings," Cleve said.
More still needs to be worked out before the program starts. The city may have to cover some costs related to contract cleaners, and it hasn't yet decided on a hauler for the waste, Cleve said. It's also in the middle of writing a procedural guide for what can and can't be recycled.
"We're just really excited to get it going. It's something new. We don't know what we're going to find. We know what we hope to find," Cleve said. "I just think that the process is going to be fun to implement. It's going to be fun to get all of our staff involved. Just by participating, just by sorting their trash differently, everybody's going to be in a learning mode."
