BE IT RESOLVED, that a public hearing to obtain comment on revisions to Hennepin County Ordinance 13 - Recycling, be held before the Public Works Committee of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday, October 2, 2018, at 1:30 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable in Room A-2400 of the Hennepin County Government Center, in the city of Minneapolis; and that the Clerk of the Board be directed to publish notice of the public hearing.

History: Ordinance 13 regulates recycling, which is the separation of recyclables and organic material from trash, by residents, businesses and other waste generators.

This ordinance was established in 1986 to create residential curbside recycling programs. Since then, recycling has expanded to serve residents everywhere, such as at work, school, and public spaces. New programs have been created to capture organic waste.

The county’s 2018 Solid Waste Management Master Plan calls for revising the county’s recycling ordinance to improve conventional recycling and require organics recycling for cities and businesses to meet the state goal of 75 percent recycling and the county goal of sending zero waste to landfills (Resolution 17-0479).

The county is proposing the following key revisions to Ordinance 13:

• Cities must make organics recycling service available to all households with curbside recycling service (single-family and dwellings up to eight units) by January 1, 2022. Cities of the fourth class (those with a population of 10,000 or less) that choose not to make curbside organics recycling service available to residents, must provide at least one organics recycling drop-off site by January 1, 2022.

• Multifamily properties must provide recycling education to residents, offer adequate service for the collection of recyclables (and organics if offered), increase service levels if insufficient, provide recycling containers in common areas where trash is being collected, and label recycling containers.

• Businesses that generate large quantities of food waste, such as restaurants, hotels, grocers, residential care facilities, office buildings with dining services and others, must implement food waste recycling by January 1, 2020. This requirements would apply to businesses in the identified sectors that generate one ton of trash or more per week or contract for weekly collection of eight or more cubic yards of trash.

• In addition to meeting state recycling requirements, businesses must offer adequate service for the collection of recyclables, increase service levels if insufficient and label recycling containers.

The state of Minnesota gives authority to counties to manage solid waste. The 75 percent recycling goal for metropolitan counties was established by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and mandated by Minnesota Statutes, section 115A.551, subdivision 2a. A final draft of the revised ordinance will be posted no later than September 17, 2018 for the public to review at www.hennepin.us/solidwasteplanning. The county will notify city representatives, trade associations, waste haulers, property managers/owners and businesses by letter and electronic notices.

Current Request: This request is for the board to set a public hearing on Tuesday, October 2, 2018, before the Public Works Committee of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners to obtain comment on proposed revisions to Ordinance 13.

Impact/Outcomes: The public hearing will allow constituents, businesses, city representatives, property owners/managers and haulers the opportunity to provide their feedback about the proposed revisions.