Organics recycling usage in EP has more than tripled in two years

Many Eden Prairie residents didn’t know much about organics recycling until a charge for the service started showing up on their trash bill over the past year – even if they weren’t using the service.

Some residents on social media questioned the fairness of being charged for something they didn’t order.

“This whole thing makes me so mad,” wrote one poster on the Facebook Eden Prairie Mom’s site. “This is just the stupidest thing ever!”

Most who commented on the same thread had a more positive spin.

“I love it!” another poster wrote. “We got a three-compartment bin (from) Amazon. A little compost bin wasn’t (big) enough because we have more organics than garbage sometimes … I was able to get a smaller garbage bin from the company because we don’t have as much garbage.”

In addition, a petition has been started on Change.org asking the Minnesota House of Representatives to remove a single paragraph from Minnesota Statute 115A.93 Licensing; Solid Waste Collection, namely Subdivision 3c), which says: “A licensing authority shall prohibit mixed municipal solid waste collectors from imposing a greater charge on residents who recycle than on residents who do not recycle.”

The petitioner claims that he composts in his own backyard. “… Even though we are doing our part to reduce waste and protect the environment by composting at home, we are still being penalized financially,” he wrote. EPLN’s attempts to contact the petition creator were unsuccessful.

That provision has resulted in all customers being charged an organics recycling fee whether they use the service or not.

As of Feb. 21, 666 people had signed the petition out of a goal of 1,000. At least one person is circulating the petition in Eden Prairie, EPLN has learned.

Jennifer Fierce, the City of Eden Prairie sustainability coordinator, has heard both sides of the story.

“I do understand their frustration,” she said of those unhappy about the charge even when they aren’t interested or are already composting organics on their own. “I always encourage residents to routinely request quotes from all the city’s waste haulers to ensure they are receiving the most cost-effective service that meets their needs. There may be a competitor offering a lower overall rate, and haulers will also often match rates.”

How did this become an issue?

The original 2008 Minnesota Statute 115A.93 included the provision that prohibited imposing a greater charge on those who recycled vs. those who didn’t. So, whether you recycle or not, you pay the hauler the same fee, Fierce said. Fees can vary among haulers.

What changed was when Hennepin County amended an existing recycling ordinance in 2018, requiring all cities to make curbside organics recycling available to residents with individual waste/recycling carts by Jan. 1, 2022. (People who live in multi-family buildings that use shared dumpsters are exempt.)

Eden Prairie began offering the service on Nov. 1, 2021, Fierce said.

Haulers determined how the charges were applied to their customers — not just in Eden Prairie but in any Hennepin County city that did not have organized organics collection, Fierce said.

“One hauler (Waste Management) has charged all customers regardless of participation status since the program began,” she said. Other haulers opted to only charge people who signed up for the service, similar to yard waste. Other Eden Prairie haulers are Republic Services and Suburban Waste Management.

After receiving notification from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) in early 2023 that the State statute requires that people who recycle organics cannot be charged more than people who don’t, the city’s waste haulers were notified in May 2023 that they needed to bring their billing into compliance with the statute by Dec. 1, 2023, Fierce said.

The majority of Eden Prairie residents have seen the quarterly charges start in the last couple of months, she said. Haulers in Eden Prairie charge between $12 and $22 per quarter for organics recycling pickup, Fierce said.

Why charge everyone?

On its website, the MPCA says part of the reasoning for spreading the cost of organics recycling is because everyone benefits. “It’s not just the households that opt to place their organics in the recycling cart that benefit from organics recycling,” the website says. “We all gain from reduced greenhouse gas emissions, improved soil and water quality, a strong economy, and reduced reliance on landfills.”

Beyond that, there is the state law and the Hennepin County ordinance.

Hennepin County ordinance 13, Section 2, Subsection 2 required cities to offer curbside organics recycling either through organizing for citywide collection or requiring licensed haulers to provide service.

“Eden Prairie, along with other (Hennepin County) cities, opted not to organize for citywide collection but instead have licensed haulers provide the service,” she said.

Because waste haulers in Eden Prairie are considered open market operators, they decided independently on how much they would charge for the service, Fierce said.

In early 2023, the MPCA realized that billing practices were not uniform and notified Hennepin County and its cities that they must charge for organic recycling as outlined in state statute.

That set into motion the billing process existing now for most households. 

Is it working?

According to Eden Prairie haulers, 1,818 households in the city were active participants in curbside organics recycling in 2023 (one hauler has yet to submit 2023 data), according to Fierce. Haulers collected 702.14 tons of organic materials from those residents.

In 2022, the first year of service, 613 households participated, she said.

People participating in the program seem to understand how it works, Fierce said. “Generally speaking, haulers have reported that residents who are participating have done a great job at recycling the right materials,” she said. “I have not had any complaints from haulers about excessive contamination.”

If a particular load of organics recycling is deemed to have too great a percentage of glass/plastic/grease or other contaminants, the entire load will be rejected by the organics processing facility and end up in a landfill instead of being reused as compost, she said.

Most residents are concerned about a pretty basic issue – how bad will it stink?

“Haulers typically use 35-gallon carts for organics recycling, which is about half the size of a regular trash or recycling cart,” Fierce said. “The container won’t smell any worse than your trash cart did with food waste, as long as you make sure to securely close the certified compostable bags that hold the organics and rinse the cart out a few times a year.”

Fierce suggests storing food waste organics in your kitchen before transferring them to the cart, and be sure to use a vented container to reduce odors or keep it in the freezer.  

Why is recycling organics important?

Fierce is happy to hear that some Eden Prairie residents are already recycling organics and composting at home. She still holds out hope for those who say they aren’t interested.

“Because of the environmental benefits of organics recycling, I would encourage them to reconsider participating,” she said.

“Organics recycling is the best opportunity we have to reduce the amount of trash that ends up in a landfill,” Fierce said. “(Twenty-five percent) of household garbage is organic materials that could otherwise be used as compost.”

She said organic materials in a landfill create more methane than if they are composted, and landfills themselves have negative air and water quality impacts. The metro area is also rapidly running out of landfill space, according to a recent Star Tribune story.

“Cutting 25% of the waste stream from being landfilled helps preserve the little space that is left,” she said.

Most organics recycled in Eden Prairie end up being processed at SMSC Organics Recycling Facility in Shakopee. “There, it is mixed with yard waste to get the correct ratio of carbon, nitrogen, and moisture to process, is laid out in piles, aerated, and left alone for about six months,” Fierce said.

Bacteria breaks it down over time and turns it into compost. The compost is used in a variety of landscaping and road construction projects. Compost is nutrient-rich and increases soil water retention, reducing runoff and erosion, Fierce said.

Minnesota’s composting industry also supports about 700 jobs and produces $148 million in gross economic activity per year,” according to the MPCA.

“In a typical household, the majority of potential organics recyclables come from food waste,” Fierce said. “If residents could commit to recycling only their food waste, they will be making a huge impact on what ends up in landfills and it will be pretty straightforward to participate.”

For information about organics recycling, go to the city’s website.