Golden Valley City Council Sets Direction On Organics Hauling

Press release from the City of Golden Valley:

July 13, 2020

At its June 9 work session, the Golden Valley City Council gave staff direction to move forward with a curbside organics collection program based on recommendations by the City’s Environmental Commission.

Hennepin County requires all a cities with more than 10,000 residents make curbside organics recycling available to those living in single-family to fourplex households beginning Jan 1, 2022.

Background

Organics recycling is the collection of food scraps, non-recyclable paper, and other compostable products. By diverting these products to a commercial compost facility, they can be recycled into nutrient-rich soil instead of ending up in a landfill.

After several months of community education and engagement, including a survey and online open house, the Environmental Commission narrowed the City’s options to:

• City Contract Opt-In, where the City contracts with a hauler and all residents who opt in for service pay the same rate
• Hauler License Requirement Opt-In, where the City requires all licensed trash haulers to provide organics collection service with the rates determined by the haulers
• City Contract All In, Everyone Pays, where the service is City-wide and everyone pays the same rate.

The Environmental Commission recommended the All-In, Everyone Pays option because it offers the lowest costs to residents and has the opportunity for the highest participation rates, compared with the other options.

Moving Forward

The next steps include working with Hennepin County, peer cities, and haulers to further explore the details and costs of implementing a curbside organics recycling program in Golden Valley and launching a second wave of community education and engagement. The new curbside organics program will start in January 2022.

For more information about the City’s process for exploration of a curbside organics recycling program, and to learn more about organics recycling in general, visit the City website.

This press release was produced by the City of Golden Valley. The views expressed here are the author’s own.