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FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Share recycling ideas through a new online engagement tool
Participate in developing Hennepin County’s Zero Waste Plan by sharing your experiences in recycling, composting and reducing waste on a new engagement site: beheardhennepin.org/zero-waste-future.
- Complete a short survey to share your current efforts on recycling, food waste and waste prevention.
- Share your waste story by answering these questions: What is one action you take now to prevent waste? What is one waste prevention action that you want to be doing, but aren’t doing yet?
- Contribute an idea to tell others one thing that would help you recycle more.
Residents who register on the website can engage with other community members, post ideas, and stay informed as the Zero Waste Plan progresses.
A vision for zero waste
Hennepin County’s zero-waste vision is a system where all materials are designed to become resources for others to use. The county’s definition of zero waste is preventing 90% or more of all discarded materials from being landfilled or incinerated.
In 2020, 42% of waste generated in the county was managed as recycling and organics, and the remaining 58% was managed as trash. Despite implementing many new waste reduction and recycling programs and policies over the past 20 years, it has been challenging to achieve a diversion rate greater than 50%.
Achieving zero waste will require significant changes in the choices we all make in our day-to-day lives and transformative changes in the policies, programs and resources that make up the solid waste system. The county is engaging the community to bring diverse perspectives and collective action to shape and drive this transformational change.
The county’s Zero Waste Plan will complement the county’s newly adopted Climate Action Plan and provide the foundation for the 2024 Solid Waste Management Master Plan. A draft of the Zero Waste Plan will be presented to the county board in November 2022.
Additional engagement efforts
The county has contracted with 17 community groups to support community engagement with the county’s plan to reach a zero-waste future.
These groups are providing input on engagement plans for their communities, hosting engagement sessions, and communicating updates to their members on the process and feedback opportunities. As a cohort, these groups are working together to gain a broader understanding of the solid waste system, develop community-identified solutions, and define themes for use in the next plan development phase.
More information about the community group cohort can be found at beheardhennepin.org/zero-waste-future.
Look for more news on the Hennepin County website at hennepin.us/news.
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