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At the end of each year, we reflect on highlights from our work to advance a zero-waste future, protect land and water, and promote environmental stewardship. We’re so grateful to work with residents and partners to protect the environment, take climate action, support healthy communities, and advance equity. Here are some of our highlights from the year:
Advancing a zero-waste future
Finalized the Zero Waste Plan: Developed a plan with 62 actions to advance a zero-waste future. The actions were developed with extensive public feedback from more than 1,800 participants.
Launched the Apartment Recycling Champions program: Recruited and supported 17 residents to become Apartment Recycling Champions. The champions worked for six months to educate and inspire their neighbors to reduce waste and recycle more. Champions reached people in about 1,500 units at a variety of multifamily properties in environmental justice areas.
 Apartment recycling champions show off their efforts to improve recycling by setting up containers, putting up signs and labels, and answer questions from their neighbors
Encouraged building material reuse recycling and reuse: Hosted our first Salvage Crawl in which 101 people visited at least one of the 13 participating building material reuse retailers. Awarded building reuse grants to 25 projects totaling $97,000 – the most ever for this program – and adopted an internal construction and demolition waste policy for Hennepin County owned and funded projects.
 Left: Better Futures staff deconstructing a residential property owned by the City of Minnetonka.
Right: Oak flooring salvaged from a 1950s home in Edina.
Motivated waste prevention actions: More than 2,100 people participated in the Plastic-Free Challenge or Stop Food Waste Challenge. Participants completed more than 17,000 actions, which helped avoid 10,400 plastic straws, cups, cutlery, and bottles and prevented 2,300 pounds of food waste.
Repaired household items: Hosted 14 Fix-It Clinics where 1,400 residents worked to troubleshoot and repair more than 1,600 items (82% of items brought in) with the help of handy volunteers. These efforts prevented nearly 10,000 pounds of waste.
 A group of Fix-It Clinic volunteers ready to help repair items.
Gave grants to improve recycling and prevent waste: Awarded 72 grants totaling over $211,000 to businesses, nonprofit organizations, multifamily properties, schools.
Provided drop-offs for safe disposal and recycling: Served 135,700 households at drop-off facilities and collection events to ensure safe disposal and recycling of materials like appliances, batteries, cleaners, electronics, mercury-containing items, paints, pesticides, and more.
Ensured businesses properly manage hazardous waste: Licensed more than 5,000 businesses and conducted 966 compliance inspections.
Protecting land and water
Achieved a record-setting year for trees and forestry: Planted a record number of trees along roadways and in parks and natural areas. Project highlights included conducting the county’s largest boulevard planting to date, partnering in a reforestation project on a conservation easement to plant 15,000 seedlings, and working with Northside Safety NET interns and the Homewood community in north Minneapolis to design a plan and plant trees, pollinator shrubs, and seedlings. We also sold 6,000 seedlings as the spring tree sale, which is double the number of trees we’ve sold in previous years.
 Left: Northside Safety NET intern and Hennepin County forester looking at the roots of a tree they are going to plant at the Homewood site. Right: Seedlings are planted on a large reforestation project on a conservation easement in Independence
Accelerated progress on protecting and improving habitat: Celebrated accomplishments in greatly expanding work to permanently protect land with conservation easements over the past five years by partnering with the Minnesota Land Trust to secure over $9.3 million from the Outdoor Heritage Fund. We were honored to be recognized as Partner of the Year by the Minnesota Land Trust for this effort.
 Left: Minnesota Land Trust staff, Hennepin County Commissioner Kevin Anderson, and Hennepin County conservation staff accepting Partner of the Year award from Minnesota Land Trust. Right: Trees and prairie on a conservation easement.
Expanded outreach for rural and agricultural land conservation: Expanded promotion of the conservation services we provide as the Hennepin County Conservation District to landowners of rural and agricultural land in western Hennepin County. This included performing soil tests for farmers and gardeners, increasing the use of cover crops on 450 acres of land, holding an open house and focus groups to share information and get feedback, supporting landowners to complete water protection projects, and launching the Conservation Connection newsletter.
 Conservation staff performing soil test on agricultural land in western Hennepin County.
Awarded grants to clean up properties and improve natural resources: Gave 58 grants totaling $4.4 million to assess and clean up contaminated properties, enhance natural areas, improve water quality, and plant and care for trees.
Collected data on plants, animals, and ecosystems: Observed nearly 200 species of birds, dragonflies, butterflies, mammals, reptiles, and amphibians across five sites during initial biological monitoring studies, which help measure the success of habitat protection efforts and track how ecosystems change over time. We also started pollinator monitoring and found the endangered state bee, the rusty-patched bumblebee, on permanently protected land in the county. As a bonus, photos collected in the field are a great educational opportunity – our April Fools post of trail camera outtakes was one of our most popular social media posts of the year!
 Left: Rusty patched bumblebee on a flower on protected land in western Hennepin County. Center: Conservation staff in the field collection biological monitoring data. Right: Curious coyote caught on a trail camera.
Prevented the spread of aquatic invasive species: Awarded 12 grants totaling $216,000 to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, and increased participation in Lake Pledge to nearly 800 people who access or live on 23 lakes or the Mississippi River in Hennepin County.
Protected wetlands: Worked with partners and residents to protect wetlands and maintain compliance with Minnesota’s Wetland Conservation Act on projects ranging from a few acres to the Blue Line and Southwest Green Line light rail projects that span much of the county. We also pursued opportunities to establish large wetland banks, which permanently restore and protect wetlands that may have otherwise been lost to development. This includes working to establish wetland banks at the former Home School site in Minnetonka and in partnership with the cities of Edina and Eden Prairie.
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Promoting environmental stewardship
Supported community-based education and outreach: Supported 54 projects through the Green Partners grants program. In addition to environmental action and youth environmental education grants, we launched pilot youth green jobs grants. The grants awarded in 2023 will directly engage 9,500 people, reach more than 220,000 people with environmental messages, and employ more than 50 youth in green jobs exploration and training.
 Left: Youth employees giving county staff a tour of the Green Garden Bakery. Right: Tour of Appetite for Change's greenhouse.
Provided environmental education: Gave 77 tours to nearly 800 people at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) and the Brooklyn Park Transfer Station and welcomed 780 visitors to HERC during Doors Open Minneapolis. We engaged 200 students to French Park in Plymouth over three days in September for NatureFest, an outdoor environmental education field trip offered in partnership with Three Rivers Park District. We also launched the Adopt-a-Drain in schools program, in partnership with Hamline University, to train K-12 teachers to include Adopt-a-Drain in their classrooms. We provided funding, teacher education, and classroom materials to 15 classrooms at seven schools.
 Left: Hennepin County staff show students at NatureFest how to collect data on animals. Center: Student looks for insects using a sweep net. Right: Person on a tour at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center.
Connected with the community at events: Connected with many community members at events this year, including at a University of Minnesota Earth Day event, STEM Day at the Minnesota State Fair, National Night Out at Little Earth in Minneapolis, BuzzFest in Richfield, and BatFest in Bloomington.
 Left: Hennepin County outreach staff and interns at Little Earth National Night Out. Right: Outreach staff and Commissioner Debbie Goettel at BuzzFest in Richfield.
Learned and explored with our environmental education network: Held two virtual and two in-person meetings with our environmental education network. Topics we explored included adult education, Adopt-a-Drain, using technology in environmental education, and climate solutions and successes. We also shared resources and opportunities through 12 editions of environmental education news and built connections in our Facebook group.
 Left: Members of the Hennepin County Environmental Education Network practicing cleaning out a storm drain, which was painted by a Green Partners grantee. Right: Environmental education network members learn how Lake Pledge works.
Plastics can be a hassle – they create clutter and can be confusing to recycle – plus they contribute to litter, harm water and wildlife, and have largely unknown health impacts for us. Fortunately, there’s a lot we can do to help create a plastic-free world, from learning more about plastic waste and recycling to making simple swaps to advocating for changes in your community and sharing your story with others.
Be part of the solution to reduce waste, protect water and wildlife, address climate change, and look after the health of ourselves and future generations by joining the Plastic-Free Challenge.
 About the Plastic-Free Challenge
The Plastic-Free Challenge is a month-long effort starting February 1 to reduce plastic consumption, especially single-use plastics, in ways that fit best in your lifestyle and have the most impact on reducing your footprint.
The challenge has 86 actions to choose from in eight categories. Sign up opens on January 1. Get ready to kickstart your plastic-free journey in the new year by committing to actions and encouraging your family, friends, neighbors, and colleagues to take the challenge with you!
Between packaging from deliveries, decorations, gift wrap, and more, the holiday season is a time when we often have a lot of stuff to get rid of. When you're ready to start cleaning up from the holidays, follow these tips for the best ways to recycle, reuse, and get rid of common holiday items:
Cardboard and packing paper
Flatten and recycle cardboard boxes and packing paper at home. If you have a lot of boxes, see if your city or hauler has guidelines for extra cardboard or bring them to a Hennepin County drop-off facility. Flattening paper before recycling will ensure it gets properly sorted at the recycling facility.
 Gift wrap and cards
Flatten and recycle cards, envelopes, and plain paper used as gift wrap.
 Gift wrap and cards that are glossy, shiny, or glittery are not recyclable. Throw them in the trash or reuse!
 Save and reuse gift bags, gift boxes, bows, ribbons, and tissue paper. Otherwise, these items should go in the trash.
 Trees and wreaths
Remove all decorations from trees and wreaths and see if your city or hauler offers special pickup or bring trees to a yard waste site. See the Minnesota Department of Agriculture’s best management practices for holiday greenery for more information.
Throw away tinsel and trees, wreaths, and other greenery that are flocked, or covered in fake snow, glittery, or contain decorations that cannot be removed.
 String lights, electronics, and batteries
Bring non-working string lights, electronics, and batteries to a Hennepin County drop-off facility or check the Green Disposal Guide for additional options.
 Plastic bags and film
Bring plastic bags, plastic film, shipping envelopes, and bubble wrap to a recycling drop-off location at retailers like grocery or department stores or Hennepin County drop-off facilities.
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