 Earth Day and Arbor Day are both coming up in April, and there are many events planned locally to celebrate our community and environment.
Learn what we are doing and find an opportunity to get involved!
Contribute to the Mighty Mississippi Cleanup Challenge
This year, Hennepin County has accepted the challenge to participate in the Mighty Mississippi Cleanup to help keep our lakes, rivers, and streams clean and healthy. There are three ways for you to contribute to this effort between April 15 and May 15:
Learn and connect
Beyond participating in a cleanup, you can celebrate Earth Day and Arbor Day by helping to plant trees, joining a bike ride, planting for pollinators, learning about local sustainability resources, participating in a clothing swap, going on a nature hike, and much more! Explore all the opportunities on our Earth Day and Arbor Day events map.
 When it’s time to remodel or demolish a building, materials have the potential to be reused or recycled. In fact, about 85% of the materials in a typical demolition project could be salvaged for reuse and kept out of the landfills through practices like deconstruction and structural moves.
Hennepin County has funding available for the following projects that reuse and recycle building materials in a variety of projects.
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Residential deconstruction grants: Funding for residential properties built prior to 1970 to deconstruct building materials for reuse. Residential deconstruction flyer (PDF)
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Commercial deconstruction grants: Funding for commercial properties, including multi-family apartment buildings over 4 units, to deconstruct building materials for reuse. Commercial deconstruction flyer (PDF)
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Structural move grants: Funding to physically relocate a building to another location, avoiding demolition waste and preserving the cultural and historical integrity of the building. Structural move flyer (PDF)
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Used building material installation grants: A new grant to “close the loop” by funding remodel, renovation, and new construction projects that incorporate used building materials into project designs. Used building material installation flyer (PDF)
Apply for a building reuse grant
Applicants must be a property owner or developer in Hennepin County. Projects must meet the reuse and disposal criteria. Learn more about project eligibility and complete an application. Contact Olivia.Cashman@hennepin.us with any questions.
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Nearly 40 percent of all food in America is wasted – much of it in our homes. For a four-person family, that uneaten food could add up to $2,500 year or more.
Trash or Cash, the new campaign by Hennepin County, is encouraging residents to choose cash over trash by wasting less food. The campaign will offer helpful tips to get the most out of your groceries, such as:
- Create an "Eat First" area in the fridge to keep track of what needs to be used right away.
- Store food the same way you found it in the grocery store. If it was chilled, keep it in the fridge. If not, it’s ok to keep on the counter.
- Freeze meals in portions you will want later.
Get more tips by signing up for Fridge Check Fridays. Each week, you’ll get a new kitchen hack plus a reminder to take a quick look in your fridge and make a plan to use extra food before it goes bad. Learn more ways to save money and food at trashorcash.org.
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Sometimes referred to as home improvement thrift stores, salvage retailers offer a wide variety of building materials, hardware, tools, and other home improvement items. From old growth lumber to vintage light fixtures and everything in between, you’ll be sure to find both inspiration and quality materials for your next project.
 How to participate
Visit participating salvage retailers from May 1 to 31 to be entered into a drawing to win one of five prizes. Find an interactive map of participating retailers at hennepin.us/salvage.
When you go shopping, look for Hennepin County’s Salvage Crawl poster near the checkout counter at each retailer location and scan the QR code to enter your information for a chance to win.
Prizes
- First place (one available): $100 gift card to a participating retailer
- Second place (four available): $50 gift card to a participating retailer OR one-year basic individual membership to the Minnesota Tool Library ($55 value)
- Surprise prizes will also be given throughout the Salvage Crawl so watch for more details!
Have used or unwanted building materials and tools laying around? Don’t throw them out – donate! This spring, several cities are offering opportunities to donate usable building materials to a local nonprofit that specializes in the reuse and resale of building materials.
At each event, Better Futures Minnesota will be onsite to assess all materials for quality and potential for resale. Any items not accepted by Better Futures can be disposed of at the event – disposal fees may apply. Contact the city for more information about each event.
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Compass Pointe improves recycling with signage and multilingual and multigenerational outreach
Compass Pointe is a 68-unit affordable apartment complex in New Hope that received site visit assistance, educational resources, and additional signage from Hennepin County.
Reusable recycling tote bags and recycling guides in English, Spanish, and Somali were distributed to all residents along with recycling activity books for the many kids in the building. Labels were placed on the recycling chutes and recycling dumpsters, including the "No Trash," "No Plastic Bags," and "Flatten cardboard" labels and trash labels for the trash chutes.
The property manager shared that more residents are using the reusable tote bags after the delivery and that recycling in the building increased by 5%.
This adds up to over 26,000 additional pounds of recycling captured per year! The energy and resources saved through this increase in recycling means that Compass Pointe is on track to divert 37 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year as well.
Assistance and resources available to multifamily properties
Hennepin County offers technical assistance to properties to improve recycling. Recycling staff help assess best options, review potential costs and savings, and determine the steps to improve recycling programs. In addition to on-site or online assistance, a variety of resources are available to property managers and residents, including reusable recycling tote bags, aluminum signs, labels, and educational resources.
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Multifamily recycling grants
Hennepin County offers grants for multifamily properties to start or improve recycling or organics recycling, reduce contamination, prevent waste, and educate their residents on recycling and waste prevention. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until mid-November 2024, or until the annual program budget is exhausted.
Areas of focus can include purchasing bins and compostable bags, paying for hauling costs, constructing waste enclosures or chutes, managing or preventing the waste of bulky items, and educating residents. Applicants may apply for up to $3,000 for bins and compostable bags and up to $20,000 for all other categories combined.
Review the grant guidelines (PDF) and the grant flyer (PDF) to learn more. Visit the apartment recycling web page to begin the application process.
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Multifamily recycling resources
Free resources are available to Hennepin County residents to improve recycling in apartments, condos, and townhome associations. See what's available and order free resources.
Our committed staff is ready to help you start or improve recycling at your apartment or condo. We can help you assess your best options, review potential costs and savings, and determine the steps forward to improve your programs. Free assistance can be provided online or in-person. Contact the apartment recycling program coordinator to request assistance by emailing apartmentrecycling@hennepin.us.
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