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ABOUT GREENNOTES
GreenNotes covers environmental news, programs and events from Hennepin County.
Please take a few moments to read our stories. Share your feedback and ideas for protecting the environment. Choose to Reuse Directory
Natural resources project funding
Cleanup at Robbinsdale Middle School
Northwest Health Sciences University organics recycling
Envirothon
Barton School wins recycling award
Businesses charged for mishandling hazardous wastes
In the News:
- Well sealing
- Minneapolis one-sort recycling
Events:
- HHW collection events
- Green Partners Networking Meeting
- Bike Walk Week
Green Tip: Recycling landscaping pots
Please forward this email to interested individuals and encourage them to sign up.
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Find local reuse options with the Choose to Reuse Directory
 Find reuse shopping options, donation opportunities, repair shops and more on the recently upgraded Choose to Reuse Directory. The directory is searchable by products or location. Shopping reuse saves money, protects the environment and supports the local economy,
Financial and technical assistance available for projects that preserve and protect natural resources
Landowners can receive financial and technical assistance through the Natural Resource Incentives for Critical Habitats (NRICH) program to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs). Projects that reduce erosion, improve water quality, or protect, restore or establish critical habitat are eligible for funding. Applications for NRICH funding and assistance are accepted any time, year round.
Cleanup nears completion at Robbinsdale Middle School
A nearly 8-year effort to clean up a former dump site that is now athletic fields at Robbinsdale Middle School will be completed this summer.
The Robbinsdale ISD # 281 has been the recipient of six Environmental Response Fund grants totaling $2.1 million for this large site, starting in fall of 2004 when buried impacted soil and debris were identified. The final phase of cleanup, to be completed this summer, requires the removal of 23,000 tons of impacted soil and debris prior to grading and reconstruction of the land for softball fields. The school district has already built tennis courts and a playground on a cleaned up portion of the site using a Hennepin County Youth Sports Grant.
Northwestern Health Sciences University starts recycling organics
Northwestern Health Sciences University in Bloomington has started collecting organics, which includes food scraps, food-soiled paper products and compostable foodservice ware, for composting. Paper towels are also being collected for composting from the bathrooms.
A waste audit conducted in 2011 found that nearly 80 percent of the waste generated in the kitchens, cafeteria and break areas by the more than 900 students and faculty of the university is compostable. Hennepin County provided training and technical assistance to the university throughout planning and implementation of the organics recycling program.
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Students test their environmental knowledge at Envirothon
 High school students proved their natural resources expertise while competing in the Metro Area Envirothon on May 3. The 2012 Metro Area Envirothon was hosted by Hennepin County at the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum in Chaska.
During the event, teams of five students complete hands-on visit activities and give presentations on current environmental issues.
A team from Hopkins High School won the Metro Area Envirothon and placed second at the Minnesota State Envirothon on May 21. The winning team at the State Envirothon advances to the National Envirothon in July in Pennsylvania, where they compete for college scholarships.
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School participating in organics program receives recycling award
The Clara Barton Open School was one of three schools in Minnesota to receive the WRAP (Waste Reduction Awareness Program) Award from the Jeffers Foundation. The school received $5,000 and each student received a reusable water bottle in recognition of their recycling and waste reduction efforts in their school lunch program.
Barton School currently has the highest recycling rate of all Minneapolis Public Schools, diverting about 46 percent of waste generated to recycling or organics recycling programs. Hennepin County has provided technical assistance to Barton School to implement and improve their school organics and recycling programs.
Hennepin County investigations lead to charges against businesses for mishandling hazardous wastes
The president of Electronic Salvage Industries, LLC, an electronics salvaging company in Hopkins, has been charged with a felony by Hennepin County for unlawful handling of hazardous wastes. Hennepin County hazardous waste inspectors found crushed glass from television sets and computer monitors in a roll-off box that was to be dumped at a landfill. It is illegal to discard television sets and computer monitors with cathode ray tubes in the trash because they contain a large amount of lead, which can pollute air and water, harm wildlife and pose a threat to human health if disposed of improperly. Testing conducted on the nearly two tons of waste in the roll off box found lead in concentrations of 22 times the state limit.
Flame Metals Processing Corporation has been penalized by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency following an extensive investigation by Hennepin County for improper disposal of waste and wastewater at its processing plant in Rogers. Hennepin County and the MPCA found that the company sent toxic wastewater treatment sludge and filters with a potential to release toxic fumes to a regular solid waste landfill instead of a hazardous waste facility equipped to properly handle the waste. The company also discharged wastewater that did not meet requirements to the publicly owned wastewater treatment facility. Flame Metals was fined $10,000 and was required to implement a supplemental environmental project, which the company fulfilled by installing new wastewater treatment equipment.
Hennepin County licenses 5,000 businesses that generate hazardous waste to ensure compliance with regulations that protect the environment.
In the News
Sealing unused wells to protect water quality
There are as many as 500,000 unused and unsealed wells in Minnesota. Unused wells can act as a channel between the surface and groundwater, potentially leading to groundwater contamination. Hennepin County has a well-sealing program to help share the cost with homeowners of sealing wells that extend into or below aquifers used for drinking water. More than 1,100 wells were sealed last year in Hennepin, more than any other metro county. Read more in the Star Tribune.
Minneapolis moving toward single-sort recycling system
Events
Green Partners Environmental Education Networking Meeting
June 21, 2012, from 9 to 11 a.m. at the St. Louis Park City Hall, Council Chambers Room, 5005 Minnetonka Boulevard, St. Louis Park
- Learn the most effective methods, techniques and tools you can use in your work to motivate individuals to adopt environmentally responsible behaviors. Alisa Reckinger from Hennepin County Environmental Education and Outreach will be giving a presentation on Community-Based Social Marketing.
- Collaborate and network with fellow environmental educators and community organizations.
- Learn more about available resources and future funding opportunities through the Green Partners Program.
Light refreshments will be provided. Please RSVP by June 11, 2012, by emailing Ellie Jones or calling 612-348-9352.
Household hazardous waste collection events
Hennepin County is providing residents with convenient, local disposal options for their household hazardous wastes at upcoming collection events.
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Collection events are held Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the following dates and locations:
- June 7 – 9, City of St. Louis Park, parking lot at Hwy 7 & Louisiana Ave. S. in St. Louis Park
- July 26 – 28, City of Minneapolis, Dunwoody College of Technology
Materials accepted include household, lawn and garden products, electronics, mercury-containing items and auto wastes. Visit www.hennepin.us/collectionevents for a full list of materials accepted and maps to the event sites.
Learn about bike commuting during Bike Walk Week
Pledge to replace at least one car trip with biking or walking during Bike Walk Week from June 2 – 10. A variety of events, including safe community classes, Bike Walk to Work Day celebration and organized bike rides, are scheduled throughout the week.
Also check out Hennepin County’s bike commuting resources, including tips on getting your bike ready, route-planning maps and resources, links to bike safety videos and information on bike parking. Green Tip
Recycle your landscaping pots
Recycling for plastic landscaping pots is being offered at more than 20 garden centers throughout the Twin Cities. The Minnesota Nursery and Landscape Association and Choice Plastics are sponsoring the garden-pot recycling program in an effort to keep landscaping plastics out of the garbage. Gardeners can drop off clean garden pots, trays, cell packs and hanging baskets. Find information about the landscape pot recycling drop-off locations at GardenMinnesota.com.
Clean landscaping pots may also be collected in your curbside recycling programs – check with your hauler or city recycling coordinator for details.
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