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ABOUT GREEN NOTES
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.
Also check out archived issues.
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Financial and technical assistance is available through the Natural Resource Incentives for Critical Habitats (NRICH) program to implement Best Management Practices (BMPs) that protect and preserve natural resources in Hennepin County. Projects that reduce erosion and sedimentation, improve water quality, or protect, restore or establish critical habitat are eligible for funding. Local, state and regional governmental units, non-profit organizations and landowners may apply. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on April 15.
For more information, email James Kujawa or call 612-348-7338.
Funding, project support and free resources are available through the Green Partners Environmental Education Program for projects that empower residents to reduce waste, increase recycling, reduce toxicity, conserve energy and protect water quality. |
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 The Green Partners Program consists of three groups with varying levels of support and requirements. The Request for Proposals will be released next week. Learn more about the program and get application advice at the information meeting on April 17. Project proposals are due May 17.
For more information, email Patience Caso or call at 612-348-9352.
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Recycling containers and low-waste event planning assistance available
 Event planners and coordinators seeking to achieve low- or no-waste events can receive free, customized assistance from Hennepin County. Staff can help you create waste reduction plans, educate vendors, train volunteers and provide collection options. The county also has portable recycling containers that can be borrowed for free for to collect recycling and organics at events.
Access the following free event planning resources and signage at www.hennepin.us/eventrecycling:
- Event Recycling and Waste Reduction Guide – Steps to take before, during and after the event to make your waste reduction and recycling efforts a success.
- Zero Waste Toolkit for Event Planners - Resources to help plan and implement green events, including signage and sample letters to send to your vendors and presenters.
For more information, email Carolyn Collopy or call 612-596-0993.
The Hennepin County Fix-It Clinics are a finalist for the 2013 Environmental Initiative Award in the Sustainable Communities category.
 At Fix-It Clinics, residents with broken household goods or clothing in need of repair get free, guided assistance on disassembling, troubleshooting and fixing their items. During the seven Fix-It Clinics held monthly since September 2012, 74 percent of the items brought in were successfully fixed, diverting 2,400 pounds of materials from the waste stream.
Hennepin County Fix-It Clinics, the first program of its kind in Minnesota, reduce the amount of material that gets thrown in the trash, empower residents by teaching them troubleshooting and basic repair skills, and build a sense of community.
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Fix-It Clinics are scheduled for the following dates and locations:
- Saturday, April 13, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Minneapolis Housing Fair, inside the Minneapolis Sports Center at the YWCA
- Saturday, May 11, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Hennepin County Plymouth Library
- Saturday, June 15, from noon to 4 p.m. at the Bloomington Center for the Arts
Volunteer fixers who have skills in soldering, electronics repair, electrical repair, sewing, wood working, and general tinkering are needed to make this initiative a success.
For more information or to volunteer, email Nancy Lo or call 612-348-9195.
 The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Hennepin County Environmental Services have collected 6,700 pounds of unwanted medicines since medicine disposal drop boxes were made available in March 2012. Hennepin County urges residents to properly dispose of their unused and unwanted medicines at six drop boxes located in Sheriff and county facilities. Proper disposal of medicines is important to prevent poisoning or abuse and protect the environment.
For more information, email Randy Kiser or call 612-348-5889.
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Applications for Environmental Response Fund (ERF) grants are due May 1. ERF grants provide funding for a variety of environmental assessment and cleanup activities at contaminated sites where the added environmental costs hinder site improvements or redevelopment. These are sites that present a threat to human health or the environment, provide community benefit from the cleanup and lack funding from other sources. After cleanup, properties that receive ERF grants are put to a variety of productive uses such as public space, housing or economic development. See Applying for an ERF grant for more information.
For more information, email Dave Jaeger or call 612-348-5714.
In the News
On February 5, KARE 11 began airing an 11-week series called the Great Green Challenge. They have addressed a different aspect of going green each week, including setting up and labeling recycling containers, reducing waste, holding green meetings, composting food waste and buying green products. The segments air every Tuesday at 5 p.m. and are posted to KARE 11's Great Green Challenge web page.
 If your business or organization is ready to start or improve its recycling program, visit RethinkRecycling.com to take a pledge to recycle more, access free resources and request assistance. Hennepin County has free recycling labels and signs and staff available to help troubleshoot your recycling program at www.hennepin.us/businessrecycling.
For more information, email Andre Xiong or call 612-543-1316.
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Brownfields are properties that are contaminated with hazardous wastes or pollutants and need to be cleaned up before they can be reused. One such site is the former Scherer Brothers Lumber Company site on the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The planned redevelopment of the site includes a riverfront park and trails, but first cleanup, including demolition of existing buildings and removal of soil contaminated with lead, arsenic, mercury, petroleum and other hazardous compounds, needs to be completed. The project has received $1 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) funds that the county received from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and $346,000 from the Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund. Read more in MinnPost.
 On March 24, Hennepin County, in partnership with The Noun Project, worked with a group of designers, civic leaders, students and engaged residents in a public design workshop to create new symbols for organics recycling programs. The goal of the Iconathon Design Workshop was to develop a set of easily recognizable symbols, similar to the recycling symbol, that can be used by businesses to show they participate in the various organics recycling programs. Following the workshop, the symbols will be further refined and made available on The Noun Project’s website. Read more in Good.
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Events
 Hennepin County residents can safely and properly dispose of unwanted garden and household hazardous wastes at upcoming community collection events.
Collection events will be held Thursday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. for the following dates and locations:
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- May 2 – 4, City of Shorewood Public Works, 24200 Smithtown Road in Shorewood
- May 16 – 18, City of Minnetonka Public Works, 11522 Minnetonka Blvd. in Minnetonka
- June 13 – 15, St. Louis Park Junior High School, 2025 Texas Ave. S. in St. Louis Park
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.
This spring, Hennepin County environmental staff and Master Recycler/Composter volunteers will reach hundreds of county residents with information about our programs and answers to their environmental questions at community events.
Be sure to stop by our table at the following events:
Each year, Environmental Services staff and volunteers attend more than 50 community, school and church events and resource fairs with information on reducing waste, recycling, disposing of household hazardous waste, protecting water quality and conserving energy. Staff and volunteers are also available to give presentations to groups of any size at schools, churches, community organizations and businesses.
If you are interested in having an environmental expert attend your event or give a presentation to your group, email Anita Urvina Davis or call 612-348-6848.
Thursday, April 25 from 1 to 8 p.m. at the City of Independence Community Center.
If you own lakeshore property or are concerned about our lakes and streams, the Clean Water Resources Fair, sponsored by the Minnehaha Creek Watershed District and the Pioneer-Sarah Watershed Management Association, will provide you with information on protecting and improving our lakes. The event will feature exhibitors and presentations on a variety of water quality topics.
The Recycling Association of Minnesota is selling rain barrels for $69 and compost bins for $55. Sale events are scheduled for:
- April 19 in Minnetonka
- May 4 in St. Louis Park
- May 10 in Plymouth
- June 8 in Minneapolis
You must preorder your rain barrel or compost bins on the Recycling Association of Minnesota website.
Learn about simple changes you can make in the way you take care of your yard that will help keep our lakes, rivers and streams clean at a Metro Blooms Rain gardens and Beyond: Healthy Yards, Clean Water workshop. The workshop will cover a variety of green yard care practices, including proper use of fertilizers, disposal and reuse of yard waste, keeping sidewalks ice free, and capturing and reusing rain water onsite. Participants are also eligible for a low-cost onsite consultation and design drawing from a landscape design professional.
The following workshops are scheduled for April:
- April 24 at 6 p.m. at the Brooklyn Park Community Center
- April 25 at 6 p.m. at the St. Louis Park Recreation Center
- April 27 at 10 a.m. at Audubon Park in Minneapolis
See the full schedule to sign up and for additional workshops in May and June.
Green Tip
When it rains, the stormwater that runs off driveways, lawns, houses and parking lots can carry pollutants like oil, paint and chemicals down storm sewers and into nearby lakes, streams and rivers.
By taking the following easy, no-cost or low-cost steps, you can have a big impact on reducing runoff and protecting our water resources and wildlife habitat.
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Use your runoff – Direct downspouts onto your lawn or garden or into a rain barrel.
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Keep grass clippings and leaves out of the street – Leave them on your lawn, compost them, or bag them up (remember to use compostable bags) and bring them to a yard waste site.
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Scoop the poop – Pet waste left on the ground can be washed into lakes and rivers with rainwater and runoff. Pet waste contains bacteria that can cause illness in humans and animals.
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Use chemicals wisely – Read and follow the label instructions when using herbicides and pesticides. If you can, consider using alternative or natural remedies to control weeds and pests, or remove the problem by hand. Dispose of leftover lawn and garden chemicals at a drop-off facility.
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Fertilize smart – Sweep up any fertilizer that spills onto hard surfaces.
Learn more actions you can take to protect Minnesota’s lakes, rivers and streams.
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