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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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 Why do you choose to reuse? Maybe you have kids that outgrow their stuff constantly, or you want to use good equipment for your house projects without breaking the bank, or you want to find the clothes you love to wear while sticking to your budget.
Whatever your reason, Choose to Reuse coupons help you get great deals on quality products while supporting local businesses and protecting the environment. Coupons are valid August 1 through October 31 at 50 local retailers that rent, repair, resell, consign and exchange used goods.
The free coupons are available on smart phones through the Chinook Book app, or coupon books can be picked up at participating retail locations, Hennepin County Service Centers, Hennepin County libraries and Three Rivers Park District locations.
For more information, contact Kristin Pierskalla at kristin.pierskalla@hennepin.us or call 612-348-4787.
 Whether you’re at work, at home, at school, at a park or an event, remember to recycle everywhere you go! And if you can’t find recycling, ask for it. Hennepin County has programs to start or improve recycling at businesses, schools, apartment buildings, events and public spaces.
Hennepin County is launching the Recycle Everywhere campaign in August to encourage people to recycle everywhere they go and to connect them to resources to improve recycling. Look for ads on TV, radio and online.
Learn more about recycling everywhere by visiting the Recycling Oasis, a portable park constructed with recycled materials and native plants that will be staffed by recycling experts ready to answer your questions. Visit the Recycling Oasis during lunch in downtown Minneapolis, on Target Field Plaza before Minnesota Twins games and at community events throughout the county.
For more information, contact Angie Timmons at angie.timmons@hennepin.us or call 612-348-2477.
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 The new Hennepin County Public Space Recycling Program has grants available to improve public access to recycling while away from home. Up to $100,000 is available to public entities to implement or expand recycling and composting programs at parks, sports venues, special events and along commercial districts.
Eligible expenses include recycling containers, supplies, equipment, consulting services and development of educational materials. Applications are due August 25, 2014.
For more information, contact Carolyn Collopy at carolyn.collopy@hennepin.us or 612-596-0993.
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School recycling grants totaling $81,000 have been awarded to eight schools for projects that reduce waste and increase recycling. Projects will focus on starting organics composting programs, expanding recycling to include more materials, replacing disposable foodservice ware with reusable silverware and trays, and purchasing sorting tables and equipment to improve recycling. These projects will engage more than 3,000 students as well as staff and parents. Learn more about the grants awarded.
For more information, contact Katie Alexander at katie.alexander@hennepin.us or call 612-348-6848.
The Hennepin County Board approved a contract with The Network for Better Futures to provide deconstruction services from August 2014 through July 2016. The Network for Better Futures will deconstruct up to 25 residential buildings and divert 85 percent of the building waste for reuse or recycling. The project is expected to create at least seven full-time jobs at The Network, which hires high-risk men with histories of imprisonment, substance abuse, mental illness, chronic unemployment, and homelessness and provides them with access to employment, housing, health care and community re-engagement.
For more information, contact Carolyn Collopy at carolyn.collopy@hennepin.us or 612-596-0993.
Hennepin County has been selected as a host site for a Minnesota GreenCorps member who will work on implementing reuse and recycling programs at apartments and student dormitories. Minnesota GreenCorps is a statewide program to help preserve and protect the environment while training a new generation of environmental professionals by placing AmeriCorps members with local governments, institutions and non-profit organizations. This will be Hennepin County’s fourth GreenCorps member.
For more information, contact Paul Kroening at paul.kroening@hennepin.us or 612-348-6358.
Interested in learning about the county's environmental programs, along with how county roads are plowed every winter, how Hennepin County is involved in light-rail transit, how county taxes are assessed and where your tax money goes?
The Hennepin County Citizens Academy will address these questions and more. The seven weekly sessions, held on Wednesdays from 6:30 - 9 p.m., meet at various locations throughout the county, giving you a rare opportunity to tour county facilities.
Get more information and register now for the Fall 2014 session.
In the News
The 2014 state tax bill allocates $10 million more of state funding each year to local governments for programs to manage and prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, such as zebra mussels, Eurasian watermilfoil, carp and other species. The funding will target the most heavily used lakes by distributing money to counties based on the number of boat landings and watercraft parking spaces. Hennepin County will receive more than $146,000 in 2014 and is currently determining how the funding will be used. Learn more on Minnesota Public Radio.
 Many Minnesotans volunteer as citizen scientists to gather data that helps us understand the health of our environment. Hennepin County has trained volunteers to monitor the health of wetlands since 2000 through the Wetland Health Evaluation Program. Every year, hundreds of volunteers are taught to identify organisms and vegetation in their local wetlands as well as understanding the important role wetlands play in our watersheds. Read more about citizen scientist volunteers in the Pioneer Press.
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Wirth Lake, a 40-acre lake located in Theodore Wirth Park, the largest park in the Minneapolis park system, has been cleaned up and removed from the state’s impaired waters list 12 years after first being listed. The lake had excess nutrients that caused algae blooms, so the Bassett Creek Watershed Management Commission, cities of Golden Valley and Minneapolis, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency led an effort to reduce the lake's phosphorous levels.
One effort included constructing retention ponds around the lake to act as natural filters that prevent nutrients from entering the lake. The project received a Hennepin County Environmental Response Fund grant in 2012 to clean up petroleum-contaminated soil that was discovered during retention pond construction. Learn more on Channel 12.
Events
 Hennepin County is selling compost bins to help you start recycling food and yard waste into nutrient-rich compost in your backyard.
Composting reduces the amount of garbage your household produces and improves soil quality in your yard or garden. Compost bins are 3’ x 3’ x 3’, made of cedar and wire mesh, and cost $45.
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There are two options for purchasing a bin:
- Pre-order online to pick up at a distribution event. Events are scheduled for Sunday, August 17, Friday, September 12 and Sunday, September 21 in Minneapolis.
- Purchase a bin at the Hennepin County Drop-off Facility in Brooklyn Park. Pay at the facility; no pre-order needed. Bins are for sale during regular drop-off facility hours.
 Get rid of your unwanted automotive wastes, household, lawn and garden products, batteries, mercury-containing items and more at upcoming hazardous waste collection events.
Events will be held Thursday – Saturday, 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. at the following locations:
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- July 31 – August 2, Jenny Lind Elementary School, 5026 Dupont Ave. N in Minneapolis
- August 7 – 9 at South High School, 3131 19th Ave. S in Minneapolis
- August 21 – 23, 340 27th Ave. NE in Minneapolis
Additional collection events scheduled are scheduled in Minneapolis and Shorewood in September and October. Please note that electronics will not be accepted at collection events. See the full event schedule, guidelines and materials accepted.
Get free, guided assistance on disassembling, troubleshooting and fixing broken household items at an upcoming Fix-It Clinic.
Clinics are scheduled for the following dates and locations:
- Saturday, August 9 from noon to 4 p.m. at the Oxboro Library in Bloomington
- Saturday, September 13 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization in northeast Minneapolis
- Saturday, October 11 from noon to 4 p.m. at the North Regional Library, 1315 Lowry Ave. N, Minneapolis
 Volunteer fixers are essential to making the clinics successful. If you have skills in electrical, mechanical or electronics repair, wood working, sewing or general tinkering, consider volunteering!
For more information or to volunteer, contact Nancy Lo at nancy.lo@hennepin.us or call 612-348-9195.
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Green Tip
 As boating restrictions are lifted on area lakes, remember that we all play a role in protecting Minnesota’s waters. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources conservation officers have found that more boaters this year - about one in four - are not following state rules intended to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, according to a recent article in the Star Tribune.
Take the following steps to prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species:
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Remove any aquatic plants and animals from the propeller and underside of your boat, trailer and other equipment every time you move your boat from one body of water to another.
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Drain water from bilge, livewell, motor, ballast tanks and portable bait containers before leaving water accesses or shoreline property.
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Keep drain plug out and water-draining devices open while transporting watercraft.
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Rinse, spray or dry your boat and other water recreation equipment to kill or remove harmful species that were not visible at the boat launch. Some aquatic invasive species can survive more than two weeks out of water, so it is important to do one or more of these before transporting boats and equipment to another body of water.
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Compost unwanted bait or throw it in the trash.
See the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Aquatic Invasive Species page for more information.
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