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You may be surprised to learn recycling is required
in many commercial buildings that contract for four cubic yards or more of
trash per week in the Twin Cities metro area, and has been required since
January 1, 2016.
Who must recycle
-
Businesses located in
Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott, or Washington counties
- With contracts for four cubic yards or more of trash
collection per week — that’s a 6 ft by 4 ft by 5 ft dumpster
-
Classified in sectors 42 to 81 under
the North American Industrial Classification System (NAICS). This includes
hotels, restaurants, brewpubs, grocery and liquor stores, retail stores,
banks, marinas, office buildings, and many others. (Look up your NAICS code.)
What must be recycled
At
least three recyclable materials must be collected. Common ones include paper,
glass, plastic, metal, and food waste. Single-sort
recycling, where several material types are collected in one container, meets
the requirement as long as three or more materials are collected.
Recycling
benefits your business
Recycling can save you money.
You may be able to reduce the container size or number of
times your trash is picked up. State and local solid waste taxes apply only to
trash, not recyclables. Contact your
hauler to discuss “right-sizing” your service and see what you might
save on your monthly bill. If your hauling contract is up for renewal, consider
requesting competitive bids from other local haulers.
Customers, employees, and the
community notice when businesses are environmentally friendly. If you are a
building owner, talk with your employees or tenants about your recycling program
and get them involved. If you are a tenant, talk with your building owner and
the other tenants about starting or improving recycling.
Getting started
About
75 percent of Minnesota’s trash could be recycled. Think about what types of
trash your business generates. How much is recyclable but thrown away?
Making recycling convenient leads
to a successful recycling program. Pair recycling bins with trash bins and
place them in easily accessible areas with clear, simple signage. You can
customize and download free signs at Rethink
Recycling. Most Twin Cities metro counties offer
free on-site assistance and grant funding to help implement recycling programs.
Visit Rethink Recycling for businesses
and click on the county where your business is located to
learn more. More details about business recycling are available on the MPCA
commercial recycling webpage.
Recycling training: RAM/SWANA
conference – Mpls, MN
The 2017 Recycling Association of Minnesota/Solid Waste
Association of North America Conference is coming this fall. This
conference is the largest solid waste conference in the State of
Minnesota. There will be great information about the commercial recycling
mandate in the Twin Cities metro, as well as information about how to set up
the best contract for those services. In addition, a separate track
focuses on the best ways to manage organic material as compost.
A new location this year will bring fresh energy and
new attendees to the event. The conference and show will be held on Monday,
October 16 and Tuesday, October 17 at the Minneapolis
Marriott Northwest. Go to annual RAM/SWANA Conference & Show website
for full information, including how to register.
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All grain elevators and animal feed mills in Minnesota are
subject to environmental regulations. However, many lack the best management
practices, documentation, or permits they need to comply with state and federal
requirements, and to address community complaints. Failure to meet requirements
can lead to larger permit fees and possibly enforcement action and fines.
The MPCA has partnered with the MN Grain and Feed
Association to offer free, confidential, on-site regulatory assistance to help
grain elevators and animal feed mills in Minnesota evaluate their compliance
with the following regulations:
- Minnesota Nuisance Dust Rule
- Minnesota Bulk Agriculture Rule
- Federal New Source Performance Standard DD
- Facilities that need or have a registration or
individual state permit
Call now for your
free assessment!
MPCA staff will visit your facility and offer a short but
thorough confidential walk-through, identify any non-compliant areas, and
provide prioritized next steps for your facility. Staff will also be available
to help you implement the recommendations. For more information about the regulations,
please visit the MPCA
Grain Elevator assistance page. Call Nate Grand at 651-757-2166 to schedule your free assessment.
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Open for comment — water quality fee
increases
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is looking for input
from small businesses on the fees charged for wastewater, stormwater, and
feedlot permits. The agency will be rewriting the rules that determine these
permit fee amounts. You likely pay these fees if you install or service septic
systems, or have a wastewater or stormwater permit.
The agency is requesting preliminary comments through August 14, 2017. You can find more
information on the upcoming rulemaking process on the MPCA’s
website. Submit comments
on how these fees impact you.
EPA final hazardous waste generator rule
The EPA’s Final Generator Rule for hazardous waste does not
become effective in Minnesota until it is adopted into state rules. Minnesota
intends to adopt the parts of the federal rule that are more stringent than
existing state rules and some of the relaxations.
The proposed changes will be posted for public notice and
comment this winter on the MPCA’s website. The MPCA expects the changes to be
finalized in the spring of 2018. Updated fact sheets will be available when the
changes go into effect.
If your company has locations in Iowa or ships hazardous
waste there for disposal, be aware that the federal rule became effective in
Iowa on May 30, 2017.
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Cut costs and save resources with a MnTAP food
processing assessment
While Minnesota food processors produce high
quality products, they must also manage water, chemical, and energy usage to
maximize profits. For a short time, the MN Technical Assistance Program
(MnTAP) is offering the following on-site assistance to food processors across
Minnesota:
- No cost waste
reduction assessments
- Summer 2018 intern
projects focused on in-depth waste reduction
strategies
- Industrial
refrigeration energy efficiency assessments for businesses in Xcel Energy
service territory.
As part of an
assessment, facilities can get a free review
of cleaning procedures, ways to reduce hazardous chemical use, opportunities
for energy and water conservation, and strategies for reducing process-related
food waste and related wastewater strength charges.
Past
food processing projects:
To
take advantage of this opportunity, contact Matt Domski at 612-624-5119 or domsk004@umn.edu.
Make
reuse work for your business with the MN Materials Exchange
Minnesota
has a robust reuse economy. According to a 2011 MPCA
study, the reuse sector employs almost 46,000 employees and
generates at least $4 billion in gross sales annually.
Your
business can benefit from reuse. Do you have anything no longer useful that needs
a new home? Perhaps you want no- or low-cost materials instead of purchasing
new?
The Minnesota
Materials Exchange is a statewide free service that pairs organizations that
have reusable goods they no longer need with others who can use them.
Benefits:
- Avoiding/reducing disposal costs
- Freeing up storage space
- Keeping usable materials out of the landfill
- Acquiring low- or no-cost goods
Sign up today at www.mnexchange.org! You will be registered for the weekly Materials
Exchange Newsletter which highlights new listings, shares facts about
reuse, and tips on how to get the most out of the service.
New! Need more
help moving or obtaining items? Contact Nathan Landwehr at 612-624-4697 or landwehr@umn.edu for help facilitating
exchanges or to learn more.
The Minnesota Materials Exchange is operated by
MnTAP at the University of Minnesota.
MnTAP provides tailored pollution prevention and energy efficiency solutions
for Minnesota businesses.
MnTAP Intern Symposium on August 22
This August, MnTAP interns will showcase 17 projects from around the state. The interns will highlight the opportunities they have identified for saving water, energy, and waste during their 3-month internships. The businesses being helped this year range from shingle manufacturing to sheet metal fabrication, and from brewing to plant nursery operations — truly something for everyone! Register to attend.
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The Blandin Foundation, Environmental Initiative, MPCA, and
others invite small businesses and interested partners in northern Minnesota to
explore new opportunities for voluntary, non-regulatory emissions reductions,
potential project grants and other funding, and economic benefits in northern
Minnesota. Minnesota’s air quality has significant economic and community
development impacts.
While our state is fortunate enough to have generally good
air quality and we’ve made a lot of progress, emissions from smaller, more
dispersed sources such as vehicles, small businesses, and pollution generated
from activities such as wood burning, have the greatest potential for
emissions reductions. Come and learn more about reduction options available in
northern Minnesota.
Tuesday, August 15, 2017 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Blandin Foundation Stender Community Room 100 North Pokegama Ave. Grand Rapids, MN 55744
Space is limited. For more details and to register for this
free event, go to the Clean
Air Collaborative website.
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