MPCA reveals 20-year Twin Cities waste management plan

MPCA unveils waste management plan for next 20 years in Twin Cities

MINNEAPOLIS — The Twin Cities have a trash problem. State leaders say at the rate the cities are generating garbage, landfill space will run out.

It's why the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has a plan to reduce waste in the state.

In just one year, the amount of garbage going into our metro landfills has increased 30%, which means at some point, those landfills are going to fill up.

That's the driving force behind the MPCA's 20-year Metropolitan Solid Waste Management Policy Plan. Leaders in the industry shared the final guidelines of the plan Tuesday morning.

They say after a draft of the plan last summer, they worked with residents, local business and governments to make a report of 70 recommendations to make that goal happen.

The recommendations include adding strategies to support recycling and composting in multi-family housing, implementing curbside compost collection in cities with more than 5,000 people by 2030 and bringing in more support to grocery stores, returns FD and food processors to reduce waste.

"To be clear, it's an ambitious goal, but it's one that we can do with reuse organizations across the metropolitan area, and the rest of the state," Kirk Koudelka, assistant commissioner for land use and strategic partnerships with MPCA, said. "To achieve it though, it's not just you and me in the public and private sector building these systems, it's you and me as individuals making that choice daily."

Here are some ways you can make a difference:

Buy used whenever possible
Work reusable products into daily routines — things like replacing shopping bags or food and beverage containers
If you've never tried it before, commit to composting food waste for a month

If you'd like to read the Metro Solid Waste Plan in its entirety, click here.

Each year, 3.3 million tons of waste is made in the Twin Cities, and two-thirds of the trash that ends up in our landfills could be recycled or reused.

According to the MPCA, trash that piles up in landfills releases harmful pollution into our air, land and water.

Extended: MPCA details Twin Cities waste reduction plan

Beret Leone

Beret Leone is a native Minnesotan who joined the WCCO team as a reporter in September 2022 - and she's thrilled be back home in the Twin Cities! Beret grew up in Chaska and graduated from Bethel University.

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