Minnesota awards $1M in waste reduction grants

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has announced a total of $1 million in grants for six projects to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of waste reduction, reuse, recycling and composting efforts in Minnesota communities.

According to Heidi Ringhofer, a Greater Minnesota solid waste planner with MPCA, the grants will largely support existing recycling efforts as the technology and the volume of recycling advances.

“It is great to be able to help businesses keep up with the industry and grow in their abilities to deal with a growing number of recyclables,” she says.

MPCA says it follows the "waste hierarchy" and prioritizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling and organics recycling, activities that were summarized in the state’s Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment (SCORE) report from 2023. According to the report, Minnesota posted a combined organics and recycling rate of 45.3 percent, the highest rate since the MPCA began tracking recycling. Minnesota counties also reported reusing 33,998 tons of materials.

MPCA says the selected projects will continue to tackle the state’s growing waste problem.

Grant recipients include:

• The Becker County Environmental Services Department;
• Hubbard County;
• Beltrami County Solid Waste;
• Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority;
• Blue Earth County; and
• Rice County Environmental Services.

Becker County plans to start a source-separated organics collection program at sites that generate large amounts of organic waste such as schools and grocery stores. The county will also place collection containers for residents to use at community drop-off sites in Detroit Lakes, Audubon, Lake Park and Frazee. Grant funds will be used for the purchase of community and home collection bins, compostable bags and sorting equipment for schools.

Hubbard County plans to expand the county’s construction and demolition (C&D) hub-and-spoke plan. This project would focus on establishing and building upon the infrastructure needed in the northwest region to recycle and reuse materials like clean lumber, asphalt shingles, gypsum and drywall and brush and yard waste debris. Grant funds will be used to construct a building to process and store recyclables and to purchase mulch colorizer equipment and a stacking conveyor.

Beltrami County plans to add a new recycling drop-off site in Bemidji, Minnesota, to allow citizens to have continued access to a single sort recycling site. Grant funds would be used to purchase a compactor and containers for single sort recycling and site prep and to educate residents about the new program.

Prairie Lakes Municipal Solid Waste Authority plans to develop and pilot a municipal solid waste combustor ash recycling project. The grant funds will be used to analyze ash, screen recyclable material from the ash, conduct project design and for education.

Blue Earth County plans to increase available space for reusable material in an expansion of a current reuse area by purchasing shelving and storage and shipping containers.

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Rice County plans to reduce the amount of C&D materials being landfilled in the county and increase education and outreach surrounding waste diversion and reuse opportunities with an emphasis on targeting historically underserved communities. Funding will be used to hire employees to implement programs, provide mini grants to construction and demolition contractors and set up a shingle recycling program. 

MPCA anticipates opening another application round for this grant program in late summer 2025.

Read more about the grant recipients.