When will YOU get single-sort recycling?

The City of Minneapolis has posted a map on its web site showing which areas will get single-sort recycling during the phased roll-out.

Time to recycle your plastic flower pots

Sorry for the drought of posts this year -- I've had too much on my plate. We'll see if I can make up for lost time a little bit.


There's still time to recycle your plastic plant pots at Mother Earth Gardens in Minneapolis. This is from their website:

POT RECYCLING ends on Sunday, September 24th.
Good excuse to start the fall chores in the garage? The name of this game is cooperation. We'll take single growers pots, 4 and 6 pack cells, and trays sorted by size and free of debris. Please make sure the pots do not contain any wires, rocks, garbage, other plastics, or excessive dirt because this stuff wrecks the process downstream. We cannot take compostable pots or consumer plastic pots purchased empty. Feel free to ask us if your pots fit the bill, we need to work together to keep this program going!

Minneapolis going single-sort next year

The City Council and the mayor approved the switch. Here's the story on the city's website.

Eastside Food Co-op ending its plastics drop-off program

From their website:
After four years working with the City of Minneapolis, Eastside Food Co-op is ending its Plastics Recycling Drop-off Pilot Program.

Why?

Because the demand was so great that the City of Minneapolis has included plastics #1-7 in its expanded curb-side recycling program.

In other words, the pilot program was a success -- now the entire City will be able to recycle its #1-7 plastics curbside!

WE WILL CLOSE the Thursday plastics drop-off THIS WEEK on Thursday, April 12.
WE WILL CLOSE the Saturday plastics drop-off on SATURDAY, MAY 5.
We will not be able to accept plastics after those dates. For our patrons who do not live in Minneapolis, we encourage you to find options to recapture your plastics from the waste stream. For all of you who have rinsed, sorted, stored, and delivered your plastics over the past four years, Thank you so much for your support! It is because of your dedication that plastics recycling is now available to all residents of the City of Minneapolis. For more information, visit: www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/solid-waste/recycling

Now's the time to downsize your Dex Yellow Pages

To reduce the directories you receive or stop delivery of those paper behemoths entirely, go to www.DexKnows.com/Green or call 1-866-60-MY-DEX (1-866-606-9339). Minneapolis residents should submit their requests by Feb. 20 to alter the May 2012 delivery of the Dex Minneapolis Yellow Pages.

Trashing your Christmas trees

We Minneapolis residents think that when we put our Christmas trees at the curb they're getting collected for composting just like yard waste in the summer, right? Well that turns out to not be the case. Apparently the city is allowed to throw those particular trees in with the trash even though it's illegal to do with yard waste. Why? They're considered 'ornamentals' and are exempt from the yard waste ban. There was some discussion about this at work, and hopefully the policy will change this year. We're keeping ours in our yard for now, and we'll put it out once yard waste season starts.

New materials being accepted at Coon Rapids Recycling Center

I know you all are going to be especially excited about this one: Styrofoam cups, plates, bowls, take-out containers, egg cartons!

Other new materials:
carpet
CDs, DVDs
packing peanuts (for reuse)
fire extinguishers
propane tanks

Read all the details here.