The City of Saint Paul’s Solid Waste team includes both Recycling and Garbage services. These programs provide education and resources for residents to reduce, reuse, recycle, and safely dispose of materials to promote a sustainable and healthy community for all. Saint Paul contracts with several haulers to provide citywide recycling and garbage collection services to residents living in 1-4 unit properties. Having a coordinated hauling program benefits residents by setting uniform rates, protecting public health, reducing wear and tear on streets and alleys, and reducing pollution by having fewer trucks on the street.
Recyclables are processed and sorted at Eureka Recycling’s Material Recovery Facility and transported to markets in the Twin Cities metro area, the Midwest, and North America to be made into new consumer products. Garbage collected in the City of Saint Paul goes to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center (R&E Center). The material is processed to produce fuel used by Xcel Energy to generate electricity.
The Solid Waste team also provides community waste reduction and recycling programs beyond just recycling and garbage pick-up. This includes things like, food waste reduction classes, recycling drop-off events, litter clean-up support, and much more.
The City of Saint Paul established goals of diverting waste 40% by 2020 and 80% by 2030.
Key Initiatives:
WR-1 Develop and implement a waste prevention plan to keep items out of the trash
WR-2 Develop and adopt an ordinance to place a fee on single-use shopping bags
WR-3 Promote county compost and yard waste drop off sites
WR-4 Develop and implement a household organics collection program
WR-5 Expand recycling for businesses and public facilities
WR-6 Adopt a deconstruction/diversion ordinance to require the reuse/recycling of construction materials
WR-7 Adopt a “to go” packaging ordinance requiring containers to be recyclable or compostable
WR-8 Coordinate with Ramsey and Washington County to support anaerobic digestion of organic materials, or other GHG reducing practices
WR-9 Work with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to identify opportunities to capture and utilize any methane leaking from closed Pig’s Eye landfill
WR-10 In consideration of the Great River Passage, coordinate with the MPCA and community stakeholders to explore land use strategies that can benefit residents and improve the environmental aspects of the Pig’s Eye Landfill, such as a ballasted community solar garden
Reducing waste is crucial for protecting the environment, conserving resources, mitigating pollution, and promoting sustainable practices for the well-being of current and future generations.
Take action by making changes in your daily life: