Recycling in Multifamily Buildings

This morning, I introduced subject matter of two ordinances around recycling in multifamily buildings.



Minneapolis already has a requirement on the books that managers of any building with more than two units provide recycling service to the residents of the building. Unfortunately, I have heard from our Director of Solid Waste and Recycling that this ordinance has no teeth, and that it is therefore impossible to enforce.



I'm looking to change that. There seem to be multiple options, and I don't yet have a strong preference between them. We could authorize Solid Waste and Recycling to levy fines, authorize our inspections department and Fire department (which inspects all buildings of four or more units) to levy fines, or make the existing ordinance a licensing standard. That last option would allow us to revoke or not renew licenses based on repeated violations of the ordinance.



I view this as a first step towards my larger goal for this year of requiring recycling in commercial uses.