New Yard Waste Rules

Starting this spring, the City will no longer pick up yard waste in plastic bagsResidents may use compostable bags, paper lawn bags, or sturdy reusable containers.

Using compostable plastic bags, Kraft paper lawn and leaf yard waste bags, or a reusable container, eliminates the need to debag yard waste before composting. This results in an improved collection program with lower yard waste processing costs and higher quality finished compost.

From April 9 to May 7 there will be a four-week transition period for folks who have plastic leaf bags from last season. Through collection day the week of April 30, you may set out plastic bags of leaves from last fall or early spring for collection. Your yard waste crews will debag and collect your yard waste placing the empty plastic bags in your garbage cart and information about the new rules will be left behind. After May 7, 2012, all yard waste in conventional plastic bags will not be picked up but will be left and tagged to be repackaged.

I think this is a great step forward for Minneapolis.  I questioned whether it was wise for us to seek and receive an exemption from the compostable bag mandate that surrounding communities have been operating under for the past few years.  We should be doing more to reduce the amount of plastic waste we're generating as a city, and this is a concrete example.

For more information, go here.