Changes To Golden Valley Recycling Coming In 2022

Golden Valley MN

28 January, 2021

5:25 AM

Description

Press release from the City of Golden Valley: January 27, 2021 With the City's current recycling contract set to expire at the end of 2021 and Hennepin County's mandate that cities begin requiring curbside organics recycling, by this time next year recycling in Golden Valley will look a bit different. Organics recycling is the collection of food scraps, non-recyclable paper, and other compostable products. By diverting these products to a commercial compost facility, they can be recycled into nutrient-rich soil instead of ending up in a landfill. Hennepin County is requiring all cities with more than 10,000 residents make curbside organics recycling available Jan 1, 2022. The City and its Environmental Commission have been planning for this change since 2019. After multiple studies, open houses, and public input opportunities, the City Council considered three options for organics collection—City Contract Opt-In, Hauler License Requirement Opt-In, and City Contract All-In. In Nov 2020, the Council chose to move forward with the City Contract All-In option because it offers the lowest costs to residents and has the opportunity for the highest participation rates, compared with the other options. This means all Golden Valley residents living in single family- family through four-plex households will soon have the opportunity for curbside organics recycling and will see an increase to their quarterly recycling bill payments beginning in 2022. Moving Forward One of the next steps in this process will be choosing a service provider. A Request For Proposal (RFP) issued in January gave recycling providers approximately four weeks to respond. Proposals will then be reviewed, and a contract is expected to be awarded by late spring. The City uses the RFP process to ensure fairness to applicants and transparency to residents. The RFP will help the City choose the best provider while considering a number of variables, including cost, quality of service, and commitment to racial and gender equity and environmental efforts. For more information about organics recycling, visit the City website. This press release was produced by the City of Golden Valley. The views expressed here are the author's own.