DAY 1: WEDNESDAY, APRIL 30, 2025

Schedule Subject to Change

7:30 AM - 9:30 AM Exhibitor Setup

Location: Minnetonka 1-6

8:00 AM - 9:30 AM Self-Travel Tours

8:00AM | Dem-Con

Hop on our new tour bus and get an inside look at all the solid waste disposal, processing and recycling facilities at Dem-Con Companies. We will tour our MRF, metals recycling facility, C&D recycling facility, the landfill and our transfer station. Dress for the weather and make sure to wear boots or similar shoes! 13020 Dem-Con Drive, follow the tour signs and park behind our main office building.

9:00 AM | Recycle Minnesota

| Mystic Lake Hydronics Tour
The heating and cooling systems at Mystic Lake Casino were aging and needed to be replaced. The goal was to provide the best long-term economic value, while working towards the overall sustainability goals of the Community. Hydronics - a process where heating and cooling is achieved with tempered water running through piping and coils, was chosen for several reasons, including the benefit of removing approximately 6,000 pounds of refrigerant from the property. This tour will walk you through the new Hyrdronics plant on property and discuss the efficiency and environmental benefits of this process

9:30 AM - 10:30 AM Registration, Breakfast, Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

10:30 AM - 10:45 AM Welcome

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Joint Session: Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) Panel

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

In 2024, the State Legislature passed the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act to create an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system for packaging in Minnesota. The rollout of the program will take several years. Hear from representatives of the producer responsibility organization (PRO), regulators, and state advisory board members about the challenges and opportunities in implementing the law.

10:45 AM - 12:00 PM Hazardous Waste

Location: Isanti 3

Session Description Coming Soon

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM Lunch & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Recycling

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

Textile Recycling Collection
In 2024, Ramsey County partnered with RR to run a series of recycling events, community impact/retold impact. This presentation will share the backstory and the results, including photos and video!

I. Introduction: The Textile Waste Crisis by Tara
Annually, 11.3 million tons of textile waste end up in U.S. landfills, making up 85% of all textiles. This equates to 81.5 pounds (37 kg) of textile waste per person, per year. Landfilled textiles contribute to pollution, resource depletion, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Recently there have been a lack of options for local recycling, so after seeing Retold on Shark Tank we reached out to see if there was a way of partnering with city cleanup events.

II. Retold Recycling’s Approach by Amelia
Our Mission: Retold Recycling was founded to provide a convenient solution to this crisis by making textile recycling accessible and easy for consumers.
Retold allows consumers to mail in unwanted textiles, clothing, bras, undies, and even fabric scraps from DIY projects. We also partner with local governments and organizations to provide bulk collections for communities. Retold offers a straightforward, user-friendly process to encourage recycling. Our mission centers on reducing the environmental impact of the textile industry.
Every item we collect is sorted for upcycling, recycling, or resale, reinforcing our #NoLandfill mission and supporting a circular economy. Retold works with domestic recycling services to responsibly process textiles, contributing to a more sustainable local economy.

III. Ramsey County Partnership
Partnerships with local governments and organizations, like our collaboration with Ramsey County, are key to expanding recycling programs and reaching more people. From April to September 2024, Retold diverted 10,922 lbs of textiles from the trash with collections in White Bear Lake, Roseville and Saint Paul. Through these community efforts, residents have easier access to textile recycling, helping to reduce waste at a local level!

IV. Measuring Impact and Future Goals
Retold tracked the amount of textile material diverted from landfills to measure our collective impact and provide those statistics - for example what are the equivalent trees plants for the impact of diverting textiles away from landfills. Our goal is to scale this model and reach more fabulous milestones within Minnesota communities together!

Presenters:
Tara Roffler, Ramsey County Environmental Health
Amelia Trumble, Retold

Mattress Recycling at Sleep Number
Think of sustainability differently! By using our end-to-end supply chain, Sleep Number is able to be an industry leader in sustainability. Our 100-day return policy would be a sustainability challenge for most, however, Sleep Number views this as an opportunity to invest in circularity and extend the life cycle of our products. 
Presenter:
Courtney Panther, Sleep Number Corporation

Minnesota Stakeholder Process: End of Life Options for Solar
The MPCA has been working with the solar industry since 2018 discussing end of life management options for solar. This has included a grassroots stakeholder process starting in 2019, a product stewardship bill in 2022, and a 2023 mandated solar module recycling study and policy working group. The 2023 law includes a report and PCA policy recommendations due to the legislature January 2025. That would be completed and could be presented on at this conference. The presentation gives a history of the stakeholder processes, results, and next steps.
Presenters:
Amanda Cotton, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
John Gilkeson, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Organics Management

Location: Isanti 1

The History and Future of Managing Waste in the Iron Range
This presentation will delve into the fascinating history of the development of Hibbing, Minnesota and how the interplay of waste management and energy production have developed over more than a century. We will then progress into innovative emerging technologies that are being explored to accelerate Hibbing into the economy of the future.
Utility-scale electricity production generally follows the common process of:

-A fuel (coal, natural gas, biomass, nuclear, etc.) creates heat
-That heat is captured by a boiler jacket where water becomes steam
-The steam goes to a turbine which produces electricity
-After the turbine the steam is still very hot but lower in pressure
-To avoid constantly drawing in huge volumes of fresh water, the steam must be further cooled and condensed back to water for recirculation
- Most power plants solely utilize large cooling towers to dissipate the excess heat to the atmosphere
- A much more resource-efficient cooling method is to provide district steam service for home heating and local industry which can then classify the plant as Combined Heat and Power (CHP) (also known as co-generation).

CHP energy systems can utilize as much as 50% more of the energy released from fuels than typical power plants that vent their heat to the atmosphere. CHP is gaining significant recent popularity globally as an emerging innovation due to its high energy efficiency, potential for reduced carbon emissions, and cost-saving benefits. Hibbing Public Utilities (HPU) has had one since 1920 and it has been utilizing renewable waste biomass feedstocks since 2007.

Northern Minnesota as a region faces significant challenges in addressing hazardous forest residues and rural economic stagnation. The historic economic success of our community has largely been tied to the boom and bust cycle of mining and mineral extraction. To continue the legacy of local production and ensure that community benefits continue for our residents, HPU needs innovation and diversification to conserve and grow our energy generation capabilities and natural resources economies.

HPU is committed to achieving carbon-neutral energy generation by 2028; to achieve this, innovative wood energy solutions are critical. Carbontec provides HPU with guidance and oversight tracking of carbon credits and offsets in their evolution to continually increase wood utilization to offset coal and natural gas usage while tackling problems and threats in Minnesota’s great forested North.

HPU operations currently utilize approximately 50,000 tons/year of wood waste on average. The total available capacity of existing infrastructure is approximately 100,000 tons/year and with efficiency improvements it’s estimated processing could reach 120,000 tons/year. Through implementation of emerging technologies, HPU targets a total capacity of 300,000 tons/year of wood waste processing capacity within the next decade.
Presenter:
Nicholas Rich-Vetsch, PE Carbontec

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Solid Waste

Location: Isanti 2

Waste Management History
Ever wonder what our ancestors did with their wastes? Journey through several time periods where we explore waste management methods of the past, mismanagement of waste, and a unique history of Mayo Clinic waste disposal practices.
Presenters:
Ray Gladkowsk, Mayo Clinic
Camille Lunn, Mayo Clinic

1:00 PM - 2:15 PM Hazardous Waste

Location: Isanti 3

Session Description Coming Soon

2:15 - 2:30 PM Break & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM Recycling

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

The Challenges of Mechanical & Chemical Recycling
Use of recycled resins in main stream applications will be increasing in the coming years. Using recycled post-consumer resin as a replacement for virgin resin is the goal of many initiatives. Recycling PCR has added complexity over post-industrial material that will be explored. Green Group Consulting uses several industry and government studies to inform our discussion. There are benefits and drawbacks of both mechanical and chemical recycling that will be explored. For a more complete review of what will be discussed, please review the chemical recycling report on our website. greengroupconsulting.com
Presenter:
David Nix, Green Group Consulting

Plastic Film Collection site set-up and use; GDB plastic recycling facility in Rogers
Session Description Coming Soon
Presenter:
Raj Bagaria, GDB International

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM Organics Management

Location: Isanti 1

Stakeholder Strategic Planning for Organics Management in Iowa
The Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is taking strides to improve organics management throughout Iowa. IDNR worked with SCS Engineers to research and recruit industry stakeholders that represent a variety of organics management interests ranging from food rescue to anaerobic digestion. Through several facilitated work sessions and stakeholder meetings, SCS helped the groups develop short, medium, and long-term potential strategies with possible implementation methods. This presentation will share the actions taken to develop implementation strategies and the efforts IDNR is using to help guide future organic management approaches for Iowa.
Presenter:
Jeff Phillips, SCS Engineers

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM Solid Waste

Location: Isanti 2

MPCA Solid Waste Applications Online Services
The MPCA is dedicated to developing online services to improve efficiency, data integrity, and transparency. The first of many for the solid waste program is an online service for solid waste permit applications. The first part of that service will be available for users in mid-2025. This presentation will be a demonstration of the service so far. The agency welcomes questions and feedback from permittees, consultants, and other potential users.
Presenters:
Joe, Miller, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
Lisa Mojsiej, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

2:30 PM - 3:45 PM Hazardous Waste

Location: Isanti 3

MPCA's Compliance Resources & Regulatory Guidance
Session Description Coming Soon
Presenter:
Josh Burman, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

3:45 PM - 5:30 PM Happy Hour

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

DAY 2: THURSDAY, MAY 1, 2025

Schedule Subject to Change

7:30 AM - 8:30 AM Registration, Breakfast, Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

8:30 AM - 9:30 AM Legislative Panel

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

Legislators have taken a keen interest in solid waste in the last few years. Drivers for change include environmental justice, concerns about plastic production and recycling, and a desire for more organics diversion. We have invited several key legislators to share their thoughts and to hear from you about the future of waste policy in Minnesota.

9:30 AM - 10:00 AM Break & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

10:00 AM - 11:00 AM Keynote

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

Keynote Description Coming Soon

11:00 AM - 11:15 AM Break & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Recycling

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

WM Twin Cities MRF Retrofit
The WM Twin Cities Materials Recovery Facility processes recyclables from the 5-state region: MN, ND, SD, IA and WI. We recently completed an extensive retrofit designed to enhance its efficiency and sorting capabilities. This upgrade includes the installation of 10 new optical sorters, a cutting-edge elliptical sorter, and fully automated the paper QC. These advancements position the facility at the forefront of recycling technology, ensuring improved material recovery and quality.

The addition of 10 optical sorters significantly boosts the facility’s ability to quickly and accurately identify and separate a wide range of recyclables, particularly plastics and mixed materials. These optical sorters use advanced infrared technology to detect specific materials, leading to more precise sorting and reduced contamination rates.

In addition to the optical sorters, the implementation of an elliptical sorter enhances the system’s sorting speed and efficiency, especially for finer and more challenging materials. This state-of-the-art technology allows for greater throughput and less downtime.

With these upgrades, the Twin Cities MRF has significantly improved its capacity to process recyclables, reduce contamination, and produce cleaner, higher-quality materials. This retrofit represents a major step forward in the region’s recycling infrastructure, setting the stage for more sustainable, efficient, and technologically advanced material recovery in the future.
Presenters:
Josh Allen, Waste Management
Julie Ketchum, Waste Management

The True Cost of Recycling
Recycling is often perceived as an essential component of environmental stewardship, yet its financial dynamics are rarely understood by the public or policymakers. Too often costs are hidden or externalized (such as when a city puts together a budget for all sanitation services but doesn’t examine or share the difference in cost between programs or when a company underbids for a recycling contract knowing they can make it up in profit from subscription garbage services). As Minnesota embarks on implementing its newly passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation, understanding and communicating the true cost of recycling has never been more critical. This presentation, titled "The True Cost of Recycling," will delve into the multifaceted economic, social, and environmental implications of accurately accounting for recycling costs.

Through this discussion, we will explore why fair cost assessment is fundamental to achieving equitable outcomes, sustaining operational efficiency, and fostering public trust in recycling systems. We will also address the critical role of worker wages, pricing structures, systemic equity, and innovation in building a sustainable and resilient recycling infrastructure.

Why It's So Important to Get the True Cost of Recycling Correct: Recycling systems are foundational to environmental health and economic sustainability. Misrepresenting costs undermines decision-making, leads to financial instability, and impacts policy development. An accurate understanding ensures that investments in recycling align with broader goals of waste reduction, material circularity, and climate resilience. Moreover, it supports the equitable distribution of resources, benefiting municipalities, businesses, and citizens alike.
Presenters:
Katie Drews, Eureka Recycling
Miriam Holsinger, Eureka Recycling

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Organics Management

Location: Isanti 1

Sorting It Out: How MSP Airport is Using AI to Keep Food Waste Out of Landfills
In October 2024, Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP) took a bold step toward sustainability by introducing Oscar Sort, an AI-powered recycling assistant that’s changing how airports handle waste. The mission? Adding a compost bin to ensure food waste from the terminals stays out of landfills.
In this session, we’ll explore how Oscar Sort uses AI and behavioral science to make waste sorting simple and effective. Discover how MSP is leveraging real-time data to optimize operations, cut carbon emissions, and divert tons of food waste (and recyclables) from the trash.
We’ll also highlight the big wins:

For the Planet: Less waste, fewer emissions, and cleaner recycling and composting streams.
For People: Fun, interactive ways to engage passengers in sustainability efforts.
For Profit: Reduced costs and exciting opportunities for sponsorships and branding.

Find out how MSP and other major airports across North America, including SEA and LGA, are leading the charge in turning trash into treasure (or at least ensuring it’s properly sorted). Whether you’re passionate about tech, sustainability, or curious about how AI is making airports greener and cleaner, this session is for you!
Presenter:
Hassan Murad, Intuitive AI

Two Decades of Community Food Scraps Drop Sites: How to Build a Toolkit for Problem-Solving and Success!
WLSSD established the country's first community food scraps drop site program in 2005 and we are stilling growing! We recently set a goal to increase our drop sites from 9 to 15 sites, using environmental justice as a guide in locating those sites. We have learned a lot on our 20-year journey, and we'd like to share the tools we've added to our toolbox to solve problems along the way. The presentation will include the following topics: selecting and communicating with potential drop site hosts; engaging neighborhood residents in using the drop sites; ensuring user-friendly (and host-friendly) drop sites; reducing contamination; providing ongoing education & promotions; and partnering with waste haulers to provide drop site pick-up service.
Presenter:
Dori Decker, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Solid Waste

Location: Isanti 2

Bulky
Session Description Coming Soon

Community Clean-Out: Abandoned Waste Abatement Through an Environmental Justice Lens
Abandoned waste is a rising challenge for municipalities in the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District (WLSSD) region. Identified barriers to proper disposal include financial burden of disposal costs, waste literacy, availability of transportation, and personal mobility. The concept of a free disposal or “waste amnesty” day offers, in theory, more equitable access to proper disposal. However, past free waste collection events in the region were challenged by high volumes of material and perceptions that one-day free disposal discouraged residents from learning responsible disposal practices and paying disposal costs at dedicated facilities the rest of the year.
In 2024, WLSSD piloted a novel format for waste amnesty events with the aim of decreasing the frequency of abandoned waste complaints in the region and maximizing landfill diversion in high-volume solid waste collection events. The core concepts of this new event format were: neighborhood-level scope, direct collaboration with municipal entities, and an environmental justice lens. Two of these Community Collection events were completed in 2024. These one-day drop-off events invited residents of a defined neighborhood area to bring material for disposal. The targeted neighborhoods were identified through Census data as most disadvantaged from an environmental justice perspective. Materials accepted for drop-off included municipal solid waste, appliances, electronics, scrap metal, hazardous waste, mixed recycling, film plastic recycling, tires, mattresses, yard waste, and items suitable for reuse. Participants separated waste by material stream to maximize landfill diversion and waste literacy. In addition to the drop-off event, both events offered multifaceted accessibility accommodations based on personal mobility or transportation barriers. Each of the two events tested different variables in communication, planning, and execution of the event, and the results will inform the continuation of the program in the future.
In this presentation, a WLSSD Environmental Program Coordinator will explore the planning and execution of the Community Collections. Topics to be discussed include: effective techniques for collaboration, identification of needs and barriers, diversification of communication strategies, collection logistics, costs & budgeting, evaluation metrics, and lessons learned.
Presenter:
Emma Pardini, Western Lake Superior Sanitary District

11:15 AM - 12:15 PM Waste Prevention/Reduction

Location: Isanti 3

Incentivizing Reuse
Why do people shop secondhand? What motivates their choice to consider used, thrifted, refurbished, or otherwise previously owned items over buying new? What inspires individuals to repair instead of replace? And what barriers are greatest when making these choices? This presentation will cover results from two surveys conducted by Reuse Minnesota, along with recommendations for incentivizing more reuse in our state.
Presenters:
Emily Barker, Reuse Minnesota
Carolyn Wieland, Reuse Minnesota

12:15 PM - 1:30 PM Lunch & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Recycling

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

Recycling Education Toolbox
Educating the public about anything in the age of 5 second attention spans can be difficult. Throw in the misinformation and constantly changing rules of the recycling industry and you get a cocktail that leads many to disengage completely. But if there’s one thing, we’ve learned from attending countless events and responding to thousands of emails and Facebook posts, it’s that people love to talk trash - you just must get the conversation started.
The City of Minneapolis implements a wide array of educational tools to educate its residents about recycling. Including everything from sending specialized letters to individual households that are found with a specific contaminant to tracking engagement on our annual mailers that get sent out to every customer. Depending on your audience and what you are trying to communicate, different tools are required to reach and teach our communities about recycling. It’s all about finding the right tool for the job, testing that tool, evaluating if it worked, then tweaking and repeating.
Our presentation will cover some of the tools we have been using over the years, like cart tagging and our active Facebook group. Also, how we evaluate each tool and apply tweaks to match our evaluation. We will highlight the successes of tools that have worked for us and the drawbacks of the ones that didn’t, as well as discuss what we have planned for 2025 and beyond.
Presenter:
Kelly Kish, City of Minneapolis

Toward Zero Waste: Enhancing Waste Diversion and Sustainable Practices for Large Scale Events
The waste diversion initiative at Williams Arena aimed to address inefficiencies in waste sorting by introducing unified collection bins, clear signage, and educational campaigns. Pre-initiative audits revealed a 58% diversion rate, with significant contamination in all streams. After implementing new bins with color-coded compartments, customized signage, and outreach highlighting the benefits of proper sorting, post-audit results showed significant progress. Recyclables in trash dropped from 30% to 12%, and compostables in trash decreased by 215 lbs mid-project, though they still represent a large portion of the waste stream. These results demonstrate improved sorting behaviors, especially in recycling, but highlight the importance for composting education, staff training, and back-of-house compliance. The project serves as a scalable model for achieving sustainability goals in high-traffic venues.
Presenter:
Ahnika Seifert, University of Minnesota

Recycling Access for Citizens with Disabilities
Motivated by a personal connection with the blindness community, Allison Majerus developed an initiative to increase access to recycling services and resources for citizens with disabilities in Nebraska while working at the Nebraska Recycling Council. To develop this initiative, she spoke with citizens with disabilities, facilitated a webinar and conference session on the topic, developed a resource guide to assist municipalities, and planned and hosted public events for recycling and rehoming of durable medical equipment in Nebraska.
Using this work as a case study, Allison’s presentation will share insights into how her initiative extends to other states, focusing on the disability community in Minnesota. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2024, more than 1 in 4 (28.7%) adults in the United States have some disability. Across Minnesota, about 593,700 persons have one or more disabilities, roughly 10.9% of the population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2015 American Community Survey. It’s important to consider all members of the population when providing access to a recycling program, including those with disabilities.
This presentation will also discuss strategies for promoting recycling access for residents with disabilities. Members of the disability community may have more challenges learning about the recycling programs available to them or accessing the option to do so compared to their able-bodied neighbors, as there may be financial, physical, or infrastructure barriers. If recycling services aren’t provided, recycling can be unaffordable due to living on a fixed budget. Others encounter challenges carrying heavy items to drop-off locations or accessing recycling drop-offs due to proximity or transportation issues. Wheelchair users can be affected by the height of recycling roll-off openings, the space between roll-off containers and the route they travel to get to their recycling bins. Blind or visually impaired citizens face barriers related to obtaining accessible information about the recycling program, such as what materials are acceptable, where to bring them, or what bin to put them in.
Allison will also share results from the planning and implementation of public events to recycle and rehome durable medical equipment – hard-to-recycle materials. Donated during scheduled event days, durable medical equipment was assessed, and if in usable condition, it was available to the public at the rehome event. If unusable, it was recycled by a scrap metal and/or battery recycler. These events were grant-funded, free to the public, and involved multiple local partners. Every partner was essential to the events, contributing equipment expertise, location, local knowledge and resources, promotion and volunteer assistance, and recycling resources.

In addition, Allison will welcome discussion with attendees to share strategies, ask questions, and share experiences related to recycling access for citizens with disabilities.
This presentation is suited for professionals who work with the public in recycling program education and communication efforts and make decisions about public-facing recycling infrastructure, as well as anyone interested in learning more about the landscape of recycling access for citizens with disabilities. We invite you to attend and examine the complexities of creating and implementing sustainable recycling initiatives.
Presenter:
Allison Majerus, HDR

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Organics Management

Location: Isanti 1

Food Scraps Pick Up Program Overview
Food scraps make up around 20% of household trash by weight in Ramsey and Washington counties. To better manage this waste, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy (R&E) is rolling out a new program that will be available to every resident in the two counties. This new program utilizes AI technology to sort specially designed compostable bags, called food scrap bags, from household trash. The program follows a co-collection model, meaning residents can place the food scrap bags into their household trash cart or dumpster, eliminating the need for a separate collection cart and additional haulers on the road. Participation is free to all residents, regardless of housing type and home ownership.
R&E staff will present information on the planning, development, and roll-out of this unique program. The presentation will include a range of information on the program, including:

• The design of the program and rationale for using a co-collection model in Ramsey and Washington counties

• How the program works for participating residents

• The process, systems, and technologies that make it possible

Presenters:
Annalee Garletz, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center
Sam Holl, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Solid Waste

Location: Isanti 2

Unanticipated Costs Panel: Why are Costs of Solid Waste Management Out of Control
Session Description Coming Soon

1:30 PM - 2:45 PM Waste Prevention/Reduction

Location: Isanti 3

From Vision to Reality: Transforming the Built Environment with Purpose and Power
Minnesota is leading the way in sustainability by providing transformative grant funding to empower organizations and communities to create a more sustainable built environment. These initiatives prioritize reuse, resource conservation, and innovation, emphasizing the reuse of building materials and sustainable practices to reduce waste and strengthen local economies.
Dozens of communities across the state are benefiting from these projects, which breathe new life into the built environment. From preserving materials for future use to supporting industries specializing in the reuse of entire buildings and building materials, these efforts are driving meaningful change. By minimizing waste and lowering costs, Minnesota’s investments are helping organizations achieve sustainability goals while fostering economic and environmental resilience.
The impact goes beyond individual projects. These opportunities lead to cleaner environments, revitalized spaces, and collaborative initiatives that create ripple effects benefiting all Minnesotans. As these changes take hold, they showcase the power of innovation and partnership in shaping a future where sustainability drives progress. Through this funding, Minnesota is transforming vision into reality—empowering communities to thrive and ensuring that our built environment contributes to a stronger, more sustainable Minnesota.
Presenter:
Melissa Wenzel, Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

Coin in the Couch Cushions
Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling (SW&R) picks up bulky items like couches, mattresses, appliances and electronics as part of its regular collection program. All non-recyclable large items – like couches and other furniture – are put directly into the back of the packer truck. Until recently, SW&R has had no idea how many bulky items are picked up each week.
To understand the quantity of bulky items collected, and evaluate the potential for a new reuse program, collection crews have been asked to track not only the quantity, but also the quality of furniture going into the back of the garbage truck. By conference time, the city of Minneapolis should have a half-year's seasonal sampling of data on bulky items picked up as garbage. Couches and upholstered chairs are among the top items collected.
The City contracts with Second Chance Recycling for mattress recycling, with over 36,000 mattresses and box springs processed from the City alone each year. Second Chance (a division of Emerge) and the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI) received a LCCMR grant to not only improve markets for mattress commodities, but also evaluate the feasibility of recycling the fabric, stuffing, etc. from upholstered furniture. Working with Second Chance and NRRI, Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling sees potential for marketing the various fibers, fillers, and wood from couches, chairs and recliners.
Already, mattresses are broken down into cotton, foam, shoddy, wood and metal, at Second Chance. Minneapolis deconstructs hide-a-beds and recliners to recover and recycle the metal. SW&R, Emerge and NRRI continue to discuss how each other’s evaluations can help the other. SW&R may provide Emerge and NRRI with samples to see what components in furniture match those found in mattresses and whether those components could be diverted into those same streams.
This session touches on equipment and procedures being tested for efficacy in scaling in-field analysis of recycling potential. While a work-in-progress, this case study could be helpful to other municipalities trying to shift bulky items from incineration/landfill, to recycling. Audience questions and suggestions could also help shape future research or project modifications.
Minneapolis is also evaluating materials at its residential drop-off site (transfer station) for reuse, repair or recyclable potential – metals, cardboard, rigid plastics and more. GreenCorps member time is utilized to evaluate reuse practices in the department.
Like the literal coin in the cushions, little things add up.
Presenter:
Margo Ashmore, City of Minneapolis Solid Waste & Recycling

2:45 PM - 3:00 PM Break & Exhibits

Location: Minnetonka Prefunction and Minnetonka 1-6

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Recycling

Location: Minnetonka 7-9

Advancing EJ through SCORE Funding
This presentation will be sharing a model that was developed to incorporate Environmental Justice (EJ) into Ramsey County’s SCORE funding mechanism to better distribute funds in an equitable manner. Ramsey County, with the assistance of Foth, developed a mechanism that takes Environmental Justice indicators into account when determining how their SCORE funding gets distributed amongst their municipalities. Using the Center for Disease Control’s Environmental Justice Index (EJI) Explorer tool, they used each municipality’s overall EJI rankings to sort them from least burdened to most burdened by EJ indicators and used that ranking as part of the funding mechanism. In bringing EJ into the SCORE funding mechanism, they saw funding opportunities grow for the municipalities that needed it most and were not supported well with the previous mechanism, while still maintaining an equitable distribution of funding. During this presentation, Ramsey County and Foth will share why they chose the CDC’s tool over others, how they utilized the EJI tool, and share the mechanism they developed that is helping bring Environmental Justice into view for Ramsey County.
Presenters:
Filsan Ibrahim, Ramsey County
Angie Lemar, Foth Infrastructure and Environment
Marissa Michalkiewicz, Foth Infrastructure and Environment

Legislative Report for the MPCA on Pathways to Implement Policies, Programs, and Infrastructure
The environment and natural resources appropriations omnibus bill enacted a requirement for the MPCA to carry out a study and prepare a report that includes a pathway to implement resource management policies, programs, and infrastructure.
RRS was awarded the contract to conduct the required study, which will take place primarily throughout 2025. The main tasks that RRS will be looking at on behalf of PCA include:

• Municipal Solid Waste (MSW) Management State Overview

• Infrastructure Summary

• Infrastructure Needed without Waste to Energy or Additional Diversion Infrastructure

• System Implementation Analysis

• Programs, Regulatory, and Policy Initiatives

• Economic Assessment

• Human Health, Ecosystem, and Cumulative Risks: Following dialogue with MPCA, as well as engagement with other stakeholders, the overall approach and scope of the risk assessments will be finalized.

Additionally, RRS will be responsible for conducting public outreach and stakeholder engagement process while conducting the report, as well as compiling feedback on the final report. We are looking at RAM as a partner on the stakeholder engagement process and we see the RAM conference as an ideal opportunity to engage with the State‘s recycling community, operators, and industry partners.
Presenter:
Steve Montle, Company

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Organics Management

Location: Isanti 1

Preventing Wasted Food and Engaging the Commercial Sector: Hennepin County
Hennepin County (the County) aims to cut the amount of edible food in its waste stream in half, utilizing newly finalized Wasted Food Prevention Plan strategies to get there. The County has been a leader in waste reduction in Minnesota and has the ambitious goal of preventing 90 percent of all material from being landfilled or incinerated. The County has identified food waste, particularly edible food, as an opportunity to reduce waste generation from both residents and commercial entities. Join HDR Solid Waste Planner Amanda Erickson and Hennepin County Food Waste Prevention Specialist Jenny Kedward to discuss the Wasted Food Prevention Plan.
Food is the most common material in the waste stream, making up about 20 percent of what is thrown away in the County – about two-thirds of that food waste could have been eaten. Wasted food has significant climate impacts from the energy and resulting greenhouse gas emissions used to grow, produce, transport, and store food to the methane generated when food waste is landfilled. To address this issue, HDR assisted in developing the County’s new Wasted Food Prevention Plan by completing background research, interviewing communities with similar plans, and conducting significant outreach to the commercial sector. While the County has conducted residential research on preventing wasted food, it needed to engage with the commercial sector to better understand how food is produced, distributed, sold, and consumed in commercial settings like restaurants.
Working as a third party to gather authentic feedback, HDR completed background research using available data, targeting outreach to better quantify and understand the flow of County food. Surveys were distributed to specific commercial food sectors, while targeted listening sessions were conducted to understand where businesses create wasted food and how the County could support reducing this waste.
Research, outreach, and interviews concluded that no other community identified has a plan specific to reducing wasted food without also focusing on organics recycling and/or food donation – none seemingly focused solely on the upstream approach of prevention. This information makes the County’s plan the first of its kind. Using national and local data, County staff also developed methodology to create a baseline and goal for wasted food prevention in the trash and organics streams that can be replicated by other communities.
The resulting Wasted Food Prevention Plan includes background research, engagement feedback, and specific strategies to reduce wasted food for residents, businesses, and schools. Some strategies are already being implemented by the County, while others are long-term projects to help guide future activities. The plan’s focus is ultimately to reduce the amount of edible food in the waste stream by half, further supporting the County’s zero-waste and climate-action goals.
We encourage you to attend and learn more about how wasted food affects communities. Attendees can expect to learn about the plan development and specific strategies for reducing wasted food. This presentation is intended for those working in food waste reduction and anyone interested in sustainability and seeking a greater understanding of food waste prevention.
Presenter:
Amanda Erickson, HDR
Jenny Kedward, Hennepin County

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Solid Waste

Location: Isanti 2

Resource Recovery: Environmental Benefits Beyond Traditional Waste Management
This first part of this session will include an overview by three Minnesota solid waste program administrators of their respective solid waste management programs, including the type and scope of the resource recovery component (energy from waste). Specifically, these presentations will include a description of their respective integrated solid waste management systems (collection, materials processing, energy recovery, and disposal), the geographic region served (cities and counties), and the environmental and economic benefits provided.
These presentations will be followed by a facilitated discussion by the session lead with the three panelists to address a range of issues, focusing on the environmental benefits of resource recovery beyond waste volume reduction and disposal.
The potential issues discussed may include, but will not be limited to the following:
1) Materials recovery methods and technologies for post curbside-collected materials.
2) PFAS destruction through controlled incineration.
3) Impacts of the implementation of the new Extended Producer Responsibility law on resource recovery solid waste management systems.
4) Estimated greenhouse gas reduction through the displacement of traditional energy generation using waste as a fuel resource.
5) Beneficial reuse of ash.
The facilitated segment of the session will address state-of-the-art materials recovery equipment, new Minnesota waste management legislation, emerging environmental contaminants, renewable energy, and GHG reduction. A portion of the session will be designated for questions and comments from session attendees.
Presenter:
Robert Craggs, Minnesota Resource Recovery Association

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM Waste Prevention/Reduction

Location: Isanti 3

Seeing is believing: Waste Reduction Education Through Facility Tours at the R&E Center
Where did the shoes or smartphones we buy come from? Where do our recyclables go? Where does the energy that heats our homes come from? And when we throw something away, do we know where is ‘away’? Most of us would struggle to thoroughly answer these questions. If we could, would we do things differently? If we saw the mountains of waste that we create, and we knew the impact of all that trash, would we make less of it?
This presentation will explore the approach and impact of educational tours at the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center (R&E Center) in Newport, MN. The R&E Center processes all waste from Ramsey and Washington counties, ultimately sending materials to be recycled, composted, processed at waste-to-energy facilities or landfilled.
R&E offers community members and businesses with the opportunity to participate in educational tours of the facility – both onsite and virtually. Tours cover the background and history of waste management in the two counties, facility operations, and the work that R&E does in programming and operations to reduce waste and move resources up the waste hierarchy.
In 2024, R&E welcomed over 1,800 individuals as part of 138 groups to our facility for educational tours. R&E also provides the option for a self-guided virtual tour. The impact of these tours is far-ranging with visitors reporting increased awareness of the waste system as a whole, as well as waste-reduction behavior change following their visit. The tours also allow staff to better understand our communities’ perception of waste management and patterns of confusion or misinformation. We will discuss common misconceptions that residents have around waste management and consumerism and our efforts to bridge those gaps in both on-site and virtual tours.
Presenter:
Shannon Conk, Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy