Organics recycling

 All households in the City's garbage and recycling program are charged for access to organics recycling on their utility bill, required per State law and County ordinance.  To receive a curbside organics cart and get started collecting your food scraps and other compostable items for composting, you must sign up for the service. 

To sign up for curbside organics, fill out our online form or contact Utility Billing at 952-563-8726.  

After signing up: 

• You will receive a 30-gallon cart for collecting your organics. 
• A welcome kit will be dropped off with your organics cart when it is delivered that includes a starter set of compostable plastic bags, home setup tips, and a reference guide refrigerator magnet.
• Within two months of signing up, you will be mailed a voucher for a free box of 130 3-gallon certified compostable bags that can be picked up at Frattalone's Hardware and Garden in Normandale village.

Items you can compost

Food scraps	Fruits and vegetables  Meat, fish and bones  Dairy products  Eggs and egg shells  Pasta, beans and rice  Bread and cereal  Nuts and shells
Food service items	Pizza boxes from delivery Napkins and paper towels  Wooden items (chopsticks, popsicle sticks and toothpicks)  Certified compostable food service items* Plates Cups Bowls Takeout containers Utensils  *Look for the BPI logo on food service items. Only items with this logo are accepted. The BPI logo means the item was tested and will fully and safely break down without leaving unnatural byproducts like microplastics. BPI (Biodegradable Products Institute) is a third-party certification company. You can verify that products are certified compostable by visiting BPI's website and searching their Certified Compostable Products Catalog. BPI Product Catalog
Other compostable household items	Coffee grounds and filters  Tea bags (no synthetic tea bags, remove staples) Paper egg cartons Tissues Hair and nail clippings  Cotton balls and swabs with paper stems (no plastic) Houseplant trimmings and flowers

Items you cannot compost

Do not put these items in your organics bin

Yard waste Yard waste collection is available through subscription service.  Diapers and sanitary products  Animal and pet waste, litter or bedding  Cleaning or baby wipes  Grease or oil  Plastic foam (commonly called Styrofoam) Dryer lint and dryer sheets  Recyclable items (cartons, glass, metal, paper, plastic)  Shredded paper Frozen food boxes  Microwave popcorn bags  Gum  Fast food wrappers  Products labeled “biodegradable” — this is not the same as compostable Paper with a shiny, smooth coating (unless it's BPI certified) Wax paper or parchment paper (unless it’s BPI certified)

Detailed Organics Acceptability List

For a detailed list of what you can and can't put in your organics cart: 

These sorting and collecting tips will set you up for organics recycling success.

	Label your containers Hennepin County has free adhesive labels available. They help make it easy to identify your containers for: Recycling Organics recycling Trash  Help your guests know where to put their waste! Get container labels
Keep the bin handy for food prep It's easier to collect food scraps if the bin is within reach when you make meals. Try putting it on the counter, under the sink or in the refrigerator. See which spot feels most convenient to you. You can also set the bin somewhere handy during cooking and mealtime, then put it away afterward.
	Use a container with air holes Containers with air holes on the lid or sides let moisture escape. This slows the rate of breakdown, reduces odors and helps your compostable plastic bags last longer. Shop for a container with a vented lid (with or without a carbon filter) or poke holes in the lid of your homemade container.
	Do not add liquids Liquids speed the breakdown process and weaken compostable bags. Drain liquid from your food scraps before adding them to your organics. You can also line the bottom of the bin with paper towels or newspaper to soak up liquids.
Keep organics inside until pickup day This limits exposure to flies and reduces the chance of maggots.  Other ways to prevent pests Set your organics out for collection every week, even if you do not have a full cart. Clean your cart with a mix of borax and water or vinegar and water. This helps get rid of odors that attract pests like flies and squirrels. If your cart needs to be fixed or replaced, contact Utility Billing at 952-563-8726. If you find maggots in your cart Keep the lid open for a couple of hours. The bugs will crawl to the top and should be eaten by birds. Close the lid before your collection day.
	Store in freezer to keep fruit flies at bay Keep wet food scraps like meat, fruit and vegetables in the refrigerator or freezer until your collection day, especially during hot and humid weather. If you do get fruit flies, create a fruit fly trap with a plastic bottle and some vinegar. You can find other tips and tricks online.
Have an organics bin in the bathroom If there isn't space for a separate basket, try clipping or inserting a smaller bin inside the larger one.  Use the smaller compartment for trash such as dental floss, dental picks, contact lenses and makeup remover wipes.  Use the bigger compartment for compostables such as tissues (without makeup, medicine or other solutions), all-paper cotton swabs (no plastic), nail clippings and hair. Be aware of humidity in bathrooms. Compostable plastic bags do not always hold up well in bathrooms because of the moisture. Try a paper bag or don't use a bag in the container. Transfer the compostables to a bag before you set it out for collection.

The organics collected in curbside or drop-off programs are taken to a local commercial compost facility and recycled into compost, a nutrient-rich material that is used in landscaping and road construction projects to improve our soil.

Participants in organics recycling programs say it’s a surprisingly easy way to make a difference. It provides a “feel good” benefit, helps the environment, and results in a visible reduction in trash.

Organics recycling:

• Provides the best opportunity to reduce our trash
  Waste sort studies, like the one Hennepin County conducted in 2016, continue to show that organic materials are the largest proportion of our trash – making up about 25 percent of the trash stream.  You can save money on your utility bill be switching to a smaller garbage cart.  Switch to a smaller cart by contacting the Utility Billing department at 952-563-8726.
   
• Reduces greenhouse gas emission
  Organic materials decomposing in landfills generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Diverting organics to composting helps to reduce landfill methane emissions.
   
• Improves soil and protects water
  When compost is added to soil, it reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides. It also increases the water retention of soils, which reduces runoff and erosion that can pollute our water and helps to conserve water.
   
• Supports a local economy
  Minnesota’s composting industry supports about 700 jobs and produces $148 million in gross economic activity per year. The composting industry supports four to eight times more jobs on a per ton basis than landfilling operations.
   
• Helps achieve Hennepin County goal of zero waste to landfills
  Our garbage is disposed of at the Hennepin Energy Recover Center (HERC) that burn waste to generate energy. Getting organic materials out of our trash means that facilities like HERC have more capacity to help reduce the trash we send to landfills.  In addition, sending organics materials to a composting facility is preferable to incineration for a number of reasons, including that organics recycling creates nutrient-rich compost and that burning wet organics is not energy efficient at waste-to-energy facilities.

Did you know? You can save money on your utility bill be switching to a smaller garbage cart.  Switch to a smaller cart by contacting the Utility Billing department at 952-563-8726.

What is organics recycling?

It is the collection of organic material in a separate cart for composting. Organics are any item that came from a plant or animal that will turn into compost. This includes:

• All food scraps, including meat and dairy products
• Pizza boxes
• Napkins and paper towels
• Certified compostable food service items like plants, cups and takeout containers
• Other compostable household items like coffee grounds, paper tea bags and paper egg cartons

After organics are collected from the curb, they are taken to a commercial composting facility where they are recycled and turned into compost, a nutrient rich soil amendment. See our organics acceptability list for more information about what’s accepted in organics recycling.

Do I need to put organics in a bag before placing in organics cart?

Yes. Organics must be bagged for collection. This helps organics come out of your cart easily and reduces pests and odors.  You can use:

• Brown paper bags
• Certified compostable plastic bags.  They are often carried in grocery stores, hardware stores, large retail stores and sometimes garden stores. You can also search online for “BPI compostable plastic bags”. Compostable bags come in sizes included mini (3 gallon), standard (13 gallon), lawn and leaf (30 gallon) and sometimes larger 60 gallon for businesses

Make sure any plastic bags that claim to be compostable carry the BPI compostable logo on both the box and the bags themselves. If buying bags online, check BPI’s website to verify they are certified compostable. 

Why are we doing this?

Hennepin County Ordinance 13 required cities with more than 10,000 residents make organics recycling available to residents by 2022.  Minnesota State Statute 115A.93 requires licensing authorities, like the City, to require that residents who recycle organics and regular recycling must not pay more than residents who do not recycle organics or regular recycling.  Therefore, the City is required by Hennepin County to offer organics and State law requires that in communities where organics recycling service is available, all residents must be charged for the service.

In addition, the City thinks this is the right thing to do.  The City values supporting a healthy environment for all, which includes reducing our waste and recycling as much as we can.  Waste sort studies, like the one Hennepin County conducted in 2016, continue to show that organics materials are the largest proportion of our trash, making up one-third of our trash.  The collection of organic material at the curb is important to the City’s sustainability and overall solid waste reduction goals.

How much does it cost?

Households are charged $5.67 a month on their Utility Bill for organics recycling service. All households are charged for access to the service, like our regular recycling service. Residents must sign up to participate and receive an organics cart.

Why do I need to pay for this if I don’t plan on participating?  

Hennepin County Ordinance 13 required cities with more than 10,000 residents make organics recycling available to residents by 2022.  Minnesota State Statute 115A.93 requires licensing authorities, like the City, to require that residents who recycle organics and regular recycling must not pay more than residents who do not recycle organics or regular recycling.  Therefore, the City is required by Hennepin County to offer organics and State law requires that in communities where organics recycling service is available, all residents must be charged for the service.

In addition, research shows that making organics recycling service available and paid for by everyone makes the service more affordable for residents overall.  Keeping the prices affordable and having the service accessible also helps to ensure that residents will use the organics program. This helps to achieve the City’s strategic goals to reduce volume of material sent to landfills and incinerators, reduce carbon emissions, and improve water quality. If the cost to participate in the program is a subscription service, research shows that residents are not likely to participate.

Can I opt-out?

Households are not required to sign up and receive an organics cart, but will not be able to opt out of paying for the program.

Who can sign up for curbside organics recycling?

Curbside organics recycling service will be available to all households in the City’s garbage and recycling program. 

How can I recycle my organics if I live in an apartment, townhome or condo?

If you live in an apartment, townhome or condo and are interested in participating in organics collection, here is how you can get started:

• Bring organics to a drop-off site
• Bloomington residents can bring organics to three different drop-off sites.  The City will continue to operate drop-off sites for residents after curbside organics is rolled out.  There is no charge to use these sites, but you do need to sign up to use them. Learn more and sign up to use the drop-offs.
• Talk with your property manager about signing up for organics recycling service
• Properties can request organics hauling service from some garbage haulers for a fee. Check if your current trash and recycling hauler provides organics for composting hauling service. There is assistance available to cover some of the startup costs through Hennepin County business recycling grants.

Will organics drop-off sites remain open?

Yes. The City will continue to operate drop-off sites for residents after curbside organics is rolled out.  There is no charge to use these sites, but you do need to sign up to use them. Learn more about organics recycling and sign up to use the drop-offs.

Site locations

• Valley View Park - 201 E 90th St (in parking lot in-between pool and ballfields)
• West Bush Lake Park - 95th St and W Bush Lake Rd (Near "Shelter 1" in parking lot next to maintenance storage building)
• Hennepin County also hosts an organics drop-off site at the South Hennepin Recycling and Problem Waste Drop-off Center at 1400 W 96th St. Hours are posted on the Hennepin County website.

What is accepted?

Organics are any item that came from a plant or animal that will turn into compost. This includes:

Food scraps

• Fruit and vegetables
• Meat, fish and bones
• Dairy products
• Eggs and egg shells
• Pasta, beans and rice
• Bread and cereal
• Nuts and shells

Non-recyclable paper

• Pizza boxes from delivery
• Napkins and paper towels
• Paper egg cartons

Certified compostable products

• Compostable paper and plastic cups, plates, bowls, utensils and containers

• Look for the BPI logos when purchasing these items. 

  

Other compostable items

• Coffee grounds and filters
• Hair and nail clippings
• Cotton balls and swabs with paper stems
• Houseplants and flowers
• Tea bags
• Wooden items such as chopsticks, popsicle sticks and toothpicks

Items NOT accepted

• Animal and pet waste, litter or bedding
• Cleaning or baby wipes, diapers and sanitary products
• Dryer lint and dryer sheets
• Fast food wrappers, frozen food boxes, gum, grease or oil
• Household trash
• Products labeled “biodegradable”
• Microwave popcorn bags
• Recyclable items (cartons, glass, metal, paper, plastic)
• Styrofoam
• Yard waste (Leaves, grass clippings, sod, branches, stumps and logs)

Yard waste collection is available through subscription or on call service with the Garbage and Recycling program. 

What are the benefits?

The organics collected in curbside or drop-off programs are taken to a local commercial compost facility and recycled into compost, a nutrient-rich material that is used in landscaping and road construction projects to improve our soil.

Participants in organics recycling programs say it’s a surprisingly easy way to make a difference. It provides a “feel good” benefit, helps the environment, and results in a visible reduction in trash.

Organics recycling:

• Provides the best opportunity to reduce our trash
  Waste sort studies, like the one Hennepin County conducted in 2016, continue to show that organic materials are the largest proportion of our trash – making up about 25 percent of the trash stream.
• Reduces greenhouse gas emissions
  Organic materials decomposing in landfills generate methane, a potent greenhouse gas. Diverting organics to composting helps to reduce landfill methane emissions.
• Improves soil and protects water
  When compost is added to soil, it reduces the need for fertilizers and pesticides. It also increases the water retention of soils, which reduces runoff and erosion that can pollute our water and helps to conserve water.
• Supports a local economy
  Minnesota’s composting industry supports about 700 jobs and produces $148 million in gross economic activity per year. The composting industry supports four to eight times more jobs on a per ton basis than landfilling operations.Watch the what happens to my organics video for more information about the organics composting process.
• Helps achieve Hennepin County goal of zero waste to landfills
  Our garbage is disposed of at the Hennepin Energy Recover Center (HERC) that burn waste to generate energy.  Getting organic materials out of our trash means that facilities like HERC have more capacity to help reduce the trash we send to landfills. In addition, sending organics materials to a composting facility is preferable to incineration for a number of reasons, including that organics recycling creates nutrient-rich compost and that burning wet organics is not energy efficient at waste-to-energy facilities.

How is it different than backyard composting?  

You can compost more materials with the city's organics program than in your backyard compost bin. Because the organics are taken to a commercial composting facility, there are items that can be collected that people should not compost in a backyard pile, including meat and dairy products, other greasy foods, paper towels, napkins and certified compostable products like disposable cups, bowls and plates. The heat from the commercial composting process is able to break down these items more quickly. Backyard composting is still a great option for turning fruit and vegetable scraps and yard waste into a soil amendment that can be used at home.

Will I still need to have separate yard waste service?

Yard waste will not be accepted in curbside organics recycling carts. In order to have yard waste collected, residents will still need to subscribe for separate yard waste service or order stickers for individual yard waste bags.

Are frozen food boxes, fast food wrappers or to-go coffee cups accepted?

No. These products have a thin plastic lining to keep grease and liquids from penetrating the paper. The plastic is not compostable and is difficult to remove from the finished compost. The only food packaging items accepted are those that are certified compostable by BPI.

Are pizza delivery boxes and egg cartons compostable?

Yes. These items are accepted as part of the city’s organics program. All organics must be bagged in certified compostable bags. The only exception is pizza delivery boxes, which can be put loose in your organics cart. Make sure to remove any delivery stickers usually found on the sides of delivery boxes.

Can I change the size of my organics cart?

The standard organics recycling cart size is a 30 gallon cart.  Residents may receive a 60 gallon cart upon request, if approved by the City.  Residents can change a solid waste cart size one time in a calendar year for no cost by calling utility billing at 952.563.8726.  Additional cart size changes in the same calendar year will incur a cart change fee.

Can I use regular plastic bags to collect organics?

No. Plastic bags are not compostable and are a contaminant.  You can use:

• Brown paper bags
• Certified compostable plastic bags.  They are often carried in grocery stores, hardware stores, large retail stores and sometimes garden stores.  You can also search online for “BPI compostable plastic bags”.  Compostable bags come in sizes included mini (3 gallon), standard (13 gallon), lawn and leaf (30 gallon) and sometimes larger 60 gallon for businesses

Make sure any plastic bags that claim to be compostable carry the BPI compostable logo on both the box and the bags themselves.  If buying bags online, check BPI’s website to verify they are certified compostable   

How do I tie my compostable bags shut?

First, make sure not to overfill your bag.  Tie up your bag when it is just over two-thirds full. Start by grabbing the opposite sides of the top of the bag, twist them a couple times and then tie a knot using the two twisted areas you just created. Tie a knot one more time and place the bag in your organics cart. Please do not use twist ties because they are not compostable.

How often is my organics cart picked up?

Your hauler picks up organics every week on your regular collection day. If your cart collection is missed, contact Utility Billing at 952-563-8726 or UtilityBilling@bloomingtonmn.gov.

What about using my garbage disposal for food scraps?

Putting food scraps down the garbage disposal places extra processing burdens on wastewater treatment facilities. It takes energy and resources to process solids, including food waste, at wastewater treatment plants. Composting food scraps through the organics program or backyard composting is a better option as finished compost puts valuable nutrients back into the soil.

What happens to the organic material once it has been collected?

Organics material is composted at a commercial composting facility. Compost can be made using items that can’t be easily composted in a backyard, such as bones, fish skins and dairy products. Organics become compost in just 180 days after you put them out for weekly collection.

What does the city provide to organics recycling customers?

When you sign up, your household will receive the following:

• A 30-gallon lidded organics recycling cart
• An informational packet attached to your cart when it is delivered. 

Where can I purchase compostable bags?

They are often carried in grocery stores, hardware stores, large retail stores and sometimes garden stores.  You can also search online for “BPI compostable plastic bags”.  Compostable bags come in sizes included mini (3 gallon), standard (13 gallon), lawn and leaf (30 gallon) and sometimes larger 60 gallon for businesses.

Make sure any plastic bags that claim to be compostable carry the BPI compostable logo on both the box and the bags themselves.  If buying bags online, check BPI’s website to verify they are certified compostable.  Remember only bags labeled BPI-certified compostable and brown paper grocer bags may be used. 

Will my organics container smell?

Organics won't smell any more than your regular garbage smells. Remember that with organics, you're simply moving the organic materials from your garbage cart into your organics cart.

Help prevent odors in your home by using a collection container that has a vented lid. Food waste starts to decompose and creates odors more quickly when access to oxygen is cut off. You can purchase a pre-made kitchen pail with a vended lid (with or without a carbon filter), or you can make one using an ice cream pail or other container.

Consider collecting your "wet" organics (food scraps, meat trimmings, etc.) in a large yogurt or cottage cheese container or ice cream pail and keep that container in your refrigerator or freezer. Dump the wet organics into a compostable bag and place the bag in your organics cart the night before your collection day. For more ideas, visit the organics setup and tips page.

Households without curbside organics recycling service can participate in composting by bringing their organics to one of three organics drop-offs located in Bloomington.  If you would like to use the drop-offs, please sign up.  

To sign up to use the City organics recycling drop-offs, fill out our online form here. 

• Valley View Park - 201 E 90th St (in parking lot in-between pool and ballfields)
• West Bush Lake Park - 95th St and W Bush Lake Rd (Near "Shelter 1" in parking lot next to maintenance storage building)
• Hennepin County also hosts an organics drop-off site at the South Hennepin Recycling and Problem Waste Drop-off Center at 1400 W 96th St. Hours are posted on the Hennepin County website.

Organics from small businesses are NOT accepted at the city locations. Organics are accepted from small businesses ONLY at the Hennepin County drop-off site are limited to no more than five (5) bags per day.