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City to collect organic waste in Linden Hills
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By Mary O'Regan
LINDEN HILLS — On Oct. 5, the City Council gave the green light for a pilot program that will initiate curbside collection of Source Separated Organics (SSO) in Linden Hills.
As part of their regular recycling routine, single-family homes and buildings up to four-plexes will be able to put their food scraps, pizza boxes, paper towels, grass clippings and other biodegradable substances into a bin provided by the city and leave it at their curbs for weekly pickup.
"I'm excited that we're going to be able to go forward [with the program]," said Susan Young, director of the city's Solid Waste and Recycling division who spearheaded the pilot project.
She's currently in talks with Schaefer Systems, a company that specializes in waste disposal, to acquire carts for the neighborhood at no charge to residents. The wheeled receptacles will look exactly like their current black trash bins, but they will be green. Those who participate in the program may also be able to order smaller, cheaper trash carts due to the space freed up from separating their organics.
Residents will also be given compostable bags for everyday storage, which can then be thrown into the bins for pickup. Depending on how quickly they can get all of the carts, households may be phased into the program over time.
The study, which is expected to start once the bins arrive, will take place over one year. If the city decides to make changes, the year will start over again and if the study proves cost-effective, the curbside SSO pickup will continue indefinitely. Residents can join the study by responding to a direct mailing from the city about the project.
"I think this can help kick-start something great," said Council Member Betsy Hodges (13th Ward) in a prepared statement. "It makes financial and environmental sense […] and I think the public is hungry for something like this."
Thirty to 40 percent of garbage in Minneapolis is organic waste that could potentially be recycled, according to city documents. The Hennepin County garbage burner, where Minneapolis trash goes, is at maximum capacity, and the city has had to pay to transport excess waste to landfills in and out of the state. Only throwing away non-recyclable items such as leather, broken glass and ceramics and recycling the rest would greatly reduce the load. And as an added incentive, Hennepin County will offer the city a reduced tipping fee — or waste surcharge — for recycling SSO.
"In general, I think it's great to try to figure this out," said Carol White, a Linden Hills resident who has tried composting on her own. "We're ripe for a new plan […] we'd be willing to experiment."
The city selected Linden Hills as the first neighborhood in Minneapolis to collect organic waste due largely in part to Linden Hills Power & Light (LHP&L), a nonprofit organization dedicated to waste reduction and energy conservation. The community-based group has been working on a feasibility study for a neighborhood anaerobic mini-digester, which recently received a $45,000 grant from the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
The $4 million digester, which would be the first of its kind to be used in a community setting in the United States, would use the organic material to produce biogas, a type of fuel that can be used in place of natural gas or transportation fuels.
According to Felicity Britton, executive director of LHP&L, biogas could power homes in Linden Hills, garbage trucks or school buses. In addition to the recent grant, the project has received $30,000 from the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and matching funds of $67,000 from national energy experts.
"[The Linden Hills SSO pilot program] is such a good step in the right direction environmentally," said Britton. "When people are more aware and more thoughtful of their recycling of organics, then the rates of recycling everything goes up a lot."
Reach Mary O'Regan at moregan@mnpubs.com or 436-5088.
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Linden Hills neighborhood
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City declares snow emergency
UPDATED February 8, 2010, 1:27pm
By Cristof Traudes
With snow falling almost non stop since Sunday, the City of Minneapolis this afternoon declared a snow emergency.
Starting at 9 p.m. today, cars will not be allowed to be parked on either side of snow emergency route streets. From 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, cars should only park on the odd side of non-snow emergency route streets, and from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday, cars should only park on the even side of non-snow emergency route streets. Cars parked on the wrong sides of streets will be ticketed and towed.
To look up what streets are affected when, click here. More information is at ci.minneapolis.mn.us/snow.
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Neighborhood notebook
By Sarah McKenzie, Dylan Thomas and Jake Weyer
CARAG
Newspaper proposal withdrawn CARAG residents approved a motion to support the current management structure of the Uptown Neighborhood News in January, putting an end to a months-long discussion of a possible reorganization. CARAG Board of Directors Member Anna Matthes and Jill Bode, a CARAG representative to the newspaper’s managing board, requested in November that CARAG consider transferring management of the newspaper to them for several months. Matthes and Bode proposed they eventually take control of the paper, which they said was operating under an inefficient management structure. In January, Matthes also said newspaper managers had lost focus on community-building efforts, instead focusing on
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Green digest // Making Bryant a bike boulevard
By Dylan Thomas
Making Bryant a bike boulevardCARAG — If you bike, live or work along Bryant Avenue South take note: An upcoming public meeting is your chance to contribute to plans for a future bicycle boulevard. City planners expect to make changes to the street this summer that will make the north-south street more bike-friendly. Area residents have an opportunity to voice their opinions on some of those changes 7 p.m. Feb. 9 at Bryant Square Park, 3101 Bryant Ave. S. New pavement markings and signage to identify the bicycle boulevard are a given, but other elements intended to slow vehicle traffic and improve the safety of intersections will be put to a vote. Ballots will ask voters to rank new street features such as curb extensions,
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Crime reports
By Jake Weyer
Editor’s note: Alleged crimes against persons (assault, murder, etc.) will feature the + symbol. Note, this compilation of crime reports provides highlights of area criminal activity. It’s not intended to be a comprehensive overview of Southwest crime.
CARAG+ Jan. 26, 8:20 p.m., 3200 Emerson Ave. S.Officers were dispatched to a report of a robbery at gunpoint. The victim was a 26-year-old man and two suspects, who fled in a car, were involved. Police thought the robbery might be related to several others that have been reported recently in the area. EAST ISLESJan. 30, between 3:15 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., W. Lake St. and East Calhoun
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Biz buzz // Guse Green Grocer
By By Lana Walker and Jake Weyer
Guse Green Grocer opens at 46th & BryantWhen Tom and Terry Thomson, owners of the long-awaited Guse Green Grocer, put in an order for 40 pounds of organic bananas, their supplier commented that the order was too much for such a little store. When the following Monday morning rolled around, however, it seemed the supplier could eat his words. “I called him and said, ‘We only have five bananas left!’” Terry Thomson said. Located on the corner of 46th Street and Bryant Avenue, the grocery store celebrated its soft opening on Jan. 23 and 24. It didn’t have an advertising scheme or a grand event, but 400 eager customers showed up on day one and the weekend was full of positive feedback and neighborhood
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Schools notebook // Board recommends Johnson
By Dylan Thomas
School Board recommends Johnson to lead districtWhen it came time to name candidates who might replace Minneapolis Superintendent Bill Green, the School Board had only one person in mind: current Deputy Superintendent Bernadeia Johnson. School Board Chair Tom Madden, reading from a prepared statement at the Board’s Jan. 19 meeting, emphasized the importance of “stability” in a district rocked by a decade of enrollment declines, budget deficits and school closings. “The constant churn which has come to characterize Minneapolis Public Schools has taken a toll on our children, our families and our staff,” Madden said. He also said the district was “fundamentally on the right track,”
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Co-op loan drive short $100,000; deadline extended
By Jake Weyer
The Linden Hills Co-op needs $1.5 million in member loans to help pay for a move to the west side of the neighborhoodLINDEN HILLS — The Linden Hills Co-op arrived at its Jan. 31 loan-drive deadline about $100,000 short of the $1.5 million needed to help pay for a move from 43rd & Upton to the former Almsted’s Sunnyside Market site near 44th Street and France Avenue. That was close enough for Bob Olson, who owns the new site, to grant an extension for the drive and for the co-op to move forward with its plans, said spokeswoman Jeanne Lakso. “We’ll continue to collect loan agreements for at least the next two weeks and we’re fully confident we’re going to meet if not exceed our goal,” Lakso
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Kingfield unveils plans for new community gardens
By Jake Weyer
KINGFIELD — It’s hard to think about gardening in frigid February, when hoes, rakes and seeds are stowed away and snow blankets frozen plots, but green thumbs are buzzing right now in one Southwest neighborhood. Following up on years of resident interest, the Kingfield Neighborhood Association (KFNA) this spring will launch two community gardens, one on the Center for Performing Arts property at 3754 Pleasant Ave. S. and the second on another private lot at 3912 Van Nest Ave. The sites will serve as the first of four community gardens KFNA would eventually like to develop in the area. “Our goal is really to create a network of gardens and gardeners throughout the neighborhood,” said KFNA executive director Sarah
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