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Organics Recycling
Organics Diverted From Landfills by Edina Residents
Time Period | Tons Diverted |
---|---|
August 2023 | 89.31 |
Total since program launch in 2020 |
3,543.05 |
The goal of the City's Organics Recycling program is to ensure that every resident can benefit from better waste management practices. The program fee appears on quarterly utility bills with the traditional recycling.
Free rolls of compostable bags are available at the Edina Senior Center reception area.
Items that belong in your Organics cart
- Fruits and vegetables
- Meat, fish and bones
- Dairy products
- Eggs and egg shells
- Pasta, beans and rice
- Bread and cereal
- Nuts and shells
- Pizza boxes from delivery
- Napkins and paper towels
- Wooden items (chopsticks, popsicle sticks and toothpicks)
- 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
- Certified compostable food service items with BPI logo on them*
- Plates, cups, bowls, takeout containers, utensils
- Plates, cups, bowls, takeout containers, utensils
Items that do not belong in your Organics cart
- Yard waste (no grass clippings, no leaves, no branches, no trees)
- 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)
- 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)
View the full list of items that can go in your organics cart in English (PDF), Spanish (PDF) and Somali (PDF).
- My organics cart was not picked up on my scheduled day. What should I do?
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Vierkant will be picking up and emptying carts until the evening hours on their daily routes, especially when construction impedes their daily progress. Please wait to bring your carts inside if they have not been emptied yet as they may still be working to get to your neighborhood. If your cart does get accidently missed for pick up, please call Vierkant as soon as possible to request it be emptied. Their main office number is 612-922-2505.
- What day is my organics recycling picked up/How frequently is the cart emptied?
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Organics recycling is picked up every week, the same day as your regular trash day.
Enter your address or just click your home area on this interactive map to see your collection day and annual schedule. For a downloadable calendar (PDF), see the pickup schedules tab on the Recycling page.
- Can tea bags go into the organics bin?
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Yes, tea bags can go in there. A couple things to make sure of first though: 1) make sure it is the paper bag kind of tea bag, not the plastic netting ones. The plastic ones are usually triangular. If they are the plastic kind, you can open them up and put the leaves into your organics bin, but the plastic part must be disposed of in the garbage can. 2) If your tea bag has a small metal staple on the top, remove that beforehand putting it in the bin.
- Can I use regular plastic bags to collect organics?
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No. Plastic bags are not compostable and are a contaminant. You risk turning an entire load of compostable material into garbage if you use plastic bags. Use bags labeled “BPI-certified compostable.” These bags can be purchased at retail locations such as Jerry’s Do it Best Hardware, Cub, Lunds & Byerly’s, and your local co-op.
Paper grocery bags are acceptable, as are lawn and leaf bags. These types of bags are good for drier items like fruit peels. Paper bags are not ideally suited for wet items like coffee grounds, and we highly recommend using the green compostable film bags for dairy and meat products to reduce pests.
- Do the materials have to be bagged before putting inside the cart?
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No. The bagging of organics is a guidance based on what has worked best previously. It is highly recommended for all dairy and meat items, as these tend to create smell. Larger and dry items can certainly be put directly into the cart without bagging.
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Twila Singh
Organics Recycling CoordinatorPhone: 952-826-1657