Item Description:
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Amend the 2024 Capital Budget to include CP 1010846 Reuse and Recycling Recovery Facility; supplemental budget appropriation of $5,000,000 from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund balance, direct Administrator to include additional funding in the 2025 Capital Budget
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Resolution:
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BE IT RESOLVED, that capital project (CP) 1010846 Reuse and Recycling Recovery Facility be identified in the 2024 Capital Budget with an appropriation of $5,000,000 funded by a transfer from the Solid Waste Fund balance for costs associated with the predevelopment of a reuse and recycling recovery facility; that the administrator is directed to estimate additional project costs including facility construction for consideration as part of the 2025 Capital Budget and 2025 - 2029 Capital Improvement Program process; and that the Controller be authorized to transfer and disburse funds as directed.
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Background:
The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners held a board briefing on January 25, 2024 on the topic of reinventing the county’s solid waste system in response to Resolution No. 23-0384 R1, passed on October 24, 2023, to develop a closure plan for the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC).
In addition to the requests stated in Resolution No. 23-0384R1, the following actions and updates were provided to assist in decision making:
• Report - Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) and its role in the solid waste system sent on September 16, 2023
• Hennepin County Climate Action Plan/Zero Waste Plan and HERC - Recommendations Memo to Commissioners sent on September 20, 2023
• Board briefing on September 21, 2023
• Priority zero-waste actions and legislative priorities sent on January 22, 2024
• County’s efforts in renewable energy sent on January 23, 2024
Resolution 23-0384R1 also directed staff to send materials from the September 21, 2023 public board briefing to city council members and mayors of cities that use the HERC and invite individual cities to provide feedback or input regarding proposed legislative priorities or platform issues relating to closure of the HERC to the County Administrator. Submissions were received from 17 suburban cities of the 45 cities in the county. What we heard from these cities:
Engagement
• Cities overwhelmingly expressed concerns and seek additional information to understand potential impacts.
• There is strong support for advancing a zero-waste future, but cities demand to be engaged in the plan and implementation.
• The timeline for review and to provide meaningful input has been inadequate.
Timeline
• The timeline for reaching an 85% recycling rate by 2028-2040 is unrealistic.
• HERC closure timeline should be contingent upon conditions being met to protect the environment and mitigate climate change impacts.
• Cities require more time to review HERC closure plan and cannot take action without resources.
Costs
• HERC closure will increase disposal costs.
• Additional cost analysis is needed to understand the impact to residents.
• Cities require financial resources to implement next steps.
Environmental impacts
• Hennepin County will be taking a step backwards if HERC is closed prematurely.
• Cities expressed strong concerns about climate impacts related to landfilling more waste.
• A 2028-2040 closure timeframe will shift the burden of the county’s trash to communities outside of the county and negatively impact environmental justice areas.
The county’s plan to reinvent the solid waste system outlines the approach to aggressively pursue zero-waste policies, programming, and infrastructure and advocate for policy changes at the state level to move toward zero waste and make meaningful progress toward reducing climate emissions. The plan laid out the 12 highest priority zero-waste actions, including recovering recyclable and organic materials from the trash stream by developing a recycling recovery facility. A reuse and recycling recovery facility has the highest diversion potential of all the actions identified in the county’s Zero Waste Plan - ranging from 100,000 to 200,000 tons of trash. These types of facilities use a variety of technologies to sort cardboard, metal, some plastics, and organics materials from the trash for recycling. There is still trash to dispose of at the end of the process, but with the paper and organic materials removed, the climate impacts of disposal are reduced.
Recycling programs where participants sort items from the trash, called source separation, will continue to be prioritized as the best way to manage recyclables. Source separation provides the highest quality materials with the least contamination at the lowest cost. A reuse and recycling recovery facility complements, not replaces, programs focused on increasing source separation. Leading zero-waste cities and counties have incorporated post-collection processing into their efforts to take trash diversion programs to the next level.
The county recently completed a comprehensive study to better define the needs for a reuse and recycling recovery facility designed to process 330,000 to 360,000 tons of trash, or approximately half the trash produced in the county today.
Because of Hennepin County’s geographic size, it is anticipated that there should be several reuse and recycling recovery facilities in the county. One viable site option is the Hennepin County-owned property adjacent to the Brooklyn Park transfer station. This is an excellent location and makes operational sense by providing efficiencies and reducing emissions from transporting waste. The zoning on this property includes priority for solid waste infrastructure.
It is anticipated that a recycling recovery facility may cost $300 million to $500 million in capital expenditures in phases over many years. Since the county has decided to not move forward with the anaerobic digestion facility (CP 1008034), the county will seek to repurpose the $26 million appropriation from the 2023 Minnesota Legislative Session (HF670) for a Brooklyn Park reuse and recycling recovery facility. To be eligible for bonding funds, a project must be established in the 2024 Hennepin County Capital Budget. The county will also seek additional state bonding funds.
This action establishes a capital project for costs associated with predevelopment of a reuse and recycling recovery facility with direction to estimate the construction costs of the facility. Predevelopment may include, but is not limited to scoping, testing, and design. The Facility Services department will lead the project.
County Administration supports proceeding with the Brooklyn Park Reuse and Recycling Recovery Facility for many pragmatic reasons, including feedback received from suburban Hennepin County cities.
Current request: The request is to amend the 2024 Capital Budget to include CP 1010846 Reuse and Recycling Recovery Facility, funded by a supplemental budget appropriation of $5,000,000 from the Solid Waste Enterprise Fund balance. This request further directs the County Administrator to estimate additional project costs including facility construction for consideration as part of the 2025 Capital Budget and 2025 - 2029 Capital Improvement Program process.
Impacts/Outcomes: Approval of this request will allow the county to aggressively pursue a zero-waste future and make meaningful progress toward reducing climate emissions by establishing a project to recover recyclables from the trash. A reuse and recycling recovery facility has the highest trash diversion potential of all the actions identified in the Zero Waste Plan and has the potential in increase recycling rates quickly and significantly.
recommendation
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