The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) has announced eight grant recipients will receive $302,173 for projects that will make the state’s soil healthier and reduce the emission of greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming. All are focused on composting organic waste in multi-resident housing. These statewide efforts will reduce the amount of waste sent to landfills by making composting more accessible and understandable.
Grant recipients will improve infrastructure, education, and monitoring for effective composting practices. Projects include programs to manage food waste in student housing, establish new organics drop-off sites, and educate property managers.
“Multifamily residents, especially those living within large multifamily buildings, are typically excluded from curbside organics collection programming,” said Tabitha Birdwell of the MPCA. “This grant program helps to bridge that opportunity gap.”
Birdwell is a program administrator for the agency’s Resource Management and Assistance Division. While others within the agency focus on work such as enforcing rules, scientific research, and pollution cleanup, her team focuses on prevention. Birdwell helps encourage waste reduction and recycling through programs that award grant money and promote public education.
A 2024 allocation from the Minnesota State Legislature provided the funding for these grants. The grant program required projects to include:
- specific actions to expand access and participation in composting
- plans for measuring success
- education for the residents who participate
The program also prioritized projects that included actions to decrease contamination in the collected material.
“Expanded organics recycling opportunities, supported by grant programs like this one, reduce the net amount of greenhouse gases that are released through food's decomposition,” Birdwell said. “These programs keep valuable nutrients in circulation by applying it back to soil.”
Recipients
Carleton College — $29,881. The college will expand the collection of compostable materials in residence halls, improve education for students and community about composting, and conduct frequent audits of waste streams to monitor how they change throughout the project.
Carver County — $56,788. The county will establish three new organics drop-off sites near clusters of multifamily residential buildings and provide residents with a starter kit, including a waste container, compostable bags, and communications materials. Work will include offering micro-grants to property owners, homeowners associations, resident groups, or local units of government for organics recycling programs in their residential buildings or complexes.
City of Edina — $54,600. The city will add two drop-off sites near multifamily buildings by adding 10 carts and weekly hauling services for each site. It also will increase the usage of five existing drop-off sites through targeted recruitment and outreach, and conduct a six-month pilot program to multifamily buildings in Edina.
Como Community Council District 10 — $23,192. The council will work with three multifamily residences to expand access to and participation in organics recycling, offer on-site recycling programs, and enhance participation in existing drop-off sites. It also will pilot new collection methods and implement resident education.
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College — $29,998. The college will increase the capacity for organics recycling on campus by implementing a pilot program in student housing and expanding on-site composting infrastructure.
Olmsted County Environmental Resources — $36,780. The county will expand the collection program for multifamily housing properties; provide food scrap drop-off services, educational materials, and compost collection kits; and develop program infrastructure and multilingual outreach.
Ramsey-Washington Recycling and Energy — $51,744. This joint-county effort will engage with multifamily property managers and encourage residents to participate in their Food Scraps Pickup Program. It will provide technical assistance, education, training, and collection bins for residents, and re-launch a program to increase participation.
Resource Renew (formerly Western Lake Superior Sanitary District) — $19,190. The district will establish three new organics drop-off sites at multifamily buildings, provide education, including brochures and signage at each site, and provide bags designed to eliminate odor and deter pests.