Composting: the next step to zero waste
Over twenty years ago, we saw a way to reduce our trash by recycling. Then we found out what everything still left in the trash was doing to our health and the planet. So began the idea of zero waste, because recycling alone will not empty our garbage cans. Today, we take another step toward zero waste with composting.
About one-quarter of what we put in our garbage is food scraps and other items like paper towels and egg cartons, which can be composted. Composting, instead of wasting, gets us closer to the things we all really want and need—healthy food, abundant resources, clean air and water, safe and reliable products, and healthy families and communities.
Eureka Recycling is the only organization in Minnesota that specializes in zero waste, and is one of the largest zero-waste organizations in the nation. Our services, programs, and policy work present solutions to the social, environmental, and health problems caused by wasting.
We track national, regional and local developments, using our expertise to advocate for practices that help individuals, organizations, and communities understand the significance of zero waste and to achieve their own zero-waste goals.
Get more in-depth information about these important issues:
Common Recycling Questions such as Why can’t I recycle more plastic?, Does it matter how my recycling is collected?, Do my materials really get recycled?
We are happy to announce that we have new leadership at Eureka Recycling.
Last year we completed Eureka Recycling’s strategic plan, which leverages all of the investments that have been made in Eureka Recycling and our success, to bring us closer to realizing our mission of demonstrating that waste is completely preventable. Our new leadership structure, which flows out of our strategic plan, is comprised of a three-person collaborative executive team. This team will design and oversee initiatives to further Eureka Recycling’s mission to demonstrate that waste is completely preventable.
Tim Brownell stepped up to be our Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Susan Hubbard has taken a new position as Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to shape our strategies to address challenges and opportunities, implement long-term and short-term strategic actions, and articulate these strategies to our stakeholders. Debbie King has joined the team as CFO, a new position that allows Eureka Recycling to calculate and realize the value of our zero-waste work.
We share this news with you with great confidence that this team, alongside the 100 people working at Eureka Recycling and the hundreds more who play a part in our work, will give credence to all past and future investments in Eureka Recycling. We wholeheartedly welcome Debbie and look forward to what our next strategic plan brings.
Letter from Eureka Recycling
Learn more about the environmental benefits of composting, composting at home, at restaurants, at zero-waste events, and more by visiting Eureka Recycling's new composting website www.makedirtnotwaste.org
Eureka Recycling is proud to be the nonprofit recycler for Saint Paul, Roseville, Maplewood, Lauderdale, Arden Hills and St. Louis Park. Recycling from White Bear Lake, Lakeland and Lakeland Shores, and residents serviced by Troje's and Maroney's is also brought to our facility.
Download the 2010 Guide to Recycling
For your recycling collection day, or to learn how to get a recycling bin, please call the recycling hotline (651) 222-7678 or follow the link to your city above.
If you would like free reminder stickers for your calendar, please call the hotline (651-222-SORT) or contact us via email.
The Guide to Recycling in translation:
ESPAÑOL: Información en español está disponible en nuestro sitio web. También se puede llamar nuestro servicio al cliente (inglés solamente).
HMOOB: Ntawv qhia txog tej khoom siv uas zoo kho siv dua muaj ua lus Hmoob nyob online lossis hu tau peb tus xovtooj Lus-Askiv.
Recycling and Art meet in Mears Park
The City of Saint Paul, Public Art Saint Paul, and Eureka Recycling have created a unique combination of public recycling and public art in an initiative that works to accomplish two important goals of the city: become a waste-free city by 2020 by tackling the challenge of public space recycling and increase the city’s public art by designing city amenities that reflect the values of the community. A launch event on June 26th introduced the new recycling containers in Mears Park so that people who use Mears Park will now be able to recycle their aluminum cans, glass and plastic bottles. It also announced a whimsical ritual involving a “secret” gift, being released in the Mears Park community and designed to engage citizens in creating a culture of recycling.
The Mears Park project is part of a larger citywide project to first study and then expand public space recycling in parks and other community gathering spaces. It includes additional pilots at Como Park Zoo & Conservatory, launched in June of 2008, and new recycling efforts at the city’s six largest urban park pavilions. In the coming months, Eureka Recycling and Saint Paul Parks and Recreation will be observing and analyzing all aspects of this pilot to inform best practices to apply to the rest of the city.
For additional information about the program, visit www.recyclinginmearspark.org