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 government's role in
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Your City Protects the Environment and You Can too!

Here are some of the ways the cities of Burnsville, Eagan, and Apple Valley are working to make a cleaner, healthier environment:

RECYCLING
  • Distributing recycling and hazardous waste disposal information
  • Utilizing plastic lumber
  • Publishing with recycled-content paper
  • Recycling cans, glass, paper, and transparencies
  • Participating in the Rechargeable Battery Recycling Corporation program
  • Processing waste from buildings
  • Composting food scraps at Burnsville's maintenance facility

NATURAL RESOURCES

  • Monitoring and managing erosion at construction sites
  • Reviewing residential and commercial subdivision proposals for compliance with City water quality requirements
  • Controlling exotic plants and managing native landscapes on parkland
  • Enacting a phosphorus fertilizer ban

Pilot Projects Happening in Your Community:

COMPOSTING IN DISTRICT 196 SCHOOLS

Composting is nature’s way of recycling nutrients.  This bacteria-driven process converts plant trimmings and food scraps into nutrients that can be added to soil.

Composting benefits our environment by:

  • Improving soil structure and nutrient content
  • Providing valuable mulch that protects plant roots from sun or wind damage, controls weeds and erosion, and conserves water;
  • Reducing soil diseases.

District 196 students started a new system for managing their lunchroom waste in the fall 2002.  Students toss their food scraps, milk cartons, napkins, and other organic waste into a separate container labeled compostables or organics.  These organics are delivered to a compost facility and processed into compost, a rich soil amendment for landscapers and gardeners to use.

By separating compostables from other solid wastes in the school lunchrooms, the District saves in garbage costs, in addition to engaging students in a waste reduction project. 

Click here to read more about the District 196 composting project on Dakota County's web site.

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CURBSIDE ORGANICS COLLECTION IN BURNSVILLE

Organics

The City of Burnsville received a grant to conduct a pilot project in the neighborhood of North River Hills.  Approximately 900 households have the opportunity to separate organic materials (e.g. food scraps, pizza boxes, paper products, waxed cardboard) into compostable bags. These bags are co-mingled with yard waste and collected curbside. 

Both the organic material and yard waste are picked up by Waste Management, Inc. and delivered to the Resource Recovery Technologies compost facility in Rosemount where they are composted.  This project educates and enables residents to reduce their garbage making a significant impact on the amount of trash that enters the landfills. The overall goal of the project is to identify opportunities, challenges, and barriers to implementing a permanent curbside organics program in the metropolitan region. 

Waste Management will continue to pick up organics in North River Hills throughout the winter.  However, from December to March, it will be picked up every other week, on the same week that recycling is collected.

Bags for composting are available at no charge at the Burnsville Maintenance Center from 7am-3:30pm, Monday-Friday, located at 13713 Frontier Court, Burnsville, MN 55337. [map] For more information call 952-895-4511 or 952-895-4524.

Composting guidelines for participating residents:

Materials You CAN Put in Organics Bag

Food Scraps

  • All food scraps including vegetables, fruit, meat, fish, bones, bread, pasta, dairy products, egg shells

  • Coffee grounds, filters and tea bags

  • Cooking oils and grease

Soiled & Non-Recyclable Papers

  • Egg cartons (paper, not Styrofoam)

  • Flour, sugar and coffee bean bags

  • Milk and juice cartons (remove plastic spout)

  • Paper Plates, cups, napkins, and paper towels

  • Paper take-out containers (remove metal handles)

  • Pizza boxes

  • Refrigerator, freezer, pop and beer boxes

  • Tissues and cotton balls

  • Waxed paper (butter wraps, pastry bags, fast food wrappings, etc.)

Other Organic Material

  • Dryer lint

  • House plants

  • Vacuum bags

  • Pet hair

  • Flower bouquets

  • Sawdust

Materials You CANNOT Put in Organics Bag

  • NO Styrofoam or plastic of ANY kind!

  • NO yard waste (such as grass, leaves, garden debris, etc.)

  • NO foil-lines containers (like juice or soymilk boxes)

  • NO foil condiment packets (such as ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise)

  • NO diapers

  • NO kitty litter or pet droppings

  • NO metal, glass or other recyclable materials

  • NO cosmetics, medicine containers or adhesive bandages

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Dakota Valley Recycling Contact Dakota Valley Recycling

To find out more information contact the Dakota Valley Recycling Program offices at:
13713 Frontier Court
Burnsville, MN 55337-3817

Call: (952) 895-4559


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Copyright © Dakota Valley Recycling
13713 Frontier Court, Burnsville, MN 55337-3817
952-895-4559 • Fax 952-895-4531 • email
Last Updated 12/21/2007