City Council Meeting Date: July 7, 2026
To: Mayor and Members of Council
City Administrator
From: David Bennett, Public Works Director/City Engineer
Title
Discussion on Organic Recycling
Body
Action Requested:
City Council Discusses One of Three Pathways for Organics Recycling.
Summary Report:
At the December 2025 meeting, organics recycling was removed from the residential waste contract. Since that time, staff have conducted additional research on organics recycling programs, including legal and policy considerations, participation rates, and implementation approaches used by other Minnesota communities.
Through this research, staff learned that if the City were to implement a citywide organics collection program through a residential waste contract, state law would require all residents to be charged equally for recycling services, including organics recycling. This information changes the feasibility of some program structures previously discussed by Council. Staff identified three potential pathways for Council consideration:
Pathway 1: Maintaining the current approach, where residents may subscribe to private organics collection service through Curbside Compost.
Pathway 2: Same as Pathway 1, but with a phased expansion of organics access through additional drop-off opportunities and future county coordination
Pathway 3: Universal organics recycling program available to all residents.
Research also indicates that participation in organics recycling is generally higher when service is universally available, while voluntary subscription programs tend to have lower participation rates. Staff is seeking Council direction on which pathway should be evaluated further.
City Plans & Policies Relevance:
Comprehensive Plan
Climate Action Plan
Presented to Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) on June 17, 2026.
• Recommendation: EQC recommends exploring a universal organics program.
Alternative Options:
Council could direct staff to discontinue researching options and continue to maintain the current approach where residents subscribe to private organics collection service through Curbside Compost.
Financial Impacts:
Preliminary cost estimates for a universal organics program will be presented for discussion; no financial action is requested.
Tentative Timelines:
Depending on Council direction, staff will bring back a detailed timeline.