The County of Hennepin, State of Minnesota (“County”) is soliciting applications for the Organics Drop-Off Sites Grant (the “Grant”). As used herein, the entity/individual responsible for any awarded Grant may be referred to as the “Applicant” and the Applicant’s response to this solicitation (the “Solicitation”) may be referred to as the “Application”. Organics, which includes food, food-soiled paper, and compostable products, make up about 30 percent of our trash. That material can be turned into compost for healthy soils or used to create energy through anaerobic digestion. Getting organics out of the trash is one of our biggest opportunities to make progress toward zero waste and climate goals. Hennepin County is making funds available to establish organics drop-off sites. These sites increase access to organics recycling for residents in multifamily units not served by city curbside organics collection programs. Increasing access to organics recycling for apartment and condo residents is a priority area of focus for these funds. The County has $50,000 available for organics drop-off sites, with a maximum award of up to $15,000 per site. Eligible grant applicants include cities, multi-unit properties, businesses, nonprofit organizations, and institutions. All proposed drop-off sites must be within Hennepin County. The County and Grantee will sign a service agreement for a term of 24-months. The County will make two payments to the Grantee, one upon execution of the service agreement (75%) and one upon completion of the project and submission of final report (25%) This program is focused on organics drop-off sites where material will be hauled away and is not currently accepting applications for projects that compost material on site. Contact Katie Stelzner at katie.stelzner@hennepin.us or 612-596-2064 with questions about project eligibility.
