HERC Waste Disposal Contract
At a glance
Based on human-uploaded captions, which may still contain errors in names and numbers.
- What: item 12 of the Climate and Infrastructure report: a one-year contract amendment with Hennepin County for waste disposal at the HERC incinerator.
- Where it stands: approved 12-0 on October 15.
- Next: staff were to present sustainable funding options for zero-waste initiatives at the Climate and Infrastructure meeting the following Thursday, and Council Member Wonsley expects an amendment during the budget process to restore zero-waste funding.
Discussion
- Council Member Wonsley, who chairs the committee, said the City has adopted a resolution supporting permanent closure of the HERC incinerator by December 31, 2027 (and of the entire facility at a later date that is garbled in the captions). A one-year contract is consistent with that only if the City spends the coming year implementing zero-waste measures.
- She said Mayor Frey's proposed 2027 budget cuts zero-waste funding, a surprise given the stated shared priority. Restoring organized commercial waste collection, waste reduction, community grants and education would cost about as much as three days of police overtime, she said.
Sources
- 2026-10-15 - City Council (video of the October 15, 2026 meeting)
- 2026-10-15 - City Council
- Minneapolis agenda portal: https://lims.minneapolismn.gov
Discussion time
About 4 minutes across 1 meeting (from transcript timestamps; approximate).
| Meeting | Minutes |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-15 - City Council | 4 |
Log
- 2026-10-13 - Committee of the Whole - reported out of the Climate and Infrastructure Committee; Council Member Wonsley urged colleagues to review the staff presentation because of links to zero-waste work.
- 2026-10-15 - City Council - approved 12-0 after Council Member Wonsley pressed to protect zero-waste funding.
- 2026-10-22 - 2026-10-22 - Climate & Infrastructure Committee: the zero-waste funding presentation followed; staff said skipping the HERC in 2027 would have cost about 5.4 million dollars more, and Wonsley said the City is not on track to leave by December 2027. See Zero Waste Funding Study.
2026-10-15 - City Council
Marked agenda: Hennepin County waste disposal contract increased by $7,876,000 (new maximum $15,213,000) with a one-year extension to December 31, 2027 at $88 per ton; adopted.