Ending waste incineration at the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) is only possible through substantial policymaker planning and investment from the City of Minneapolis, as well as legislative prioritization and ongoing partnership with the State of Minnesota. To date, Hennepin County is the only government that has published a plan to end incineration at the HERC.
The way to govern seriously requires actionable policy development, with adequate resources and expertise toward measurable outcomes – and Hennepin County has done just that.
In 2024, County staff delivered a plan to reinvent our solid waste system. In 2025, the Board approved accelerating zero waste implementation, and we have made significant investments in zero waste funding and staff.
I support the County’s proposal to convert the HERC facility into a pre-sort and recycling facility because I believe Minnesota’s largest city should process waste within its geography – but the City of Minneapolis has not supported that proposal.
The City’s position is full decommissioning of the facility, and I disagree with this recommendation. Cities decide where waste goes and what can be built within their borders, so any timeline to end burning depends heavily on the City’s operational readiness and its plan for its trash.
“Will you call a closure vote for the HERC?”
I oppose concluding a service prior to an operational plan for that service. As this operating principle applies to the HERC: I oppose closing the HERC until there is an operational plan for the 1,000 tons of trash that arrive at the HERC every day.
Annually, about 75% of the total waste that is processed at the HERC comes from Minneapolis residents and businesses.
The City of Minneapolis contracts with the HERC for organized residential collection, which represents approximately 22% of the total annual waste received by the HERC.
Setting a firm closure date without an operational plan for the cities, businesses, and residents who rely on this service would be irresponsible governance. Closing the HERC without an operational alternative for the trash does not make waste disappear. It sends it straight to landfills, and I oppose any plan that results in a sustained increase in landfilling, a position shared by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA).
Landfills produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and pose long-term threats to groundwater and the, often lower-income, communities located near them.
About three-quarters of Minnesotans drink water drawn from groundwater, and the MPCA has found PFAS contamination in the groundwater at nearly every landfill it has tested.
I do not support trading one environmental justice harm for another.
“Why do you point to the City when they’ve already passed a Resolution?”
The City of Minneapolis’ published policy on the HERC does not match its own requests to Hennepin County.
November 7, 2024: The City adopted a resolution calling for the ‘full and permanent closure’ of the incinerator no later than December 31, 2027, and closure of the entire facility by 2033.
October 14, 2026: The Mayor’s Office confirmed that the City has budgeted to continue using the HERC service for residential trash in 2028, which directly contradicts its own published timeline.
October 15, 2026: The City Council approved a request from the City to continue contracting to use the HERC service through December 31, 2027 at a contract rate of $88 per ton, which City staff reported as a “$5.5 million savings in 2027” when compared to the non-contract rate of $150 per ton.
In order to move forward productively and ensure no service disruptions, I sent Mayor Frey this letter on October 20, 2026 with three requests for public action.
Review and publicly report on the City’s readiness to implement the City’s November 2024 Resolution.
Publish the land use process for the HERC site should you continue to support full decommissioning.
Most importantly, publish the reality that the City will utilize the HERC facility in 2027 and 2028.
Residents, businesses, and neighboring cities deserve accurate information about Minneapolis’ plan for trash within its geography. Instead, the City has been portrayed as planning toward a 2027 closure while advancing limited operational planning toward that goal. And in parallel, advocacy on this topic has intensified with attention promoted toward the misaligned governing authority.
Note: Section headers are in the form of prominent questions received from community.