Close the HERC, or Burn Garbage for Another Decade?
With a Dec 18 town hall coming up, the Zero Burn Coalition is building momentum to close the HERC (Hennepin Energy Recovery Center), a garbage burner that burns almost half of our trash and pollutes the air. Consensus is emerging to shutter this source of environmental injustice, but county staff have pushed back against real deadlines. Our own Cam Gordon is a member of the Coalition, and he and Robin Garwood worked on zero waste plans for the city.
The Zero Burn Coalition town hall is scheduled for:
Dec 18, 5:30pm
Urban League Twin Cities
2100 Plymouth Ave N
Minneapolis
What will it take to close the garbage burner? What do you do as an activist when your elected official allies aren't getting results as fast as you want? How did we come to a place where at least three levels of government are pointing fingers at each other?
Recorded 12/03/25.
Alert
MN is under increased threat from federal agents right now. Mill City Hall asks you to plug in and take action:
- If you have time, get trained by Monarca to patrol for ICE, and use the hotline to report: 612-441-2881
- If you have money, donate to UNIDOS which is providing crucial financial support to these efforts
Don't forget to check out:
- Our Instagram account for clips that are easy to browse and share
- Cam's columns in Southside Pride
- Cam's writings in the 2nd Ward Blog
- Art Shanty projects coming up in Jan/Feb featuring a project by Robin and Jesse
Close the HERC press coverage:
- June 25, 2025 - Sahan Journal: Residents call on Hennepin County for clear plan to shut down HERC incinerator. Internal email suggests no closure is imminent.
- Oct 31, 2024 - Sahan Journal As advocates cheer, Minneapolis council passes resolution urging Hennepin County to close HERC incinerator
- Jan 26, 2024 - Sahan Journal Hennepin County officials say big policy changes, money needed to shut HERC incinerator
- Feb 21, 2024 - Sahan Journal Proposed Minnesota law takes aim at packaging waste by stopping it at the source
Zero Burn Coalition
over 70 organizations and hundreds of individuals including impacted community members, waste experts, non-profits, labor unions, businesses, and grassroots organizations
- Key links from the Coalition
- Key demands:
- Set a closure date for HERC at the latest by 2028
- Begin the long but necessary process of restitution
HERC: Hennepin County Energy Recovery Center
- County staff presentation on history, and zero waste roadmap for closing HERC: pretty informative context and history here
- County staff priorities/roadmap items per presentation:
- Prioritize extended producer responsibility (Legislature)
- Secure adequate funding for zero-waste initiatives through SCORE and other sources (Legislature)
- Ban recyclable and organic materials from landfills (Legislature and MPCA)
- Recover recyclable materials from the trash – recycling recovery facility (Legislature and county)
- Support the transition to organized collection across Hennepin County (Legislature, county and cities)
- Increase compliance with Ordinance 13 and expand requirements (County)
- Develop and implement county plan to eliminate food waste (Legislature and county)
- Expand collection and drop-off options for hard to recycle items (Legislature and county)
- Reduce single-use plastics and plastic packaging (Legislature and producers) Increase the reuse and recycling of construction and demolition waste (Legislature)
- Mandate participation in recycling and composting programs (Legislature and county)
- Ensure every individual has equitable access to zero-waste tools (Legislature and county
Selected Timeline
- 1989 HERC opens
- Sep 21, 2023 Staff recommend "a closure date for the HERC in the estimated timeframe of 2040 - 2050"
- Oct 24, 2023 Henn Co Commission adopts resolution "to develop a plan for the closure of the HERC ... between 2028 and 2040" source
- Jan 25, 2024 Staff brief Henn Co board wtih plans source
- Sep 11, 2024 Randy Kiser, operations and compliance manager for Hennepin County’s solid waste and energy division, emailed Xcel Energy officials in September 2024 to assure them the HERC would remain open for the foreseeable future source
“Hennepin County will continue to operate HERC into the future with no plans to terminate operation,” Kiser wrote on Sept.11, 2024.