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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSustainability Commission - 02/10/2026Approved Meeting Minutes Eden Prairie Sustainability Commission 7 p.m. Tuesday, February 10, 2026 City Center – Heritage Rooms 1&2 8080 Mitchell Road Eden Prairie, MN 55344 ATTENDEES Commission Members: Aaron Poock (Chair), Cindy Hoffman (Vice Chair), Tim Conners, Michelle Frost, Daniel Hendrickson, Alexis Junker, Jim Nehl, Moussa Ousmane, Carolyn Wieland Student Commission Members: Lillian Beutz, Avni Maheshwari, Ava Muilenburg, Shailee Rana, Paili Rice, Atharva Sarmah, Jhansi Senthilkumar, Syon Shetty, Ipshita Tiwari, Colin Weiher City Staff: Jennifer Fierce - Sustainability Coordinator, Kristin Harley – Recording Secretary MEETING AGENDA I. Call the Meeting to Order Vice Chair Hoffman called the meeting to order at 7 p.m. Commission Chair Poock and Commission members Frost and Wieland and student representatives Tiwari and Sarmah were absent. II. Approval of Agenda and Other Items of Business MOTION: Hendrickson moved, seconded by Nehl, to approve the agenda. Motion carried 6-0. III. Minutes A. Sustainability Commission meeting held Tuesday, January 13, 2026 MOTION: Ousmane moved, seconded by Hendrickson, to approve the minutes of the Sustainability Commission Tuesday, January 13, 2026. Motion carried 6-0. IV. Reports A. Reports from Staff 1. CURBSIDE RECYCLING AND ORGANICS UPDATE SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES February 10, 2026 Fierce announced the data from 2025 was available. She summarized the background: the service was originally an add-on, but in 2023 the state looked at the statute and concluded everyone had to be charged, regardless of participation. Hennepin County has a zero-waste plan for 2050, to reuse and recycle as much as possible and bypass the Hennepin County Recovery Center (HERC), which burns waste. Food scraps, paper towels and cups, compostable silverware and pizza boxes are able to be composted, and are approximately 30 percent of all waste. Hennepin County was the first to require organics recycling for cities with over 10,000 residents. Dakota, Scott, Ramsey and Washington counties would be the next to likely require it in the future. Almost all organics waste from Eden Prairie ended up at SMSC or a composite site in Burnsville. Waste and Recycling Data: Household participants in organics 2021 - 414 households 2022 - 613 2023 - 1,818 2024 - 2,771 2025 - 3,825 Tons or organics collected 2021 - no data 2022 - 12 tons 2023 - 1,279 2024 - 1,368 2025 - 1,300 This represented the best estimates of haulers regarding tonnage. Countywide organics participation is roughly 30 percent; Eden Prairie is at 15 percent. Overall recycling and organics collections 2021 - 2 percent 2022 - 2 percent 2023 - 7 percent 2024 - 10 percent 2025 - 15 percent These numbers were compared to 90-93 percent participation in recycling. Also, there were much smaller percentages of tonnage collected compared to recycling. SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES February 10, 2026 2. ECO EXPO TABLING VOLUNTEERS The Eco Expo will be held Saturday, April 18 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. There were at least three shifts of volunteers needed. Fierce states she would send out a Sign Up Genius to everyone. B. Reports from Commissioners Conners announced there were a set of audits of food waste at Eden Prairie schools. Kyle Fisher, who was responsible for facilities and operations, received the report and was willing to follow the recommendations. The high school probably produced the most volume. Fisher would put together a commission including administration, community members, and students. This audit showed more traction than the students’ past efforts, and Conners encouraged the student representatives to join this commission. Discussion followed on the pig farm feeding option. C. Reports from Students Rice stated the group had reached out to all schools and heard back from most. Eden Prairie Library would also participate. The flyer was finalized and would be sent out next week to all participants. The students would also reach out to district communications and to Eden Prairie News, which would also display the event on its calendar. Discussion followed on the student representatives’ final needs, such as signage and tabletop tents. Fierce encouraged the students to reach out to her with any last-minute needs. Rice stated they had contacted the Salvation Army to take over any leftover materials. Hoffman offered to advertise the event on her Facebook Buy Nothing group. V. Upcoming Events A. Student Commissioner Book Swap – Saturday, March 7, Eden Prairie Community Center Cambria Room B. Eco Expo – Saturday, April 18, Eden Prairie Center, 10 AM to 5 PM C. Spring Recycling Drop Off – Saturday, April 18, Yard Waste Site, 8 AM to Noon VI. Next Meeting SUSTAINABILITY COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES February 10, 2026 A. Tuesday, March 10, 2026 VII. Adjournment MOTION: Junker moved, seconded by Hendrickson, to adjourn the meeting. Motion carried 6-0. Vice Chair Hoffman adjourned the meeting at 7:41 p.m.