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Page 1 of 2 <br />DATE: May 15, 2017 <br /> <br />TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers <br />William S. Joynes, Sr., City Administrator <br /> <br />FROM: Matthew Bachler, Senior Planner <br /> <br />SUBJECT: Simple Recycling Discussion <br /> <br />Discussion <br /> <br />As part of the 2017 Work Plan for the SCORE Grant Agreement between the City and Ramsey <br />County, the City is required to consider options to increase textile recycling. Earlier in the year, <br />staff met with a representative from Simple Recycling, which is a for-profit recycling company <br />focused on curbside collection of clothing and housewares. The company has a collection hub in <br />Minneapolis where materials are sorted. High quality materials are resold to local thrift outlets, <br />mid-grade items are exported, and unusable items are recycled. <br /> <br />Simple Recycling is expanding its operations in Minnesota and has recently started collection <br />service in the cities of Brooklyn Center, New Hope, Crystal, Brooklyn Park, St. Louis Park, and <br />Shorewood. Several additional cities have approved the program and will start services soon. <br />Staff contacted the Brooklyn Park Recycling Manager who noted there has been a lot of <br />community support for the program and that only a few minor issues were experienced with the <br />initial roll-out of the program. <br /> <br />The collection program is offered at no cost to municipalities or residents and is administered <br />entirely by Simple Recycling. The company provides residents with green bags as needed for <br />recyclable materials that are left at the curbside for pick-up. Simple Recycling would follow the <br />City’s existing trash and recycling collection schedule so there would not be additional collection <br />days added. Collection could also be completed using a cargo van so as not to increase heavy <br />truck traffic on City streets. <br /> <br />Simple Recycling tracks the amount of materials collected in each community and the City <br />would be compensated at a rate of $20.00 per ton of material collected. Additionally, the <br />company would provide a monthly collection report, which could be used as part of the City’s <br />annual reporting to Ramsey County on recycling collection. <br /> <br />AGENDA ITEM – 1C <br /> MEMORANDUM <br />