Community POWER was created in 2001 by the Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board (SWMCB). The SWMCB is a joint powers board comprised of two county commissioners from the counties of Anoka, Carver, Dakota, Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington.

The Solid Waste Management Coordinating Board set a goal to contain waste generation rates at the 1999 levels, or 1.28 tons per capita. In order to reach this goal, the SWMCB proposed to partner with local community groups to engage local citizens in waste and toxicity reduction messages and activities.

Susan Cairn and Erin Bowley (Cairn & Associates) were hired in 2000 to identify community groups interested in piloting community education projects and to hold focus groups to identify possible projects.

Exploratory conversations and/or meetings were held with over fifty community organizations regarding participation in this project. Groups were chosen for diverse attributes such as representation from the six counties, size, audience, and interest level in this project. From the initial contact, thirty community groups were invited to participate in focus groups. Four focus groups were held to determine community groups' project ideas, motivations, resources and challenges. Follow-up interviews helped further refine and clarify project ideas.

Hundreds of ideas were generated by the groups engaged in the study. Some projects were simple and require few resources - only technical information and encouragement to do the project. For example, inserting waste reduction messages into existing websites and newsletters. Other projects were more involved, requiring staff time, training, and materials, such as creating a summer youth employment program focused on waste and toxicity reduction.

Cairn & Associates, in their final report to the SWMCB, recommended making grants available to support organizations implementing waste and toxicity reduction projects. The first grants were made in October, 2001. Grants have been made each spring since 2002.

In November 2007, Ami Voeltz and Associates was hired to continue managing Community POWER. In January, 2008, Jen Aspengren joined Ami Voeltz as part of the management team. 

COMMUNITY POWER: RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS