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Waste Disposal FAQ's?

How can I get rid of items that should not be thrown away?

Why is it important to change my current purchasing and disposal behavior?

The region's garbage is growing each year and threatening the health of our environment. Each year the six-county Twin Cities metro area generates 6.7 billion pounds of garbage. Choosing to buy products that create less waste and are less toxic, along with recycling, composting and disposing of garbage properly saves energy, creates jobs and tax revenue for the state of Minnesota, and helps protect our air and water.

How do I "know what to throw" in the garbage?

Don't throw:
  • Anything you can reuse, sell or donate
  • Anything you can recycle
  • Anything that can be composted in your backyard, including lawn, garden and some food waste
  • Items that contain harmful materials such as lead, mercury, and products such as motor oil, and aerosol cans containing product.

For information on specific materials and how to reduce, recycle or dispose of materials, visit our Know What to Throw & Buy page or use the search engine underneath the site navigation to the left.

What can I recycle?

Your city or your garbage hauler determines which materials can be placed at curbside for recycling. Most residents in the Rethink Recycling Twin Cities metro region can recycle the following items:
  • Newspaper
  • Aluminum and other metal cans
  • Plastic bottles with necks
  • Mail, office, and school papers
  • Magazines and catalogs
  • Newspapers and inserts
  • Phone books
  • Shredded paper in closed paper bags
  • Cereal boxes, cracker boxes, pasta boxes, cake mix boxes
  • Shoe boxes, gift boxes, electronic boxes
  • Boxes from toothpaste, medications, and other toiletries
  • Corrugated Cardboard
  • Glass

Many other materials can be recycled. Call your city recycling coordinator or your garbage hauler to ask what is currently recycled in your community. For certain materials that aren't collected at curbside, counties have drop-off sites.

I recycle as much as I can, what else can I do to reduce garbage?

Every year each Minnesotan generates about 2,600 pounds of garbage - a multi-story heap that weighs as much as a four-door sedan. By far the best way to reduce waste is to shop wisely. Along with Knowing What to Buy, other ways to reduce include:
  • Packing a no-waste lunch by using a reusable lunch bag and containers (not disposables)
  • Packing your groceries in reusable bags
  • Using a refillable coffee mug
  • Leaving grass clippings on the lawn
  • Composting food and yard waste
  • Remove your name from junk mail lists

What is household hazardous waste (HHW) and what should I do with it?

Household hazardous waste is waste that is toxic, flammable, combustible, or corrosive. Household hazardous waste includes things such as drain cleaner, mercury thermometers, and oil-based paint. Check the labels on products in your kitchen, bathroom, basement and garage. If you find the words "Caution," "Warning," "Danger" or "Poison," you own products that may contain hazardous materials. When not used up or disposed of properly, these materials can be harmful to you and the environment.

Do:
  • Buy products with less harmful ingredients, avoiding those that are labeled Warning, Danger or Poison
  • Use all the product, or give it to someone else to use up
  • Take leftover household hazardous waste to a County household hazardous waste collection site
Do Not:
  • Throw HHW products in the garbage
  • Pour them down sink drains
  • Pour them in the street storm drain or sewer
  • Pour them on the ground or into a lake, river or stream

Where does my garbage go?

The six-county metro region served by Rethink Recycling generates about 3.2 million tons of garbage every year. Keeping up with it is a constant job:
  • Nearly 50% of that waste is recycled
  • 33% of the garbage is processed at waste-to-energy facilities into electricity or burned for fuel
  • 23% of the garbage is landfilled in Minnesota and other states

In most cities, garbage haulers determine if your garbage is landfilled or processed into energy. Call your hauler to ask if your garbage is processed into energy.

How can I get rid of items that should not be thrown away?

Mercury thermometers and other items containing mercury

Mercury fever thermometer and other mercury containing products should never be thrown away. A nerve toxin, mercury is especially dangerous when inhaled. If not properly managed, it can end up in our lakes and rivers where it is consumed by fish - only to be served later on a dinner plate.

Thermometers and thermostats are just two items that may contain mercury. Mercury is also contained within compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) and some TVs. Place mercury devices in a secure container and take them to a county household hazardous waste collection site. To find collection sites, go to the Household Hazardous Waste page.

Computer Monitors and TVs

Computer and TV screens should never be thrown away because they contain cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Inside each cathode ray tube lurks 2 to 8 pounds of lead. Lead is toxic and is capable of poisoning air and water and harming people and animals.

In Minnesota, it is illegal to put CRT's in the garbage. Options for getting rid of your unwanted computer monitor or TV include:
  • Recycle through local collection and recycling options. Some counties, cities, and neighborhoods host collection events. Alternatively, try a local electronics recycling company. Click here for more information.
  • Recycle through manufacturer programs offered through some electronics manufacturers.
  • Resell, repair or donate

Leftover Latex Paint

Leftover latex paint - still in liquid form - should never be thrown away. Instead, dispose of latex paint properly:
  • Recycle paint by bringing it to your county household hazardous waste collection site. For free collection site locations, see the Household Hazardous Waste page
  • Completely dry out small quantities of latex paint on newspaper in a well-ventilated area, and then place the newspaper in your garbage
  • Minimize leftover paint waste by buying only what you need
  • Don't let latex paint freeze. Freezing will ruin the paint for future use and make it more expensive for counties to recycle.

Food Waste

At 11%, a significant portion of all garbage is food waste that could be composted. Composting is a natural process that breaks down organic materials and can greatly reduce what we landfill and incinerate.

You can compost:
  • Vegetable and fruit scraps
  • Coffee grounds and coffee filters
  • Tea leaves and tea bags
  • Egg shells and more!

For step-by-step instructions on composting food and yard waste, see the compost page at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency.