Kitchen scraps in the east metro are getting an upgrade. Starting earlier this month, many Twin Cities residents in Ramsey and Washington counties can now toss more of their food waste into curbside pickup for composting instead of sending it to the landfill. The latest expansion of the Food Scraps Pickup Program now covers all of Washington County and adds a cluster of Ramsey County suburbs, opening the door for tens of thousands of households to join in.
New cities added
The program’s newest wave brought curbside service on Monday to Forest Lake, Hugo, Marine on St. Croix, May Township and Scandia in Washington County. On the Ramsey County side, Arden Hills, Gem Lake, Little Canada, Mounds View and New Brighton joined the roster. The rollout completes Washington County’s coverage and pushes curbside food-scrap collection deeper into suburban neighborhoods that previously had to rely on drop-off sites. For the full list and map of participating areas, see the program’s availability page, according to Food Scraps Pickup Program.
How it works
Households that sign up receive a free supply of program-specific compostable bags in 6- or 13-gallon sizes, along with an instruction guide. Most homes can place two free orders of 60 bags per year. Residents fill a bag with food scraps, knot it shut, and drop it into their regular trash cart or dumpster for their usual hauler to collect. The bags are built to survive the trip in the truck without breaking apart. Officials point out that food scraps make up about 28% of all trash generated in the two counties, which gives this expansion a lot of potential impact, according to Washington County.
Why officials say it matters
"When organics break down in a landfill without oxygen, it creates methane," said Trista Martinson, executive director of Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy, who noted the program is designed to capture and repurpose that gas. The separated food scraps are sent to partners that can pull out greenhouse gases and convert them into clean energy or compost feedstocks, a process Martinson described in an interview with CBS Minnesota. County and partner officials argue that because the program uses existing hauler routes, it offers an affordable way to cut emissions without overhauling the whole trash system.
Where the scraps go and the timeline
After pickup, program bags travel with regular trash to the Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy Center in Newport. There, sorting equipment separates the compostable bags from other waste and sends the food scraps on to industrial composting or anaerobic digestion facilities. R&E and county partners have invested in robotics and other facility upgrades so they can handle higher volumes and supply future anaerobic digestion projects, according to a Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy press release. The counties say the program is being rolled out in phases to all Ramsey and Washington County residents and should be available to everyone by the end of 2027, according to Food Scraps Pickup Program.
How to sign up
Residents in eligible areas can request their free bags by phone or online and start collecting food scraps as soon as the shipment arrives at their door. For sign-ups and questions, call 651-661-9393 or see the county announcement, according to Washington County. As the program continues to roll out, multiunit property managers can order containers and tap additional resources through BizRecycling.
