Hennepin County, MN Trash & Recycling: Yard Waste Collection (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- Ordinance 13, § II(5)(A)
- Yard waste service
- Not required, not prohibited
- Compliance rule
- Doesn't satisfy recycling mandate
- Enforcement trigger
- City non-compliance
Summary
Hennepin County's recycling ordinance doesn't ban yard waste pickup, but collecting yard waste alone never counts as a city meeting its recycling mandate.
Nothing in this Ordinance shall preclude the Collection of Yard Waste, although Yard Waste Collection alone is not sufficient for a City to be compliant with the Ordinance. If a City should fail to implement the requirements by January 1, 2022, the enforcement provisions in this Ordinance, Section II, Subsection 5.B, shall come into effect.
B. County Enforcement
If any City fails to establish or implement any or all of the requirements in Section II of this Ordinance, the County Board may implement any of the requirements of this Ordinance within the boundaries of the City. The County Board, to the extent that it has assumed the responsibilities that the City has failed to assume, may seek reimbursement from a City for all costs, expenses, and expenditures that the County has incurred incident
7 to the adoption, implementation, administration, and enforcement of this Ordinance within the boundaries of a City through any means available under Minnesota law.
Full Breakdown
Ordinance 13, the county's recycling law for cities, states that nothing in the ordinance precludes yard waste collection, but yard waste collection alone is not sufficient for a city to comply with its curbside Mixed Recyclables and Organic Material requirements. Cities that fail to implement the Section II Curbside Collection mandates by January 1, 2022 trigger county enforcement under Section II, Subsection 5(B), regardless of any yard waste service already offered.
Violations & Fines
Cities that treat yard waste pickup as satisfying Section II recycling mandates remain out of compliance and face county enforcement and cost recovery under Subsection 5(B).
Frequently Asked Questions
Does yard waste pickup satisfy Hennepin County's recycling ordinance?
Is yard waste collection required in Hennepin County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hennepin County
Compare Hennepin County to another location·View the Minnesota trash & recycling overview
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