Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy

09/10/2026

Minnesota needs more waste-to-energy facilities.

That’s one of the key takeaways from the latest episode of Trash Talk with Trista featuring Sigurd Scheurle, a retired planning director at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. Sigurd and Trista discuss what Minnesota has learned from decades of waste management, including why relying on landfills isn’t the best long-term solution and how waste-to-energy can play a bigger role in managing our waste.

The full episode is available anywhere you get your podcasts or find it here: TrashTalkWithTrista.podbean.com.

09/09/2026

Saint Paul residents: Pull out those kitchen items gathering dust in your cupboards and swap them out for something different. It's a great way to refresh your setup and find that missing piece for your pantry while keeping useful items in circulation.

📍WHERE: Public Works Solid Waste and Recycling Facility (60 Sycamore Street West, Saint Paul)
🕓WHEN: Wednesday, September 16, 4 - 6 p.m. | Saturday, September 19, 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.

What to bring:
✅ Gadgets, like garlic presses herb st*****rs and citrus juicers
✅ Dining decor, like table linens and cloth napkins
✅ Baking essentials, like cake pans and cookbooks
✅ Storage, like glass jars and reusable containers
✅ Small (working!) appliances, like toasters, blenders and stand mixers

What NOT to bring:
❌ Food or beverages
❌ Heavily soiled items
❌ Broken or damaged items
❌Safety hazards

No items will be accepted after 1 p.m. on Saturday, September 19. No more than two bags or boxes will be accepted per person.

No cost to participate. Unclaimed items will be donated or recycled.

For more details, visit stpaul.gov/reuse.

City of Saint Paul - Government

09/08/2026

On this episode of Trash Talk with Trista, Trista sits down with Sigurd Scheurle, a retired planning director at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, to discuss what we’ve learned from landfilling, the environmental impacts of leachate and why waste-to-energy can be a safer alternative.

🎧️ Listen anywhere you get your podcasts: https://trashtalkwithtrista.podbean.com/.

09/04/2026

Congrats and best wishes to Sophia Fiswick, who is wrapping up her internship with us as part of the Climate Smart Municipalities program.

Sophia is a mechanical engineering student from Germany, and she helped R&E with work related to life cycle analysis of materials as well as the Food Scraps Pickup Program.

Thank you, Sophia! Hope the cowboy hat helps you remember us.🤠

09/03/2026

As cooler weather approaches, prepare by removing items from your garage that could freeze and dispose of unwanted items at a household hazardous waste collection site, like the Ramsey or Washington County environmental centers.

☣️Look for symbols, like the ones shown, to help identify hazardous items. Visit your county's website for a full list of accepted hazardous waste.

Ramsey County: ramseycountymn.gov/residents/recycling-waste/collection-sites/household-hazardous-waste
Washington County: washingtoncountymn.gov/630/Disposal-Directory

09/01/2026

Welcome to the R&E Board, Anna Hotz!

Anna is an assistant division director at the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and is joining the R&E Board as an ex-officio member. Her presence on the board helps maintain a connection between our two organizations, and we are grateful for the collaboration and partnership.

We look forward to working with you, Anna!

08/31/2026

Both waste-to-energy facilities and landfills produce emissions, but they’re not equal. Waste-to-energy facilities operate with advanced air pollution controls and real-time monitoring, making them a significantly cleaner option for managing waste. Learn more at https://recyclingandenergy.org/about-waste-to-energy/.

08/28/2026

Yesterday, R&E welcomed haulers from across Ramsey and Washington counties to the R&E Center for our annual Hauler Picnic.🚛

Our hauler partners play a vital role in keeping our communities clean, safe and thriving. Their hard work and dedication support the reliable waste management services that residents and businesses depend on every day.

Thank you to all of our hauler partners for everything you do!

Walter's Recycling & Refuse Inc. | FCC Environmental Services | Tennis Sanitation, LLC | Highland Sanitation & Recycling

08/27/2026

♻️ If you drink from it, recycle it. If you eat from it, put it in the trash. 🍴 Encouraging more than two million Minnesota State Fair goers to sort their waste correctly takes a lot of work behind the scenes.

On this episode of Trash Talk with Trista, Trista sits down with Cory Franzmeier from the Minnesota State Fair and Megan Dobratz from Native Sustainability to talk about how the Great Minnesota Get-Together manages waste, how those efforts have evolved and where there are opportunities to reduce waste and recover more resources.

Listen to the full episode wherever you get your podcasts or find it here: https://trashtalkwithtrista.podbean.com/.

08/26/2026

Cabinets, light fixtures, wood floors, doors and much more can be salvaged and reused during renovations. Whether you're a homeowner updating your kitchen or a developer renovating an apartment living room, consider applying for a Building Material Reuse Grant.

Grants are available to support projects including renovation, full structure deconstruction or full structural moves. Learn more about available grants and eligibility at recyclingandenergy.org/deconstruction/.

There are options beyond demolition when a building comes to the end of its life. Deconstruction is the process of taking a building apart so that the individual building materials can be reused in other projects. Many building materials – including cabinets, light fixtures, wood floors, doors, ba...