We agreed at today’s meeting that the next meeting will be some sort of panel discussion where we (& anyone else who joins us) can learn about how waste is handled in Morris and its environs.
@syd has the notes with names and such, so she can share those here when she has a chance.
We can use this topic to ask questions, share ideas, volunteer for tasks, etc. I’ll make this top post a wiki so we can use it to collected the “finished product” (people we invited, structure and agenda, etc.)
Some important dates:
- 17 Jan: Get invites out
- Week of 20 Jan: Follow up with phone calls
- 27 Jan: RSVPs from invited panelists
- 30 Jan: Community Connections radio interview (Volunteers so far: Margaret Kuchenreuther)
- 1 Feb: The meeting!
Presenter Invitation Draft - !!THESE HAVE BEEN SENT OUT!!
Hello,
My name is Sydney Bauer and I am a part of a group in Stevens County aiming to become more sustainably conscious citizens. We have monthly meetings and are hoping at our February 1st meeting to learn about how the different waste systems work in Stevens County & West Central MN. Our group is interested in supporting our local government and businesses in creating sustainable, economical change but we cannot do that without knowing first how these types of core systems work.
The goal for this meeting is to invite some of our local waste experts to inform us about waste systems in Stevens County/West Central MN so that we are then able to put together a document that brings all of the key information together in one place. A local waste cheat sheet, if you will.
Your name came up as a local expert! This email serves as our excited invitation to you! We would love if you were willing and able to come to this meeting and present us with some of your knowledge. The meeting is very informal and will largely be us asking you to share with us what you know about the local waste process, policies, and planning.
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Bob Kopitzke - Specifically, we were hoping you could share with us about the county-wide policies regarding waste. We would also love to hear about what the county is thinking in regards to waste planning for the future. We are aware that there are currently some problems within the waste system in regards to cost and shipping location and would love to hear more about that from you.
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Ron Staples - Same as Bob?
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Troy Engebretson - Specifically, we were hoping you would be able to speak to the waste system process. The only part of this process that we as customers are fully engaged in is the pick up schedule. We would love to learn more from you about the cost to operate your system, the locations for garbage and recycling drop off, and what consumers can do to help you make the system more efficient. Hearing this information directly from the folks running the system is very important to us.
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Nathan Reinbold - Specifically, we were hoping you might be able to tell us about the projects Pope/Douglas is working to put into place (Environmental Center, Materials Recovery Facility & Regional Organics Composting Facility). These are all very exciting to us over in Stevens county, but since we are not in your service area we do not often get to hear about them and how we could support the process. We are curious as to how these projects got initiated, where they are at in the process, and how we could engage more deeply with them.
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Gail Boe - Specifically, we were hoping you could provide some thoughts on your work with the UMM compost pile. A key part of the waste system in Morris is the success of this project and how it has allowed for inter-institution work on waste reduction.
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Vance Gullickson - Specifically, we were hoping you could share with us about how the waste & recycling stream at UMM works. We are very interested in learning how the similarities and differences between the on campus waste system, and the larger multi-county systems. As recycling gets harder to do in MN and across the country due to recycling plants shutting down we are also interested in hearing from you about the UMM recycling process.
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Doyle Sperr - Specifically, we were hoping you could share with us about the Grant County policies regarding waste along with what Grant County is thinking about in regards to waste planning for the future. We are aware that there are currently some problems within the waste system here in Stevens County and are curious to know if those extend to Grant, Pope, Douglas Counties, etc.
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Rebecca Young - Not going to send her a specific one, going to start her email with a, “we know you are on maternity leave but we wanted to keep you in the loop” blurb.
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Dave Kleindl - Specifically, we were hoping you could speak to the work that the Solid Waste & Environmental Services department is doing in regards to recycling and hazardous waste. We would be very interested to hear about any issues or solutions your department has come across and how we as citizens can support you in your work.
The discussion for the day will focus around these questions:
- What is the process for handling garbage in our area? Where does it go? What does it cost?
- What is the process for handling recycling in our area? Where does it go? What does it cost?
- What are important policies in regards to waste in our area? Who sets these policies? How have these policies changed?
- We have heard bits and pieces about the potential for a local composting program to begin, what is the story behind that and where in the process is it at now?
- What do you wish people knew about the local waste process? How can our group be a helpful communicator for your waste goals?
We would love it if you were able to join us at our meeting and speak to one or many of these topics. We are very excited to learn from you! We also welcome any ideas you might have of other waste experts we could invite or topics you think should be covered.
The meeting is on Saturday, February 1st from 10:30AM to 12PM in the Morris Public Library Community Room.
In order to solidify our meeting agenda & attendees, we ask that you RSVP by the end of the business day on Friday, January 24th. Within your RSVP we ask that you let us know if you are OK with us video recording this meeting. We don’t want to miss any tidbit of crucial information you might share.
If you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to reach out.
Thank you for your time and we look forward to hearing from you,
Sydney Bauer
Email to folks we specifically want to invite to be in the audience
Hello,My name is Sydney Bauer and I am a part of a group in Stevens County aiming to become more sustainably conscious citizens. We have monthly meetings and are hoping at our February 1st meeting to learn about how the different waste systems work in Stevens County & West Central MN. Our group is interested in supporting our local government and businesses in creating sustainable, economical change but we cannot do that without knowing first how these types of core systems work.
The goal for this meeting is to invite some of our local waste experts to inform us about waste systems in Stevens County/West Central MN so that we are then able to put together a document that brings all of the key information together in one place. A local waste cheat sheet, if you will.
Your name came up as someone who might be interested in the information we gather from this meeting.
Follow up calls to Experts
If you feel comfortable, please sign up to give one of our experts a call on Wed/Thur Jan 22nd/23rd. I will update their RSVP status here (both if they are coming and if they have agreed to be videoed) and if they say YES maybe give them a call to see if they have any questions or concerns, if they say NO maybe call them and ask if they have any information they would like us to share on their behalf, and if they haven't RSVPd give them a call to find out!- Bob Kopitzke (Stevens County Commissioner) -
- (320) 585-6418
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Ron Staples (Stevens County Commissioner) -
- (320) 324-2650
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Troy Engebretson -
- Engebretson’s business number, call and ask for Troy (320) 589-3804
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Nathan Reinbold (Pope/Douglas recycling) -
- (320) 763-9340
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Gail Boe (UMM Plant Genius) -
- Doesn’t have a “work” phone so we can wait on calling Gail. Maybe @syd will go visit her on campus
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Vance Gullickson - @syd
- Same as Gail but @syd has Vance’s number and can call him.
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Doyle Sperr (Matt’s Uncle, Grant County Commissioner)
- Doesn’t have a listed County Commissioner phone number, @syd can ask Matt if he knows how to contact him.
- RSVP:
- Videoed:
- Dave Kleindl (Stevens County Solid Waste Director) -
- 320-208-6558
- RSVP:
- Videoed: