BizRecycling Story

BizRecycling is a public program of Ramsey/Washington Recycling & Energy (R&E). Through R&E, Ramsey and Washington counties have worked together to manage waste responsibly since the 1980s. The two counties strive to protect health and the environment and meet the state’s 75% recycling goal.

BizRecycling launched in 2013 to help businesses start and improve organics (food waste) collections. Over time, BizRecycling expanded to support waste reduction and recycling efforts. In 2019, residential apartment buildings became eligible for technical assistance and grants. Since our start, we’ve reached over 4,000 local businesses with information, customized improvement plans and grant funding. Over $6 million dollars in grants have been invested into local businesses to help them manage their waste in an environmentally preferred manner. These community investments have resulted in 399 businesses starting to collect organics, 402 starting to collect recycling and 1,000 businesses making improvements to existing waste management systems. With our help, these businesses are diverting a combined 14 million pounds of waste (that’s about 500 garbage trucks) from the trash every year.