The HERC (Hennepin Energy Recovery Center) is the trash incinerator in downtown Minneapolis. This is where garbage trucks from Minneapolis and some of the surrounding communities bring our trash. According to Hennepin County, the steam from the HERC produces enough electricity to power 25,000 homes and it also provides energy to Target Field and other areas of downtown. The County also reports that emissions from the HERC are consistently below Minnesota Pollution Control Agency permitted levels. Critics of the HERC are concerned about the environmental and health effects generated by the HERCs emissions. They assert that the HERC is a public health risk especially for the people living nearby, many of whom are people of color and low income, who are disproportionately impacted by HERC’s emissions.

Many Minneapolis residents are wondering, where will the trash go without the HERC? Can we afford to close it? Can we afford to keep it open? Will zero waste efforts be enough to divert from the HERC? What is the just course of action for our waste in Minneapolis?

This panel discussion will address the history, benefits, risks, science, and the environmental justice perspective behind the HERC. Free and Open to All.

Panelists will include: David McNary, Assistant Director of Solid Waste & Energy, Hennepin County; Leslie Myint, Research Director, Minnesota Environmental Justice Table; and Nick Gerold, Director of Solid Waste & Recycling, City of Minneapolis

Contact vote@lwvmpls.org for questions.