A resolution signed Thursday by Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey calls for the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center incinerator (HERC) to close by 2027.
"The emissions that we have seen over the last several decades that come out of the HERC, are dangerous to communities," says Frey. "Have been problematic in terms of the carbon emissions, and obviously have a disparate impact on communities of color."
75 percent of the garbage burned at the HERC comes from Minneapolis. The rest comes from a dozen other cities in the area.
Leaders in neighboring cities argue closing the HERC would create waste in other areas of the state however.
"Fair concerns, and at the same time, you need a target to be able to march towards that end goal," says Frey.
Closing by 2027 would take approval by the Hennepin County Board which last year approved closing the HERC between 2028 and 2040, obviously a much longer runway.
Minneapolis City Council Member Katie Cashman says the resolution is only one step in the process and that state lawmakers will be asked to step-in.
"There is a lot of investment that the state needs to be making, in solid ways, to enable us to shut down the HERC within the tight timeline that we have outlined in this resolution," Cashman explained Thursday. "Stopping burning by 2027 is going to take a huge investment by the state. So we'll see you at the Capitol this year to fight for those investments."
City leaders say the incinerator has a dire impact on the environment and city residents living on the north side. They add that the garbage incinerator is hindering efforts to achieve their goels of zero waste.
"I know people try to make it a debate about to what extent the HERC causes, contributes to the air quality over north," says Councilman Jeremiah Ellison. "But what is not up for debate is that the air quality in places like North Minneapolis is diminished. And that burning trash and having it drift over North Minneapolis, you can't convince a single person on the north side that is good for us."
Located in the North Loop near Target Field, the incinerator began operating in 1989 as a preferable option to traditional landfills.
According to the city, the combustion process reduces the volume of waste by nearly 90 percent. The material remaining after combustion is non-hazardous ash, which is then screened for metals and sent to a landfill. The HERC also produces electricity with about one ton of trash being enough to power a house for 21 days plus steam heat used in both Target Field and downtown Minneapolis buildings.