[0:01] [Music] [0:21] Ramsey [0:27] County [0:31] Center, Division Manager for [0:33] Environmental [0:35] Health, Environmental Health Supervisor [0:45] Uh, so I would like to just start out [0:46] with having you both just tell us a [0:48] little bit about who you are and what [0:50] are your roles here at Ramsey County. [0:53] So Ramsey County. Yeah, my name is [0:56] Daniel Schmidt. I'm a division manager [0:59] with Ramsey County Environmental Health [1:01] and I manage the team that oversees the [1:05] operations of the environmental center. [1:07] Okay. [1:18] Daniel and my name is Beth Coreno and I [1:21] work with the community programs and [1:23] outreach team and we help support [1:27] communications about the environmental [1:29] center as well as all of our community [1:32] programs around recycling, waste [1:35] reduction, um, and household waste. [1:53] Okay. Yeah, big news that the [1:54] environmental center is brand spanking [1:57] new. Um, I would like to just learn a [2:00] little bit more about what is it and [2:01] what services does it provide. [2:03] So, environmental center [2:16] So to get the environmental center um [2:19] the planning process involved a lot of [2:22] listening from our communities and they [2:25] told us that these services and this [2:28] kind of um uh operation is very [2:33] important. [2:49] Fore and so listening to our communities [2:51] and to the to the residents of Ramsey [2:53] County, convenience was very important. [2:57] And so this center brings it all into [3:00] one place. um recycling, waste [3:03] reduction, uh food scraps, uh drop offs, [3:07] um really all of the environmental [3:19] services. Fore! Foreign! Foreign! [3:40] And and one thing I want to point out [3:42] that's very important is the services at [3:45] the Ramsey County Environmental Center [3:46] are free to our residents, not only to [3:49] residents of Ramsey County, but to the [3:52] residents of all of the metro counties. [3:54] So that includes Anoka County, Carver [3:56] County, Dakota County, Henipin County, [3:59] Scott County, and Washington [4:11] County. Ramsey [4:18] County [4:27] Washington. Yeah. Yes. And so what are [4:30] those services? Uh they are where people [4:33] can come get rid of products they no [4:35] longer want. And so that is electronics, [4:38] household cleaning chemicals or paint. [4:41] Um, laundry detergents, anything that [4:43] you'd find in a house that you don't [4:46] want, that we want to keep out of our [4:58] trash. [5:09] foreign. And this is also a place where [5:11] people can easily get rid of recyclable [5:13] material. So things that you can't fit [5:16] in your container at home. You could [5:18] bring large amounts of cardboard. You [5:20] could bring scrap metal. You could bring [5:23] mixed recycling like aluminum cans and [5:25] glass. And you can also get rid of your [5:27] food scraps here. Yes. [5:44] Yeah. And and uh the last two features [5:47] that are really great, which are also [5:49] free, we have a product reuse room where [5:52] folks can come and get paint or these [5:54] products that were no longer wanted that [5:56] are still in good shape. They can get [5:57] those for free. And they can also come [5:59] here for our fix it clinics where we [6:01] have teams of people to help them fix [6:03] and repair their items that are no [6:06] longer working or broken. [6:27] Okay. Yeah. Thank you so much for all of [6:29] that great information. Um I would like [6:31] to learn a little bit more about the [6:33] center and why it's so unique. Uh just [6:35] maybe some of the features and [6:36] sustainability um things that we talked [6:39] about uh yesterday. And [6:43] so [6:53] Sure. Well, this is the first uh [6:57] facility of this type in Ramsey County [6:59] and so that makes it special. Um, also [7:02] it's very conveniently located in the [7:05] center of Ramsey County and so it's very [7:08] easy for most people to get here from [7:10] any part of Ramsey County. [7:43] Yeah, it's it's in Roseville. It's on [7:45] Larpender Avenue about right between [7:48] Rice and Dale Streets. [7:57] Y and it's a 29,000 square foot facility [8:01] and it was an investment that the county [8:03] made of about $29.7 million. [8:15] And it was very important to us that [8:17] this building not only act as a service [8:20] to our residents, but also to speak to [8:23] the mission of what we do with reuse. [8:25] And so we were very careful to [8:28] incorporate sustainability and reuse [8:30] into the construction of this project. [8:32] And I can tell about some of those [8:34] features. [8:56] Sustainability. We have solar panels on [8:59] a roof. The building is heated and [9:01] cooled using geothermal technology. Um, [9:04] we have a patio that was made from [9:06] bricks that were taken from University [9:08] Avenue when they built the green line [9:09] train. [9:11] And, um, we also use lots of native [9:14] plants in the landscaping. [9:37] And one one other thing that I want to I [9:39] want to throw in that I think is a very [9:41] fun fact is the site where we built this [9:44] had very contaminated soil. So we had to [9:46] spend a lot of time and money to clean [9:48] that up. And we did that using soil that [9:50] was made from old food scraps in Ramsey [9:53] County. So, it's the compost from our [9:55] food we use to clean up the soil. [10:23] Yeah. And Daniel, you and I had a really [10:25] great conversation the other day about [10:27] why this is so important. Why is this [10:30] mission? It's it's clear and evident [10:31] that Ramsey County is really um really [10:34] intentional about how they built the [10:36] center and how they went about that [10:38] process. Um how would you explain to our [10:41] community why it's so important? So, [10:59] yes, that's a really great question. I [11:01] think it's really important for people [11:02] to understand that because we can talk [11:04] about the great features of the [11:05] building, but really people need to know [11:07] why we have this facility. Um, and it [11:10] it's really aimed to reduce the toxicity [11:13] of our our garbage and our waste [11:15] streams. And that's to protect the [11:17] environment and to protect our future [11:19] generations. [11:52] Yeah. And uh Beth, the other day when we [11:54] had a wonderful tour of the um uh reuse [11:58] room as well as here in this fixa clinic [12:01] and our education room. I want to talk a [12:03] little bit more about some of those [12:04] details and if you could just share with [12:06] our community a little bit more about [12:08] some of the services that are available [12:09] here. [12:15] So [12:18] reuse [12:25] fix. Absolutely. That was a lot. So [12:30] Daniel talked about the recycling and um [12:33] people can bring their food scraps here. [12:36] They can also bring their household [12:38] hazardous waste. Things like batteries, [12:41] fertilizers, cleaning products, um old [12:44] cell phones, paint, um old electronics, [12:48] those can all come here. Okay. [13:19] And so then what we do is we've added [13:22] the component of a product reuse room. [13:25] So when that household hazardous waste [13:27] of the paint and the cleaning products [13:29] and automotive products come in, if [13:32] their labels are intact and they're [13:34] halfway full and they're still good and [13:37] usable, we put them in our product reuse [13:40] room for residents to come and um shop [13:44] for free to take those products home and [13:47] continue to use them. [14:36] And I I I think we, you know, I it's so [14:39] important to talk about that because [14:41] really we have in our society a kind of [14:44] a waste problem. We all purchase a lot [14:46] and we throw away a lot and we really [14:48] need to manage that so it doesn't get [14:51] into our environment and pollute and and [14:54] that's where it also is important to [14:56] have a reuse room because we can keep [14:58] using those products which makes it so [15:01] people don't have to go to the store and [15:02] buy more, [15:08] right? [15:27] Fore reducing waste, reducing [15:31] toxicity and saving money. [15:45] And we say it's a win-win for our [15:46] pocketbooks and for the environment. [15:49] Yeah. [15:56] So, where we're sitting right now is [15:58] also a space that we're going to use for [16:00] our fix it clinics. [16:12] And this is where people can come to a [16:14] fix it clinic with an appliance, a small [16:18] appliance like a toaster or a lamp or [16:21] something that's not working or even [16:23] clothing that might have a rip or need a [16:25] new zipper. And our volunteers work with [16:28] them to repair it. [16:55] foreign and this program is also free. [17:03] So since [17:05] 2015 um we have c we've had 3,033 people [17:10] come to our fix it [17:22] clinics and we've kept almost [17:25] 21,000 pounds of material out of the [17:29] trash because it was repaired. [17:42] And I think if people are interested in [17:44] this program, I mean, it's one we're [17:46] very excited about, they can visit [17:49] ramseyrecycles.comfixitclinics. [18:00] county.com fix. [18:07] Thank you for all of that. Um I want to [18:09] talk a little bit about Okay, so if a [18:11] resident or anyone um wants to drop off [18:14] their items, right, Daniel, can you just [18:16] talk to us a little bit about when [18:18] they're dropping off items, walk us [18:20] through what that process looks like for [18:22] them and what is that experience like? [18:24] um how will everything work when they [18:26] visit. So [18:41] um we tried to make the process of [18:45] dropping off stuff very easy and very [18:47] convenient. [18:56] So, we have three areas of the building. [18:59] The first area is the fix it clinics and [19:01] the product reuse room. The second area [19:04] is a drive-thru for electronics and [19:06] household hazardous waste. And the third [19:08] is for recycling. [19:25] computer.chech. [20:01] drive. Yeah. You drive through, it's [20:04] it's covered. Uh it's weather controlled [20:07] and people will welcome you in and you [20:10] can open your trunk and they will remove [20:11] those items for your trunk and then they [20:13] will separate them in the warehouse. [20:29] And and I will say when people leave [20:31] after they drop off their items, we [20:33] would encourage them to pull into the [20:35] parking lot and shop at our reuse room [20:37] and see if there's any additional [20:39] products that they could take home and [20:40] use. [20:59] And if I can add something, um, there's [21:03] signage all on the campus to help people [21:06] know where they want to go and help [21:08] direct them. Um, we've got resources [21:11] online in our recycling guide and on our [21:14] website. And this location has staff who [21:18] are thrilled that you're here and will [21:20] help [21:29] you. [21:46] Fore. Um, so just as we wrap up here, [21:49] any additional takeaways? I know we've [21:50] got some events coming up and some other [21:52] things that's happening that's very [21:54] exciting. Um, any final takeaways? [21:59] I just want to encourage everyone to [22:00] come visit us and everyone is welcome to [22:03] come see here for themselves what this [22:05] beautiful new building has to offer. [22:19] and I can share the hours and maybe we [22:21] could put those on the screen for [22:22] everyone to see. Um, we will be open [22:24] Tuesday through Friday 11 a.m. to 6:00 [22:30] p.m. [22:36] Tuesday. We're also open on Saturdays [22:38] from 9:00 am to 4 pm [22:45] and we are closed on Sunday, Monday and [22:49] holidays. [22:57] Sunday and I'm really excited about some [23:00] of the events that we have coming up. [23:02] Um, in addition to opening on April 1st, [23:06] we're going to be celebrating Earth [23:08] Week. [23:23] So on Earth Day, which is Tuesday, April [23:26] 22nd, we have special giveaways for the [23:29] first 200 visitors. [23:43] And we've made um we've been very [23:45] purposeful to make sure that the [23:47] giveaways meet our mission and will help [23:49] people reduce waste in their lives. [24:06] other events that we have. Um, on [24:08] Thursday, April 24th, we have an open [24:11] house for the community to come and tour [24:14] the building, meet some of our partners, [24:16] learn about what's happening in Ramsey [24:18] County. And that's from 6:00 to 8:00 [24:23] p.m. [24:37] for and on Saturday, April 26th, we have [24:40] our first fix it clinic. And so that's [24:43] from 10 to 1. [24:57] I think we're just really excited to see [24:59] how the residents will be able to use [25:01] this facility and how it will be [25:04] convenient and it's sustainable and it [25:07] will help them lead more sustainable [25:09] lives. [25:19] So, as you know, we still have our [25:21] resources. Ramsey County US [25:25] uses if you want to learn about this [25:27] facility. We also have [25:30] ramseyrecycles.com and our a toz [25:38] guide [25:41] ramseyount.com us [26:03] Timeless Environmental [26:06] Center, [26:08] Elizabeth, Ramsey County. [26:12] [Music] [26:27] Good. Heat.