Recycling

Recycling is a great way to combat the growing demand for our natural resources. Recycling helps conserve our natural resources and reduces the amount of materials entering landfills. Furthermore, using recycled materials in manufacturing consumes less energy and reduces pollution.

About Recycling

State law requires municipalities to ensure that residents have access to an opportunity to recycle. The City of Ramsey accomplishes this through a contract with ACE Solid Waste for the curbside collection of residentially generated recyclables. Each household is charged $3.98 monthly for recycling, billed quarterly along with the City’s other utilities.

Recycle Holiday Lights

Holiday lights can be recycled at Ramsey City Hall anytime during regular business hours, Monday through Friday, 8:00 am-4:30 pm.  Bins will be available to collect these items through the month of January.  This is a great way to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfills by capturing more material to be recycled into new products, and it’s all done at no cost to you! Note that only the strands of holiday lights will be accepted. Any ‘framing’ (frequently, plastic framing is used to form stars, snowmen, etc.) that the lights may be mounted on must be removed and disposed of in the garbage. If you have any questions about holiday waste, contact City Planner Chris Anderson at 763-433-9817 or canderson@cityoframsey.com.

Acceptable Materials

There are four (4) broad categories of materials collected through the curbside recycling program, including paper, glass bottles and jars, plastic bottles and containers (keep lids on), and metal/tin/aluminum cans. View a complete list of acceptable materials and preparation (PDF). Please empty and rinse items before placing them in the recycling cart.

Collection

Recyclable materials are collected on alternating Mondays for each half of the City. The City is currently divided into east and west sections along Sunfish Lake Boulevard and Nowthen Boulevard. View a map of the City (PDF). Recycling bins must be placed out at the street by 6:30 a.m. on the scheduled day of collection.

Customer Convenience Center (Drop-Off Option for Small Quantities)

Residents of the City of Ramsey have access to a Customer Convenience Center where small quantities of recyclable materials can be dropped off at no charge. The Customer Convenience Center is located at ACE Solid Waste's Transfer Facility.  The site is accessed from 141st Avenue, just west of Basalt Street. The Customer Convenience Center is not accessible from McKinley Street. Please see map for how to safely access this site. The Customer Convenience Center is available 24 hours per day, 7 days a week; however, due to the high volume of truck traffic entering ACE's Transfer Facility, residents are strongly recommended to access the Customer Convenience Center in the evening (after business hours) or on weekends. Recyclable materials should be prepared in the same fashion they would if being placed in the recycling cart.

Events

The City of Ramsey also sponsors two (2) recycling day events as well. They are typically held the first Saturday in May and the last Saturday in September. Details on the Spring/Fall Recycling events can be found here. The purpose of these events is to provide residents an opportunity to properly dispose of items not generally accepted through the curbside recycling program.