Hennepin helps minimize waste at the '08 U.S. Women’s Open

Hennepin County Environmental Services worked with the United States Golf Association (USGA) to make the 2008 U.S. Women’s Open the most green golf event yet. Around 300 recycling bins and 150 organics collection bins have been place on site and will help lessen the event's ecological impact. This program is the most extensive effort to minimize waste that the USGA has ever attempted at a major golf event.

Organics include all food scraps and food-soiled paper items, such as napkins, paper cups and milk cartons – even the paper towels from the restrooms are being collected for composting. All of the collected organics will be brought to a composting site at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.

Environmental Services staff John Jaimez and Paul Kroening, along with the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM) and Allied Waste, were instrumental in working with the USGA and vendors at the tournament to have bins set up around the golf course for collecting bottles, cans and organics for recycling.