Apr 15, 2025
New Report Finds Minimal Impact from HERC Closure on Metro Landfill Capacity
New Report Finds Minimal Impact from HERC Closure on Metro Landfill Capacity
April 15, 2025
A new report released by the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy finds that the four primary landfills serving Hennepin County possess enough capacity to manage the region's waste until 2061, at current disposal rates, or 2054 if the county closes the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC).
The report finds little support for the narrative that HERC prevents a landfill capacity crisis. In worlds with or without the incinerator, waste reduction and reuse play the dominant role in reducing Minnesota's landfill dependence.
Here are the report's main findings:
- The HERC Has a Small Impact on Landfill Capacity Deadlines: The four main landfills serving Hennepin County – Elk River, Burnsville, Pine Bend, Spruce Ridge – currently have a combined 54.6 million tons of remaining permitted capacity. At current disposal rates, this capacity is projected to last until 2061. If the HERC closes and all its 365,000 tons of annual waste are diverted to these landfills with no improvements in waste reduction, the existing capacity would last until 2054.
- Waste Diversion and Reduction Are Key Anti-Landfill Strategies: The 2054/2061 timelines represent a scenario with minimal progress on waste diversion and reduction. Achieving Minnesota's state target of 75% recycling would reduce landfill inputs by over 867,000 tons per year, extending capacity far beyond 2060.
- Landfill Capacity Is Often Misunderstood: The report clarifies the difference between MPCA's "waste allocation" (regulatory caps) and permitted "design capacity" (physical limits), noting that recent public discourse often conflates the two or relies on incomplete data that excludes major facilities like Elk River, leading to underestimated capacity timelines.