Business & Multi-Family Collection

The City of White Bear Lake does not administer trash or recycling collection service for businesses and multi-family properties. Businesses and multi-family properties are free to select from any trash and recycling hauler licensed to provide commercial service in the City.

Some commercial haulers only provide roll off service. You may choose from any trash hauler below who is licensed to provide service in the City.

​Starting January 1, 2016, commercial building owners (including multi-family properties) that contract for four cubic yards or more per week of solid waste collection are required by state law to recycle at least three types of materials, such as paper, glass, plastic, metal and organics.

Assistance Programs

Biz Recycling provides free resources and assistance to businesses and multi-family dwellings in Ramsey and Washington County who want to start or improve recycling, organics and waste reduction.

Minnesota Waste Wise Foundation offers environmental sustainability consulting to help businesses  save money through waste reduction, resource conservation and energy efficiency.

Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) helps Minnesota businesses develop and implement industry-tailored solutions that prevent pollution at the source, maximize efficient use of resources, and reduce energy use and costs to improve public health and the environment. MnTAP operates the free Minnesota Materials Exchange that connects businesses who have reusable goods to those who can use them. 

Minnesota Retiree Environmental Technical Assistance Program provides free, confidential, non-regulatory pollution prevention, waste reduction and energy use reduction assistance, and other services to Minnesota businesses, industries, and institutions.

Free Resources for Multi-Family Dwellings

Help engage your residents in recycling by ordering free resources, including reusable totes and bags, recycling posters, magnets, and door hanger information cards. These free resources are available for property managers and owners of multi-unit dwellings in Ramsey County. For more information, go to this link, then click on 'Free Resources'.

Other Resources

MPCA -  tips and programs to help businesses reduce waste and increase recycling

White Bear Lake Success Stories

Washington Square Shared Dumpster Enclosure Project
Eleven businesses in the Washington Square section of downtown White Bear Lake consolidated their waste services in an effort to beautify the area, decrease disposal costs, and increase recycling. Minnesota Waste Wise worked with the businesses to conduct a waste audit at each establishment and to apply for BizRecycling grants to fund recycling and organics bins, compostable bags, signage, and equipment for transporting waste to the enclosure. The design and construction of the enclosure was led by the City and funded by a Ramsey County Ramsey County Public Entity Innovation Grant.

The eleven businesses collaborating in this project are now composting 46.7% and recycling 18.2% of their waste by weight. For the first year starting in December 2015, an estimated 75,347 lbs. of organic material that was previously thrown away has been collected in the organics recycling program. Twenty-four cubic yards of recyclables are now collected weekly, a 31.1% increase in the volume of recyclables collected. The project is on track to save a collective amount of approximately $368 per month or $4,416 per year.

Awards:
2016 Green Project Award - Recycling Association of Minnesota
2017 City of Excellence Award (population 20,000+) - League of Minnesota Cities 

Multi - Jurisdictional Recycling Support Project
The City of White Bear Lake was awarded a Ramsey County Public Entity Innovation Grant (PEIG) to partially fund a position that would provide multi-jurisdictional communication, outreach and multi-unit recycling support for White Bear Township and the Cities of Little Canada, North St. Paul, Vadnais Heights, and White Bear Lake. This grant provided assistance in meeting the following objectives:

• Expand or enhance services for education and outreach regarding City recycling programs and County core messages.
• Expand or enhance services for multi-unit recycling, including improvements in the collection of recyclable materials at multi-unit dwellings, expanded outreach and technical assistance.
• Develop a partnership among the cities involved to provide expanded recycling outreach.

The final report can be found  here.