City considers closing Roseville Leaf Recycling Center
Illegal dumping, neighbor complaints, and future costs looming
The Roseville City Council is considering a proposal from Public Works to permanently close the Leaf Recycling Center after this season.
At the Sept. 8 city council meeting, Public Works Director Jesse Freihammer presented the history of the site, the current benefits and issues impacting the site, and his recommendation for why and how to close it.
The leaf site opened in 1971 at 2580 Dale Street as a place for Roseville residents to drop off leaves which are turned into compost, which can then be picked-up and re-used in lawn and garden projects. Originally, this site was used only for maintenance and was not open to the public. The leaf pickup program began in the 1980s and the site’s gate was open to Roseville residents. It used to be staffed to check IDs by police reserves and then by a retired maintenance staff member. But it has not been staffed for over ten years, which means IDs are no longer checked at the site.
This site is meant to be a leaf-only site for Roseville residents, but since it is not staffed, people from outside of Roseville have been using the site, including contractors and commercial mechanical dumping trailers, which is prohibited at Ramsey County yard waste sites, Freihammer explained.
“Illegal dumping has gotten really bad over the years,” Freihammer told the city council. Public Works staff have seen an increase in prohibited items such as dirt, grass clippings, wood debris, and garbage. A complaint about a disassembled piano found in the organics bin was logged in February 2024.
There has also been an increase in complaints from residents in the nearby senior apartments about the odor of the compost and the noise of the maintenance vehicles used to turn the compost once a month, Freihammer said.
The average annual cost to maintain the site, including staff time and equipment and fuel cost is currently $126,000. This cost would increase if the city decided to staff it again for monitoring purposes. Freihammer also anticipates needing to replace the existing compost turner, which was manufactured in 1997. It was purchased as a used piece of equipment in 2006. It needs a lot of maintenance and parts are becoming harder and harder to find. The estimated cost of a new compost turner is $377,000, which would come out of the storm sewer fund. It is currently listed in the 2028 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).
Staff spends around 720 hours a year at the site, pushing up the piles in the spring and fall and turning the compost once a month. If the site was closed, staff could use this time instead for other storm sewer maintenance projects.
Freihammer explained that Roseville residents could use Ramsey County sites in Arden Hills and Midway, which have more space and allow for more types of yard waste than Roseville's leaf site.
If the site closes, Public Works is proposing retaining use of the site for city wood chipping from tree and brush removal throughout the city. Since 2024, Ramsey County has not allowed cities to bring their own wood debris to their sites for chipping, which has required an increase in staff time to chip it themselves or haul it to a private site and pay for it to be chipped. Having a dedicated site for this would be more time and cost efficient, Freihammer explained. Early estimates with the city's tree vendor indicate that there could be a saving of 20% by having a city-owned site to store material.
The site could also be used for emergency operations and other temporary uses for public works and parks, such as water break material or storm damage. Ramsey County has allowed Roseville to use some space at the Kent Street facility for this in the past, but now that the Environmental Center has been constructed, there is a lot less space available and access is not guaranteed.
This was also one of the reason's the public works and parks departments gave for why a bigger maintenance yard was needed, which is included in the new operations facility being funded by a local sales tax. Freihammer told the city council that additional space would still be beneficial to their operations.
There is a household organics drop-off at this site too, which Freihammer suggested keeping open outside of the gate. However, some city council members suggested that Roseville residents could use the new food scraps drop-off bins at the Ramsey County Environmental Center instead.
“If you haven’t been there yet, it’s beautiful. The way they have it set up to drop off organics is far superior to what we have,” Councilmember Robin Schroeder said.
Reasons to Keep it Open
Freihammer acknowledged that it is a heavily-used site and that it fills up with leaves every year. While he does not have data on how many residents use it for leaves or compost, he explained to the council that for 76% of residents, the Roseville leaf site is the closest drop-off location. The other two options are Ramsey County’s Arden Hills and Midway sites. He acknowledged that there are often long lines at these sites on the weekends.
Roseville also offers compost delivery services, for a fee. On average, the city makes 65 deliveries each year to residents and community gardens.
"The cost to provide this service averages $5,000/year which includes staff time, equipment costs, and software for scheduling," according to Freihammer.
The rest of the compost is self-service, picked up and hauled by Roseville residents for free.
The costs associated with maintaining the site come from the stormwater capital fund, not the general tax levy. Closing the site would not have an impact on the overall operating budget of the city. Instead, the budget from the leaf center would go toward other stormwater management projects.
Timeline
If the city council votes to close the Roseville leaf site, this fall will be the last time residents will be allowed to drop-off leaves there. It would be closed to the public after November 21, 2025. Compost will be available to residents in spring 2026, but leaves will no longer be accepted. Any remaining compost would then be sold.
City Council Decision Pending
The city council discussed the proposal and indicated support of closing the site, but wanted to wait to make a decision until more members of the public had a chance to weigh in. The city council deferred a decision on the matter until Sept. 22, when the 2026 city budget is scheduled to be discussed.
Watch the Meeting
Watch a recording of Freihammer's Sept. 8 presentation to the city council:
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