A local energy renewal plant recently was praised for being the “nation’s most successful trash incinerator,” but environmental advocates still press on against the plant.

The Hennepin Energy Recovery Center, known as HERC, neighbors the Minnesota Twins Target Field in downtown Minneapolis. It burns 365,000 tons of garbage a year, and complies with all federal pollution standards made by the Environment Protection Agency.

For an example, Mercury is regulated at a measurement of 50 parts per billion. In 2014, HERC emitted 2.5 percent of that legal limit into the air. It has passed all federal pollution tests for over ten years.

Complying with federal pollution standards is not enough for opponents of the plant. Local environmental advocates think that HERC is outdated and harmful to Minneapolis’ public health.

”We’re an innovative city,” National Nurses United nurse, Lara Norkus-Crampton said, “a garbage burner should not be the centerpiece of it.”

She thinks that Minneapolis is better off without the pollutants emitted into the air by HERC.

The 27-year-old plant has been turning waste into energy for decades. In 2014, it powered 25,000 homes with electricity. It will continue to power those homes and burn waste until 2018, when the Minneapolis City Council votes on renewing the contract with the company that owns the plant.

Over 60 environmental advocates gathered for the 2015 Zero Waste Summit in Minneapolis on Sept. 18. Clean air advocates say they have already begun campaigns opposing the renewal of the contract.

“They say that recycling and composting programs are expensive, but we’re Minneapolis. We can do a lot better,” Norkus-Crampton said.

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