Rebels Gymnastics has cut its trash by 75%, the city said, after reworking how the gym sorts its waste. The nonprofit gym at 2001 W 94th St. put in color-coded, clearly labeled bins. It also started an organics recycling program to keep food waste out of the trash. Executive Director Jaime Tsurusaki ran the project with Lauren Gaffron, a sustainability specialist with Waste Wise.
Rebels describes itself as a registered 501(c)(3) that runs on fundraising, with a mission of keeping gymnastics affordable for kids of every background. That makes a cheap fix matter, and this one was close to free.
The bins came from Hennepin County's Bin and Bag grant. Small businesses and nonprofits in the county can pick up to $3,000 worth of recycling and organics containers, plus compostable bags, from the county's product list at no cost. The county lists the 2026 grants as already awarded, to 23 recipients across several cities. Its page gives no date for the next round. Organizations that want to be in line for it can fill out the county's online business recycling request form.
Waste Wise, the program that sent Gaffron to the gym, is run through the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce. It's free and open to businesses and nonprofits in Hennepin, Ramsey, Scott and Washington counties. A specialist visits the site, looks over your waste bills, helps find grant money and trains staff. The chamber says its advice is vendor-neutral and you don't have to follow any of it.
"By choosing to invest time in no-cost resources, businesses can achieve significant success in waste reduction initiatives," the city's write-up says. Rebels proves the point. It made the right bin the easy bin. Local businesses that want to try the same thing can call the city's Sustainability office at 952-563-4862.
