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Utilities
Utility Billing
The finance department is responsible for the billing of water, sewer, and garbage service to over 20,000 homes and commercial properties in the City of Blaine.
Bills are sent quarterly to residential customers and monthly to commercial customers. All bills are due on the last day of the month. Any payments not received by the due date will result in a 10 percent late payment penalty. Any accounts that become delinquent are certified to the county for collection with the property taxes.
Water
Residential customers will be billed a quarterly service charge, plus a charge per 1,000 gallons of water used.
Commercial customers will be billed a monthly service charge, plus a charge per 1,000 gallons of water used. To see current water rates visit, BlaineMN.gov/UtilityBilling.
Sanitary Sewer
Sewage treatment services for Blaine, as well as most other cities in the seven-county metropolitan area, are provided by the Metropolitan Council Environmental Services. Sewage leaving each city is metered and treated at the Metropolitan Council Treatment Site in St. Paul. Each city is billed for the amount of sewage treated. Infrastructure replacement costs are also included in the sewer rate. To see sewer water rates, visit BlaineMN.gov/UtilityBilling.
Monthly Recycling Drop-Off Day
The City of Blaine sponsors a recycling drop-off day on the third Saturday of each month at Green Lights Recycling.
The collection event runs from 8AM - Noon and is open to anyone. You do not need to be a Blaine resident to bring items to the drop-off day.
Green Lights Recycling collects mattresses, box springs, carpet, appliances, fluorescent lamps, electronics,
rechargeable batteries, and tires. Please note that there is a fee for most items.
You can also drop off tires and rechargeable batteries for a small fee. For more information on fees, call 763-785-0456. See the complete list of fees on the Blaine website under garbage and recycling information.
Free items include scrap metal and vehicle batteries.
Randy's Environmental Services offers free paper shredding on the drop-off day. Wait time for shredding can be long.
Please note: No garbage will be accepted at the drop-off
day. To learn more about recycling opportunities available in Blaine, call 763-785-6192 or visit BlaineMN.gov/Recycle.
Bikes 4 Kids (April - October) Drop off any size bicycle that you no longer want at Blaine’s monthly recycling drop-off day. The bikes will be accepted by Bikes 4 Kids to be refurbished or have their parts used in refurbishing other bikes. Bikes 4 Kids then donates the bikes to people in need. There is no charge to drop a bike off at the monthly recycling drop-off day. Bikes 4 Kids is a part of The Robert & Wilma Burbach Bike Foundation. Learn more at Bikes4KidsMN.org.
Blaine has organized recycling and refuse service and contracts with Walters Recycling and Refuse for all single-family homes in the city. Three service levels are available to meet a variety of disposal needs. • Premium Service (includes six bulk items per year) • 68 Gallon Service
• 38 Gallon Service
Unlimited single-sort recycling is included with each garbage service. All recyclable materials can be placed together loosely in the recycling containers provided. Recycling is collected every other week on residents’ designated garbage day.
Walters offers seasonal yard waste pickup from April – November. Yard waste containers can be ordered directly from Walters by calling 763-780-8464.
How can you save money on your garbage bill?
The best way to save money on your garbage bill, especially households at the unlimited level, is to recycle as much material as possible. These days most household waste is actually recyclable.
In Blaine’s curbside recycling program, you can recycle the following items:
• Newspapers and all inserts • All magazines and catalogs • Phone books
• Training manuals • All mixed mail including envelopes
If it comes in the mail and is paper, you can recycle it. • All office and school papers, file folders, fax sheets, notebooks, etc. • Paperback books • Brown paper bags • Corrugated cardboard boxes cut up to fit in recycling cart (or flatten and bundle 3 feet by 3 feet by 1 foot thick, and place 3 feet from the recycling cart) • Box board (cake, cereal, cracker, tissue, and shoe/shirt boxes) • Aluminum cans
• Tin/steel cans • Glass bottles and jars (clear, brown, and green) • Plastic food and beverage containers
Please do not recycle the following items:
Plastic bags, Styrofoam, plastic motor oil bottles, boxes for freezer foods, pizza boxes, any type of used tissue product.
If you need additional recycling carts to handle all of the recycling material, you can get them at no additional cost. That’s right; residents can put out as much recycling as possible without an increase in cost. In fact, it could save you money by allowing you to use a smaller garbage cart.
To get additional recycling carts, call Walters Recycling and Refuse at 763-780-8464. To save money and change your level of garbage service to a smaller container, call the city Utility Billing Department at 763-785-6141. For additional information, visit BlaineMN.gov/GarbageandRecycling.
hot TIP If you need additional carts to handle all of the materials you're recycling, you can get them at no added cost. In fact, you could save money with a smaller garbage cart if you recycle more.
New! Organics Waste Collection
The City of Blaine is currently working with Anoka County to set up an organic waste collection program. The pilot program will include a free drop-off location at City Hall. The plan is to use this first location to test the participation levels and demand. If there is enough demand, additional locations will be added.
What are organics?
Organics include all food scraps, most nonrecyclable and food-soiled paper, and certified compostable products.
Why should organics be removed from the trash?
Approximately one-third of the waste collected weekly is recyclable, organic material. Removal of organics from your weekly trash reduces the amount of material dumped at the landfill. Once this material reaches the landfill, the collection and reuse of it is no longer feasible. What happens to the organics?
Food scraps and non-recyclable paper products are processed and turned into compost, a nutrient rich resource that improves soil and decreases the need for fertilizers.
What is the cost?
This will be a free program for Blaine residents. The City is able to offer this service at no cost through a SCORE (Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment) grant.
How do I start?
Any resident who wants to participate should sign up at BlaineMN.gov/OrganicsSignup and get a free starter kit at Blaine City Hall.
