Help yourself, help your wallet, and help your earth simultaneously.

Purchase a rain barrel and/or a compost bin at a reduced price through the Recycling Association of Minnesota (RAM). Starting in March, you can pre-order a bin or barrel on the RAM website at recycleminnesota.org/work/compost-bins-rain-barrels/.

New Hope residents get a $20 discount. Purchasers may pick up orders at the Brooklyn Park Operations & Maintenance Facility on Saturday, May 6 (select City of Brooklyn Park on the website). Use the discount code HRG20OFF when ordering. Additional pickup dates are available by selecting other locations.

Food scraps such as fruit and vegetable peels, stale bread, wilted lettuce, coffee grounds and filters, weeds, faded flowers and dead plants are among the things you can put into your compost bin. Use finished compost as mulch and plant food in your yard. Keeping organic waste out of your garbage reduces your trash volume, so you could switch to a smaller garbage cart and save money.

Capture rain in a rain barrel and have a free water source for your garden. In addition to saving you money, rain barrels can keep moisture away from your foundation and prevent debris from washing into our storm sewers.