Hunger strike ends but the push to shutdown HERC will continue
Allies expressed their appreciation to Natasha Villanueva after the Northsider addressed Hennepin County commissioners Tuesday. Photo by David Pierini
By David Pierini, Editor
Northsider Natasha Villanueva and two other environmental activists concluded a hunger strike after Tuesday’s meeting of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners, where they urged commissioners to set a date to decommission the county’s aging trash burner.
Villanueva, along with Joshua Lewis and Nazir Khan, fasted for 12 days, all the while keeping a grueling schedule of public appearances, including rallies, legislative hearings, college classroom visits, and brief daily sit-ins at the Hennepin County Government Center, where they had hoped to get a meeting with commissioners.
They never got that meeting, and commissioners remained silent after the strikers spoke during the public comment time on Tuesday.
Still, the hunger strike gained a lot of publicity, some critical, and no doubt made more residents aware of where their trash goes.
"Twelve days without food, and we finally sat face to face with the County board for the first time in Tuesday’s Board meeting,” said Khan, executive director of the Minnesota Environmental Justice Table. “Dozens of organizations across the United States stepped up in solidarity with us. The community showed up. The evidence is clear. The only thing missing is a vote — and we will not stop until we get one."
Lewis last week acknowledged the “spectacle” of a hunger strike, how it brings attention to communities often ignored by government institutions, especially the residents of low-income areas who live with the burden of industrial pollution.
“What we’re saying is do not avert your eyes,” Lewis said. “The sacrifice of food makes this non-negotiable.”
Villanueva urged commissioners to “Meet with us, call a vote and shut it down.” Photo by David Pierini
Board Chair Commissioner Irene Fernando, who represents North Minneapolis, emailed a statement to North News following Tuesday’s board meeting. It read in part: “I respect the deep commitment that residents have expressed toward environmental justice, and I want to be clear: I share the goal of concluding waste incineration at the HERC on the fastest responsible timeline.”
Residents living near the Hennepin Energy Recover Center (HERC), including North Minneapolis, have complained for years about air emissions from the downtown burner.
The Northside’s two zip codes have the highest rates of asthma and respiratory illness in the state due to its proximity to I-94, industrial pollution from companies along the Mississippi River, and, many believe, the HERC.
Hennepin County Commissioner and Board Chair Irene Fernando listened as Nazir Khan, one of three hunger strikers, urged commissioners to call a vote to set a date to shutdown the HERC. Photo by David Pierini
The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) said HERC emissions meet safety standards, but environmental tests measure only three toxins. The facility is also 37 years old, 17 years past what was once considered its operational expectancy.
In 2023, commissioners passed a zero-waste plan with a goal of diverting 80 percent of the county’s waste to recycling and composting by 2030. It included an intention to shut down the HERC but warned that municipalities would have to bolster composting and recycling programs before it could set a decommissioning date.
“Every Hennepin County resident deserves clean air and a healthy environment,” Fernando wrote. “And we must be honest about what a premature, unplanned closure means in practice. Closing the HERC without an operational alternative for the trash does not make waste disappear — it sends it straight to landfills, and I oppose any plan that results in a sustained increase in landfilling.”
The strikers say the lack of response from commissioners during their fast “exposed” the county’s unwillingness to take action.
Villanueva seemed to be speaking directly to Fernando, her commissioner, while at the podium.
“Our county commissioners have mischaracterized us as aggressive and being in the pocket of landfill companies, all for raising awareness around this issue and asking for accountability from our own elected officials, whom we chose to represent us," Villanueva said. “While the county has the power to shut down HERC, the reality is that we hold the power to elect our commissioners. Leading up to the county convention, their constituents are paying attention, and we will be evaluating them on their commitment to environmental justice and shutting down this dangerous facility.”
Editor’s note: A profile on Villanueva is our cover story for the April edition of North News, which will be on newsstands Friday.