Cover slide of a carousel graphic. Bold white text on red background reads: "What Hennepin County Commissioners Don't Want You to Know About Burning Trash." Below, a flip-clock countdown shows 04 Days. Text reads "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown." Background shows a smokestack billowing dark smoke over a city skyline. Zero Burn Coalition logo in bottom right. "Swipe" prompt in top right corner.

Carousel slide with bold cream text on red background reading "Legal Doesn't Mean Safe." Below, a dark rounded text box states that HERC's pollution permits were set in 1989 based on equipment capacity, were found inconsistent with the Clean Air Act in 2008, and that under EPA's own updated 2024 standards the HERC trash burner would fail limits for hydrochloric acid, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter. Hunger strike countdown shows 04 days. Zero Burn Coalition logo bottom right. Source: bit.ly/hercfaq.

4 days until the hunger strike begins. The HERC trash burner's permit was written in 1989 using technology that is now understood as outdated. Under the EPA's own 2024 standards, the HERC would fail.

Demand the Board call a vote to close it: bit.ly/endthestrike26 #FreedomToBreathe #CloseHERC

2024 McKnight Fellow and Environmental (In)justice Storytelling Contest winner Stephani Maari Booker performed "In the Shadow of the Smokestacks" in solidarity with the Freedom to Breathe hunger strike.

Demand the Board act: bit.ly/endthestrike26

#FreedomToBreathe
youtube.com/shorts/FRjrG...

(Day 5 — composting): A bold red graphic with smoke clouds reads "HERC Delayed Composting for Decades." Below, a screenshot of a 2014 MPR News headline: "Hennepin County to push Minneapolis to begin curbside organic waste collection." Body text explains that after community pressure stopped expanded burning, the county pivoted to promoting organics collection. The bottom shows the #FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown at 5 days, with the Zero Burn Coalition logo and a source link to bit.ly/hercfaq.

(Day 5 — carousel cover): A dark red graphic with smoke stacks and the text "What Hennepin County Commissioners Don't Want You to Know About Burning Trash." Below, in large cream letters: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with a flip-clock showing 5 days. A "SWIPE" prompt with arrows appears in the upper right corner.

5 days until the hunger strike begins. HERC blocks progress. When they couldn't expand HERC in 2014, the county turned to composting overnight. The alternative has always been there. Take action: bit.ly/endthestrike26 #FreedomToBreathe

"This awakens the consciousness of our city"

Pastor Charvez Russell of Greater Friendship Missionary Baptist Church stands with hunger strikers demanding clean air for all. Hennepin County: call the vote to close the HERC trash burner by Dec. 31, 2027. Delay = Harm. #FreedomToBreathe #minneapolis

6 days until the hunger strike begins. Burning trash: 28x more dioxin than coal. 14x more mercury. 6x more lead. In a dense residential neighborhood since 1989. Tell your county commissioner: meet the demands ➡️ bit.ly/endthestrike26 #FreedomToBreathe

Cover graphic for day 7 of the Freedom to Breathe Hunger Strike Countdown series. Red background with illustrated HERC trash burner stacks billowing dark smoke. Text reads: "What Hennepin County Commissioners Don't Want You to Know About Burning Trash." Below: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with a flip-clock counter showing 07 days. A "SWIPE" arrow appears in the upper right corner.

Slide 2 of the Hunger Strike Countdown series, day 7. Red background with HERC trash burner stacks and dark smoke. Large headline: "HERC Is Burning Tax Dollars." Body text in a dark rounded text box reads: "The HERC trash burner loses millions of dollars every year and carries $37.7 million in debt as of 2022. The county claims revenues exceed costs. That's not possible while carrying $37.7 million in debt. And to have any hope of breaking even, it has to keep burning — incinerators require a guaranteed stream of trash to function economically. That's why they undermine recycling and composting. The business model depends on waste never going away." Bottom left: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with flip-clock showing 07 days. Bottom right: Zero Burn Coalition logo.

🚨 1 WEEK! HERC Loses millions every year. It has nearly $40 million in debt. And the only way it pencils out is if the trash never stops coming. The Board can vote to decommission the HERC trash burner and move to more economical methods that do not poison our neighbors.
#FreedomToBreathe

Cover graphic for day 9 of the Freedom to Breathe Hunger Strike Countdown series. Red background with illustrated HERC trash burner stacks and dark smoke. Text reads: "What Hennepin County Commissioners Don't Want You to Know About Burning Trash." Below: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with a flip-clock counter showing 09 days. A "SWIPE" arrow appears in the upper right corner.

Slide 2 of the Hunger Strike Countdown series, day 9. Red background with HERC trash burner stacks and dark smoke. Large headline: "200 Trucks. Every Day." Body text in a dark rounded text box reads: "The HERC trash burner puts more than 200 heavy-duty diesel trucks through a dense residential neighborhood every weekday. That's before you count a single breath of stack emissions." Bottom left: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with flip-clock showing 09 days. Bottom right: Zero Burn Coalition logo.

9 DAYS: 200 trucks. Every weekday. Nearly 100 more every weekend. That's the neighborhood. That's the air. The Board can vote to decommission the HERC trash burner. Demand they do: bit.ly/dontburntrash #FreedomToBreathe

Cover graphic for the Freedom to Breathe Hunger Strike Countdown series. Red background with an illustrated image of the HERC trash burner stacks billowing dark smoke. Text reads: "What Hennepin County Commissioners Don't Want You to Know About Burning Trash." Below: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with a flip-clock counter showing 10 days. A "SWIPE" arrow appears in the upper right corner.

Slide 1 of the Hunger Strike Countdown series. Red background with HERC trash burner stacks and dark smoke. Large headline: "Who Pays the Price of Delay?" Body text in a dark rounded text box reads: "The neighborhoods closest to the HERC trash burner are majority Black and low-income, with ZIP codes 55411 and 55415 ranking among the highest asthma ER rates in the Minneapolis metro area. The county's own health risk assessments pretend that proximity doesn't increase your risk. Independent scientists say that's wrong — and the county's own data proves it." Bottom left: "#FreedomToBreathe Hunger Strike Countdown" with flip-clock showing 10 days. Bottom right: Zero Burn Coalition logo.

10 Days until 4 community members go on hunger strike after years of lies and being ignored. Sign the petition: bit.ly/dontburntrash

#FreedomToBreathe #Minneapolis

Freedom to Breathe Virtual Panel and Rally: Why a Hunger Strike? Join community, special guests, and coalition members who will go on hunger strike for a powerful evening of solidarity and action to end trash burning in North Minneapolis.

(2/2) Their demand: Close the trash burner by 12/31/2027 and establish a community-led taskforce for a just transition towards a zero-waste future. The hunger strike ends when they act. Join us Thursday: 4/2 Why a Hunger Strike? #FreedomtoBreathe Virtual Panel and Rally - bit.ly/4sLBjZw

Proud to be in this fight alongside these badass community members. “People have lost patience,” said Geoff Dittberner, a coalition leader. “All traditional advocacy has failed.” #FreedomToBreathe #Mpls

We're at #NoKingsMN because what's happening to the EPA is happening in #mpls. A captured EPA. A complicit county. A 37-year-old trash burner poisoning a BIPOC working class community.
NO KINGS. NO TRASH BURNERS. ALL POWER TO THE PEOPLE. SIGN: bit.ly/dontburntrash
#FreedomToBreathe #NoKings

Doesn't this piss you off? It has been so normalized, and the county is complicit. We're raising the alarm. Join us on Tuesday! #FreedomToBreathe #Minneapolis

Graphic with red background and industrial photo of the HERC trash burner with smoke stacks. Text reads: "Multiple people die every year from the pollution of the HERC trash burner. Source: EPA COBRA tool." Zero Burn Coalition logo and #FreedomToBreathe hashtag at bottom.

Tuesday. Government Plaza. Noon. The County has a plan to close the trash burner making our neighbors sick — and refuses to act. Community members are putting their bodies on the line. Show up with them: bit.ly/4dgnXiQ #FreedomToBreathe #mpls

Stop Burning Trash in Minneapolis The HERC is one of the largest polluters in Hennepin County, and children in 55411 have the highest asthma ER visit rate in the state. We’re demanding a closure date and a real community-led transitio...

...not to invest in real zero-waste infrastructure.
You can't recycle your way to zero waste with a trash burner in the way.

Close the HERC. Sign the petition: bit.ly/dontburntrash
#FreedomToBreathe #CloseHERC #GlobalRecyclingDay

Zero Burn Coalition cosponsor graphic for the No Kings March on March 28. Bold text reads "No Thrones. No Crowns. No Kings." against a dark red background with crossed-out crown imagery and megaphones. A crowd of protesters holds signs reading "Close HERC," "HERC Hurts," "Shut It Down," "Just Transition Now," "Stop Let MPLS Breathe," and more.

(3/3) No community vote. No community voice. Just a county and a captured EPA deciding what North Minneapolis gets to breathe.

No kings. No trash burners. All power to the people!
See you on 3/28!
#FreedomToBreathe #CloseHERC #NoKings #mpls

No community vote. No community voice. Just a county and a captured EPA deciding what North Minneapolis gets to breathe. No kings. No trash burners. All power to the people! See you on 3/28!

We're the Zero Burn Coalition, fighting to close the county-run trash burner poisoning lungs in North Minneapolis. We're proud to cosponsor the No Kings March on March 28th — because what's happening to the EPA is happening to our community. (1/3) #mpls #FreedomToBreathe

Image of the HERC trash burner smokestacks against a blue sky. Text reads: "Toxic Burner Alert — HERC is one of the largest permitted sources of nitrogen oxide and hydrogen chloride emissions in Hennepin County, along with dioxins, lead, sulfur dioxide, and particulate matter. The EPA estimates the HERC burner released 404 tons of nitrous oxide and 44 tons of particulate matter in 2019 alone." Zero Burn Coalition logo in upper right corner.

The county is lucky Biden's EPA rules didn't go into effect — the HERC trash burner would have been out of compliance on hydrochloric acid and nitrogen dioxide. Happy St. Patrick's Day to everyone not delaying the shutdown of this toxic burner. #FreedomToBreathe #mpls #stpatricksday #environment

Stop Burning Trash in Minneapolis The HERC is one of the largest polluters in Hennepin County, and children in 55411 have the highest asthma ER visit rate in the state. We’re demanding a closure date and a real community-led transitio...

This is not an accident. It is a policy choice. The harm is concentrated in Black, Brown, and working-class communities — and it is preventable.

Hennepin Co. can initiate HERC's closure right now.

Delay = Harm.

The time is now. Sign the petition: bit.ly/dontburntrash

#FreedomToBreathe #mnleg

Stop Burning Trash in Minneapolis The HERC is one of the largest polluters in Hennepin County, and children in 55411 have the highest asthma ER visit rate in the state. We’re demanding a closure date and a real community-led transitio...

The Board has the authority to close HERC right now. No new legislation required. Just a vote.
The harm is preventable. The authority exists. The time is now. Join us: bit.ly/endtrashburn...
#FreedomToBreathe #environment

When you burn trash, it doesn’t disappear. It turns into toxic ash — and that ash still goes to an industrial landfill located a short walk from the Mississippi river in Rosemount. (1/3)

#FreedomToBreathe #Minneapolis #mpls #environmentaljustice

In neighborhoods like North Minneapolis, where families continue to carry the burden of industrial pollution, the call for clean air and accountability is not abstract.

It is about health. It is about dignity. It is about the #FreedomToBreathe (2/3)

Trash Incineration • Emits pollutants linked to asthma, heart disease, and cancer • Concentrates harm in low-income and BIPOC neighborhoods • Sends toxic ash to landfills anyway • Loses millions of public dollars every year Below: Pam Bondi Meme THE DOW IS OVER 50,000 IT says " Hennepin County" over Bondi

Now is the moment to make sure everyone in #MPLS has the #FreedomToBreathe.

For 36 years, community has spoken out as the HERC incinerator, run by Hennepin County, has burned thousands of tons of trash in the heart of our city — concentrating pollution in low-income and BIPOC neighborhoods....(1/2)

Valentines card theme: You're the only thing that should take my breath away, not toxic trash incineration. To: From: There s a colorized photo of the HERC trash incinerator with smoke billowing out.

For too many families in MPLS, it’s not love in the air — it’s toxic air. Every day the HERC trash incinerator operates, toxic emissions fill tour lungs. It’s time to end trash incineration and build a zero-waste future where everyone has the #FreedomToBreathe

Hunger Strike to Commence I am disgusted by the lack of action and transparency from the county. The people have been clear that we want the HERC incinerator shut down and we have not been listened to. That’s why some of us have made the difficult decision to engage in a hunger strike. Julian Pone, District 4 1. Start closure of herc trash burner 2. Agree to a community led transition process 3. Ensure accountability and transparency Collage of zero burn coalition members. A logo with HERC crossed out by a knife and a fork. Another logo "Time is up Hennepin" Shut it down. Zero Burn Coalition logo.

Here’s what we’ve recently heard from the Hennepin County board:
- They do not support our hunger strike.
- They do not support the immediate shutdown of the HERC.

Let’s be clear: this is an admission that they are ignoring us....(1/3) #ShutDownHERC #FreedomToBreathe

🧵 “You voted to shut down HERC. You still won’t set a date. People are dying — and you’re responsible.” (1/4)

#FreedomToBreathe #ShutDownHERC #ICEOut #mpls @hennepin3.bsky.social @hennepindebbie.bsky.social (Music by Big Cats)

EVs reduce pollution & help reduce asthma, cancer, and chronic disease. Let’s protect our freedom to breathe by protecting the freedom to drive electric! 🌤️ #RouteZero #FreedomToBreathe rtzero.org

✊🏽 Celebrating #Juneteenth as a reminder that the journey for justice & health continues. Join our EV Equity team at Fresno's Juneteenth Celebration this Saturday! Learn about cleaner, affordable vehicles. Info: fresnojuneteenth.com/june-21/

#FreedomToBreathe #HealthEquity #CCAC

#PatriotsFoundry #AmericanHistory #TodayInHistory #StarsAndStripes #EarthDay #FreedomToBreathe #PatriotForThePlanet

patriotsfoundry.etsy.com

We will not stop until justice is won for all. Follow the #FreedomToBreathe tour - we met them in Atlanta, and they've already been to Miami as they head across the country.

x.com/CleanAirMoms/s…

Honored to have passed the baton on to the #FreedomToBreathe tour. Follow them as they make their way across the country!

x.com/ClimateNexus/s…