Minnesota

Minnesota Pollution Control Agency Publishes February 2014 Report to Increase Statewide Recycling

In January 2014, “Recycling Refund System Cost Benefit Analysis,” a 33-page report, was published on behalf of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) by Reclay StewardEdge. In 2007, MPCA established a goal to recycle 80% of beverage containers in the state by January 2012. Currently, Minnesota’s beverage  container recycling rate is approximately 45%. The study found that a new recycling refund system would result in increased recycling of approximately 107,000 tons of beverage containers in the state, or approximately 1.9 billion container units. The report found that in addition to the increase in quantity of beverage containers recycled, the quality of the collected commodities would be improved over that of the existing recycling systems. Several organizations and agencies inside and outside the state, including CRI, submitted comments and gave testimony about the reports assumptions and findings. In February 2014, based largely on the Reclay StewardEdge Report and public comments and testimony, MPCA released, “Increasing Recycling of Beverage Containers in Minnesota: Recommendations for Statewide Recycling Refund  Program.”
You can find the full report at:  http://www.pca.state.mn.us/index.php/view-document.html?gid=20637
See CRI’s comments on draft, “Report to Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) Recycling Refund System Cost Benefit Analysis” (January 22, 2014):  http://www.container recycling.org/index.php/publications/cri-letters-and briefings