With Minnesota Passing the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act into Law, The Recycling Partnership Estimates the Five States that Have Adopted EPR will Recycle a Combined Additional 2.8 million Tons of Material Annually
ST. PAUL, Minn. (May 22, 2024) – The Recycling Partnership applauds the state of Minnesota for joining the growing ranks of states that have passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation.
“The Minnesota law will drive a more effective recycling system and provide critically needed recycled material feedstock to a hungry manufacturing sector in Minnesota and beyond,” said Kate Davenport, Chief Policy Officer of The Recycling Partnership. “EPR laws like Minnesota’s will ensure that the paper products and packaging that is sold on store shelves in Minnesota will be responsibly managed and paid for by the producers that make them. We applaud the leadership of policymakers on both sides of the aisle, and we stand ready to support its implementation.”
According to The Recycling Partnership’s State of Residential Recycling report, EPR policies are one of our country’s most effective tools to address the gaps in the current residential recycling system. EPR policies will incentivize companies to design and make their packaging recyclable and use the recycled content in new packaging. EPR requires manufacturers to take responsibility for what they produce—goods, paper, or packaging products—by paying very small fees for the packaging and printed paper they produce.
“The passing of this legislation was the result of exemplary leadership of Rep. Sydney Jordan and Sen. Kelly Morrison — the lead sponsor of the legislation in both chambers — and several months of hard work and negotiation by many key stakeholders,” says Dylan de Thomas, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Affairs. “This law has harmonized features with other states, helping to ease implementation and increase positive environmental and economic impact.”
The Recycling Partnership advocates for comprehensive state and national Extended Producer Responsibility policies for all materials. According to The Recycling Partnership’s estimates, the five states that have adopted EPR are projected to recycle a combined additional 2.8 million tons of material annually that would otherwise be considered waste.
About The Recycling Partnership
The Recycling Partnership is a purpose-driven organization committed to protecting natural resources by building a better recycling system and advancing the circular economy. Our highly collaborative model reaches a wide array of stakeholders across the value chain to address the highest-leverage barriers across the U.S. recycling system. With data at our core, The Recycling Partnership empowers innovators and implementers at a scale previously unseen to advance progress at a rapid pace across the recycling value chain. By advocating for comprehensive state and national Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) policy for all materials, optimizing the recycling system, and modernizing Materials Recovery Facilities (MRFs) through community grants, technical support, and meaningful community education and engagement, we will deliver on our promise of a better recycling system. Learn more at recyclingpartnership.org.