Common sense waste policies are a climate solution for Minnesota 

By Luke Norquist, John W Pegg Legal Fellow

Our trash is a climate problem. Storing it in landfills creates methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gasses. Burning it emits carbon dioxide, making waste incinerators one of the top contributors to climate change in every county they sit.  Moving trash from location to location requires a constant fleet of fossil-fuel burning trucks. Altogether, Minnesota’s waste sector emits approximately 2 million tons of greenhouse gas emissions a year. That’s equivalent to the yearly emissions of over 450,000 cars. 

The good news is that trash is a two-birds-one-stone problem. A less wasteful economy would protect our air and water from landfills and incinerators. It's also an important part of Minnesota’s fight to become carbon-neutral by 2050. If we achieved a 75% recycling rate across Minnesota – our state goal for the metropolitan area – we would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 600,000 tons, or the equivalent impact of planting 10 million trees. 

Compared to that 75% target, we're currently recycling 45% of our waste. To advance our state goals, there are choices everyone can make to reduce our waste-and-carbon footprints. We can buy less stuff, shop second-hand, plan out meals to avoid food waste, and opt for reusable grocery bags and other goods. 

We should also recognize that choices are shaped by the systems we live in. Consider the realities of composting. Right now, if you live in an apartment building, it’s unlikely your building  offers curbside collection of your food waste. To participate in composting, you need to learn about drop-off composting, navigate your city’s sign-up process, and get in the habit of hauling your compost to off-site locations. It's a hassle. Some people don’t know about the system. Others choose not to participate. Many would like to participate, but lack a car or easy transport to the drop-off locations. 

To change our culture of waste, we need systems that make waste-smart choices simple and accessible. That’s where policy comes in. Thankfully, waste is a well-studied topic, and we have neighbors to learn from. A blueprint for better waste systems includes ideas like curbside composting, producer accountability for packaging, and free recycling for electronics. 

Food waste produces the majority of methane coming from landfills, which makes composting a great “bang-for-buck” investment in our climate. To promote composting, we could require curbside pickup at multi-family apartment buildings, just like we require curbside recycling pickup. The effort could be supported with education campaigns, creating good clean jobs. And it would bring our cities in line with jurisdictions like Austin and San Francisco that divert as much as  80% of their waste. 

To address packaging waste, we need to talk about incentives. For decades, companies had little reason to care about the waste they sell with their goods.  In 2024, Minnesota became the fifth state to change that by passing a law that requires big businesses to make their packaging recyclable or compostable. MCEA and our partners are working to make sure the intent of the nascent law – called the Extended Producer Responsibility statute – is protected as it makes its way through our state’s sometimes treacherous implementation process. If successful, this law will be a dramatic win for our waste system and climate. 

Electronic waste, or e-waste, is another anchor of climate-smart waste policy. While mining advocates conveniently argue that we need widespread sulfide mining to procure the copper, nickel and other metals needed for clean energy technologies, there are better options. As MCEA has stated time and again, those metals are ubiquitous in our waste stream, meaning we can recycle them from our e-waste. 

To recycle e-waste, we first need to collect it. Right now, Minnesotans are often asked to spend hundreds of dollars for the privilege of recycling their electronics. On the other hand, dropping old televisions in the trash is free. Legislation like the bill recently filed in the Senate  –  Senate Bill 1690 – would promote metal recycling by increasing the number of sites where Minnesotans can drop off their e-waste.  It would ensure all Minnesotans can use those sites without needing to pay a fee. 

Curbside composting, electronics recycling, and reduced packaging waste are just a few common sense examples of how to design a waste system that’s cleaner, circular, and more climate-friendly. There’s a lot of low-hanging fruit to shift away from landfills and incinerators. 

For Minnesota to be a leader in climate action, we should embrace being an anti-waste state, too.