The process of creating extended producer responsibility laws typically leads to a lot of headlines. And it's hard to determine exactly when a set of rules will make the leap from subcommittee hearings to legislative action.
So while the Minnesota Legislature may have put a lot of time developing an EPR system, the speed at which one passed was a bit unexpected. It emerged from a conference committee on May 16, the Legislature approved the EPR measure by May 19 during budget votes and Gov. Tim Walz signed it May 21.
Placing it into a "must pass" budget package was one way to get it through quickly — and draw complaints from some opponents that it was being forced on them — but the end result sees Minnesota joining California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon with EPR packaging laws. Maryland passed a more limited EPR package in 2023.
As Plastics News' Steve Toloken writes, the plan shifts much of the cost of residential recycling from taxpayers to companies putting packaging on the market. It requires companies to start paying 50 percent of the cost of residential recycling in 2029, 75 percent in 2030 and 90 percent by 2031.
There are other provisions related to recycled content and "problematic" packaging while requiring companies to set up a producer responsibility organization to manage payments.
While some groups support the measure, including Ameripen and the Consumer Brands Association, they also continue to see a need for a nationwide program.
"There is unfortunately a lack of consistency between these emerging laws … causing concern for many, including brand owners who will be primarily responsible for funding those programs," Ameripen Executive Director Dan Felton said at a hearing in Washington in March.
