HF 1733

as introduced - 94th Legislature (2025 - 2026) Posted on 02/27/2025 03:16pm

A bill for an act
relating to environment; eliminating requirement for residents who do not recycle
organics to pay for providing organics recycling services; amending Minnesota
Statutes 2024, section 115A.93, subdivision 3.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 115A.93, subdivision 3, is amended to read:

Subd. 3.

License requirements; pricing based on volume or weight.

(a) A licensing
authority shall require licensees to impose charges for collection of mixed municipal solid
waste that increase with the volume or weight of the waste collected.

(b) A licensing authority may impose requirements that are consistent with the county's
solid waste policies as a condition of receiving and maintaining a license.

(c) A licensing authority shall prohibit mixed municipal solid waste collectors from
imposing a greater charge on residents who recycle than on residents who do not recycle new text begin ,
except that a licensing authority shall allow mixed municipal solid waste collectors to impose
a greater charge on residents who recycle source-separated compostable materials and sole
source food waste streams that are managed through biodegradative processes than residents
who do not recycle those materials new text end .

(d) The commissioner may exempt a licensing authority from the requirements of
paragraph (a) if the county within which the authority is located has an approved solid waste
management plan that concludes that variable rate pricing is not appropriate for that
jurisdiction because it is inconsistent with other incentives and mechanisms implemented
within the jurisdiction that are more effective in attaining the goals of this chapter to
discourage on-site disposal, littering, and illegal dumping.

(e) In the interim between revisions to the county solid waste management plan, the
commissioner may exempt a licensing authority from the requirements of paragraph (a) if
the commissioner makes the determination otherwise made by the plan in paragraph (d)
and finds that the licensing authority:

(1) operates or contracts for the operation of a residential recycling program that collects
more categories of recyclable materials than required in section 115A.552;

(2) has a residential participation rate in its recycling programs of at least 70 percent or
in excess of the participation rate for the county in which it is located, whichever is greater;
and

(3) is located in a county that has exceeded the recycling goals in section 115A.551.

An exemption granted by the commissioner in the interim between revisions to the county
solid waste management plan is only effective until the county solid waste management
plan is revised.