SEATTLE (Recycling Monster): Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the law to establish an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program for packaging, thus becoming the fifth U.S. state to approve the law. There has been mixed response to the bill from various recyclers.

As per the signed law, producers are required to pay 50% of recycling costs with effect from 2029. The share of costs will be ramped up in subsequent years. By 2031, the producers will have to bear up to 90% of the recycling costs. The definition of producers includes brands, packaging manufacturers and distributors of packaging products.

Eureka Recycling, who had earlier urged the state authorities to implement a full responsibility EPR model, extended support to the House version of the bill. The others to welcome signing of the bill include The Recycling Partnership, Ameripen, the Flexible Packaging Association and the Consumer Brands Association. Meantime, the American Forest & Paper Association (AF&PA) has called for a veto of the bill.

The Minnesota chapter of the National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA) welcomed the reworking of major provisions in the final law, compared to the previous versions of the bill, saying that they promise to protect major parts of the state’s recycling industry.

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