The Minnesota composting industry scored a win when Gov. Waltz signed the omnibus bill. The labeling bill passed as part of the Environment & Natural Resources Omnibus bill for the 2023 legislative session. The Minnesota Composting Council (MNCC) worked with authors to reintroduce this bill, as they have done in recent sessions. The MNCC worked with composters, product manufacturers, local units of government, non-profits, concerned residents, and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) to amend MN Stat. 325E.046 Standards for Labeling Plastics Bags to apply to food service products and other packaging claiming composability. The bill included in the Environment & Natural Resources omnibus bills in both 2021 (removed in conference committee) and 2022 (no vote on the omnibus bill).
Mislabeled food-service items and bags are the most common contaminants ending up at composting facilities. Adoption of this bill will reduce misleading product claims, reduce resident and food establishment confusion on what products are accepted for composting by requiring ASTM standards, and reduce contamination at compost facilities so they can manufacture a cleaner, more sellable product. This bill is a win for residents, businesses, compost facilities, and our environment. The new law goes into effect January 1, 2025.
Bill supporters included compostable product manufacturers NatureWorks, Natur-Tec, Self-Eco, and Compost It all; compost facilities such as SET, Glacial Ridge, and Western Lake Superior Sanitary District; nonprofits and other associations including Clean Water Action, the Association of Minnesota Counties, and the MN Solid Waste Administrators Association, and several government agencies including the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency. See the full list on MNCC’s Advocacy web page.
The Minnesota Composting Council (MNCC) is the MN State Chapter of the United States Composting Council (USCC). As a state affiliate of the USCC, the MNCC is dedicated to the development, expansion, and promotion of the composting industry based upon sound science, principles of sustainability, and economic viability.
If you would like more information a bout how this law will support organics recycling programs and composting facilities, please contact Ginny Black at 763-370-5618 or email at [email protected]. For more information, visit http://www.mncompostingcouncil.org/.