Purpose of the Bill

The purpose of this bill is to promote recycling, composting, and reuse of materials by providing financial incentives through tax rebates. The goal is to reduce waste and encourage the diversion of materials from landfills and waste-to-energy facilities by supporting more sustainable waste management practices in Minnesota.

Main Provisions

• Definitions: The bill sets clear definitions for terms such as compostable materials, recyclable materials, resource recovery facilities, and waste-to-energy facilities based on pre-existing Minnesota statutes.

• Reporting Requirements: Owners or operators of resource recovery and waste-to-energy facilities must report annually on the amounts of materials they manage. This includes the quantities of recyclable materials that are separated for recycling or reuse, compostable materials processed, and materials recovered from combustor ash for recycling or construction.

• Rebate Calculation and Payment: A rebate is calculated based on the reported tons of materials processed for recycling, reuse, or composting. The rebate is a percentage (30% or 20%) of the tax collected based on the type and use of the processed materials. Resource recovery and waste-to-energy facility operators will receive these rebates by April 15 each year.

• Appropriation of Funds: The bill specifies that the funds necessary to pay these rebates will be appropriated from existing tax revenues associated with solid waste management.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• This bill introduces a new rebate system specifically for recycled, composted, and reused materials, which did not previously exist in Minnesota's taxation laws.

• It mandates new reporting requirements for facilities involved in these processes to ensure transparency and track the effectiveness of the rebate program.

Relevant Terms

solid waste management, rebate, recycling, composting, reuse, resource recovery facility, waste-to-energy facility, combustor ash, tax appropriation