Top: Graphic courtesy Minnesota Pollution Control Agency

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) prioritizes waste reduction, reuse, recycling, and organics recycling because “these activities have the lowest environmental footprint and help reduce the emissions that cause climate change.” In 1989, the Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment (SCORE) was established to provide funding for recycling programs and support waste reduction. An annual report based on information submitted by solid waste officers in all 87 counties and the Western Lake Superior Sanitary District, summarizes waste management efforts in the state, including funding and costs, waste reduction activities, recycling, composting, household hazardous waste programs, and problem materials collection. This information is used to calculate the cost of managing waste and recycling in Minnesota. Key findings from the SCORE 2023 annual report include:

• In 2023, the combined recycling and composting rate was 45.3% — the highest rate in the history of the SCORE program
• Municipal solid waste tonnage increased by 3.3%
• Minnesota counties reported 33,998 tons of reuse in 2023
• The equivalent of about 4.9 million metric tons of carbon dioxide were saved due to waste management practices, roughly the annual emissions of 1 million passenger vehicles