Bill would give counties a boost in dealing with waste

Ever since astronauts sent home the first pictures of Earth from space, folks have been realizing that we only have so much room. So “reduce, reuse, recycle” became a rallying cry for environmentalists, eventually leading to Minnesotans seeing a tax on their trash bills, a portion of which is sent to counties for recycling and waste reduction efforts.

Well, that was the plan, anyway, when the program was launched in 1988.

But proceeds from the solid waste management tax have ebbed and flowed over the decades, and now Minnesota is at the point at which only 3% of the tax is dedicated to the resource management account for waste reduction and recycling funding for counties, while 70% goes to the Environmental Fund and 27% to the General Fund.

But that General Fund slice of the solid waste tax proceeds would shrink annually under HF1359, with a larger portion from the solid waste management tax going to counties for their efforts to recycle, reuse and reduce waste.

Sponsored by Rep. Wayne Johnson (R-Cottage Grove), the bill is a popular bipartisan effort that was laid over by the House Taxes Committee Thursday for possible omnibus bill inclusion. Bearing 35 sponsors — 18 Republicans and 17 DFL members — it would give counties a considerably larger pool of resources to tackle their waste problems.

That money comes to the counties through SCORE grants, the acronym standing for “Select Committee on Recycling and the Environment.”

“SCORE grants — which are the primary source of state support for county waste management activities — only fund about 20% of the cost, with counties and property taxpayers footing the bill for the rest,” Johnson said.

Washington County Commissioner Fran Miron said 6 million tons of solid waste is produced in Minnesota annually, with 2.7 million tons of that diverted to recycling and organics programs in 2023.

Rep. John Huot (DFL-Rosemount) expressed concern that shrinking the General Fund would mean less money for the roads on which waste is transported to landfills in his district.

The Revenue Department estimates the changes would result in $5.1 million being transferred from the General Fund to the Resource Management Account in fiscal year 2026, the amount growing to $22.4 million in fiscal year 2027, and in the range of $37 million each in fiscal years 2028 and 2029.

“This has been a victim of budgetary pressures over the years,” said Rep. Aisha Gomez (DFL-Mpls). “Because, obviously, the solid waste management tax was intended to address waste problems across the state. … But, bit by bit, we’re trying to get this money back doing what it was originally intended to do.”

“This is one of the biggest tools needed by counties,” Johnson said. “Even counties that have landfills are recognizing that that is not going to last forever. That there needs to be alternate efforts made.”