New Bill Discussed in Minnesota that would Create Free Recycling Program for Electronics

A new bill has been proposed in Minnesota that would help the state recycle its electronics, but it has been met with resistance.

The “pay now, save later” approach that the bill would take would have consumers pay a 3.2% recycling fee when purchasing most electronics. The tradeoff would be that recycling old electronics would be free.

Integrated Recycling Technologies (IRT) in St. Cloud, Minn. would benefit greatly from the change as the facility turns old electronics into reusable materials and recovers aluminum, copper, steel, gold, silver, platinum, and palladium for new devices and other uses. The facility can process almost 150 million pounds of electronics a year, but Minnesota is currently only recycling 20% of its electronics.

"You find out that it's going to cost you $25 [to recycle electronics], chances are you're just going to throw it into your trash," said Rep. Athena Hollins (DFL-St. Paul).

Hollins introduced the bill this year to get the cost of recycling at the point of purchase, helping companies make recycling free.

The bill has since stalled in the Senate with opposers being against adding a cost to all consumers.

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