Agenda - Environmental Policy Board - 02/10/2025

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RELEVANT LINKS: Minn. Stat. § 115A.94, subds. 1, 3. Minn. Stat. § 115A.03, subds. 25a, 31. Minn. Stat. § 116.06, subd. 22. Waste Recovery Coop. of Minn. v. Cnty. of Hennepin, 475 N.W.2d 892 (Minn. Ct. App. 1991). Minn. Stat. § 115A.94, subd. 6. Minn. Stat. § 115A.03, subd. 4. Minn. Stat. § 115A.94. Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 913 N.W.2d 456 (Minn. 2018). Clark ve City of Saint Paul, 934 N.W.2d 234 (Minn. 2019). Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 938 N.W.2d 808 (Minn. 2020). It is not absolutely clear whether a city that decides to enter into an agreement for the collection of recyclable materials, including source - separated compostable materials, with one collector or an organization of collectors is required to comply with the procedural requirements in the organized collection statute. The answer likely depends on whether the definition of "solid waste" referenced in the organized collection statute should be interpreted to include recyclable materials. The Minnesota Court of Appeals, in a published opinion, considered a similar issue of whether telephone directories, which were collected for recycling, were subject to a county's designation ordinance requiring mixed municipal solid waste to be disposed of at a county -designated facility. The court of appeals concluded that the telephone directories did not meet the definition of mixed municipal solid waste or of solid waste because they were being collected for recycling in a "separate waste stream" and were not being "discarded" as solid waste. If a city is considering entering into an agreement for the collection of recyclable materials with one collector or an organization of collectors, it should consult its city attorney to determine whether it must follow the procedural requirements in the organized collection statute. B. Organized collection is generally optional The organized collection statute provides that the authority to organize the collection of solid waste is optional and is in addition to authority governing solid waste collection granted by other law. The statute also provides that a city may exercise any authority granted by any other law, including a home rule charter, to govern collection of solid waste. A city would only be required to organize collection if the county in which it is located has by ordinance required cities within its jurisdiction to organize collection. The Waste Management Act defines cities as "statutory and home rule charter cities authorized to plan under sections 462.351 to 462.364." Therefore, both statutory and home rule charter cities may adopt organized collection using the procedures outlined in the organized collection statute. The Minnesota Supreme Court has held that the Waste Management Act does not preempt home rule charter cities from regulating the process for organizing the collection of solid waste. Instead, the Supreme Court concluded that the Act establishes the minimum procedural requirements that cities must follow before adopting organized collection, and that home rule charter cities may be subject to additional procedural requirements, including those adopted through a citizen petition for a referendum or for a proposed charter amendment. League of Minnesota Cities Information Memo: 5/6/2024 City Solid Waste Management Page 13