By 2032, almost anything you buy in Minnesota will come in recyclable, compostable or reusable packaging. Here’s why.

In less than a decade, almost everything you buy in Minnesota will have to come in a package that’s reusable, recyclable or compostable.

That’s because of a series of decisions from Minnesota lawmakers, including the recent approval of the Packaging Waste and Cost Reduction Act, which made Minnesota the fifth state to effectively ban packaging that has to be trashed. The requirements will not be fully implemented until 2032.

Supporters of the changes say they amount to an important shift in responsibility from consumers to producers for finding sustainable ways to dispose of or reuse packaging. Minnesota already has similar extended producer responsibility (EPR) rules for products like paint and some electronics.

Rep. Sydney Jordan, DFL-Minneapolis, said the bill was a priority because packaging, including single-use plastic, makes up about 40% of the waste stream and a lot of it cannot be recycled easily. She also is concerned about the health impacts of plastics that go to landfills and microplastics that end up in the environment.

“We need to generate less trash and deal with the trash we are generating more effectively,” Jordan said.

Environmental groups and Twin Cities local government leaders pushed for the legislation to help reduce the growing amount of waste to send less to landfills. Hennepin County Commissioner Debbie Goettelsaid it was a “big win” for the ongoing effort to close the controversial trash incinerator in Minneapolis.

Each year, Minnesotans throw away 3.3 million tons of trash. Roughly one-third of it is recycled.

Tony Kwilas, environmental policy director for the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, said the state has a robust recycling infrastructure. Officials are already looking at ways to improve it with a new report due in 2026, he said.

“Let’s see where our pinch points are before we throw the whole apple cart upside down,” Kwilas said. Business leaders worry available technology is not sufficient to meet the coming requirements, he added.

Jordan said lawmakers worked closely with trash haulers and recycling contractors to improve the legislation that ultimately became law. She said that Canada and the European Union implemented similar rules without harsh impacts and the law allows for exemptions if certain items cannot meet all the requirements.

While California, Colorado, Maine and Oregon have approved similar laws, none have fully implemented them.

Next year, Minnesota will create a Producer Responsibility Organization, overseen by the state Pollution Control Agency. Companies will have to register with the organization and pay fees to fund its operation.

When the law is fully implemented, companies won’t be able to sell anything with packaging that doesn’t meet those standards unless the state approved a specific exemption.

Kirk Koudelka, a Pollution Control Agency assistant commissioner, said the aim of the law is to make it easier for consumers to avoid single-use plastics and other items that end up in landfills. He said Minnesotans throw away a million tons of recyclable materials each year that is worth about $140 million.

“If you make recycling easy; if it is quick and simple, people will do it,” Koudelka said. “When it is complex … that is where we lose people.”

Jordan said her constituents’ demand to close the Hennepin Energy Recovery Center (HERC) garbage incinerator in the North Loop by Target Field was a driving force behind the bill.

Environmental and health activists say the HERC contributes to the disproportionate number of people with asthma and other chronic conditions in the surrounding community.

Hennepin officials want to close the HERC between 2028 and 2040, but need to get considerably closer to their zero waste goals to do it. They argue trucking trash to landfills rather than burning it could have worse environmental and health impacts.

Hennepin, Ramsey and Washington counties collaborate through Partnership on Waste to Energy. Through that partnership, the counties are working to meet the state’s goal of 75% recycling by the end of the decade.