As an educator for recycling and disposal, I have a responsibility to help our residents be more aware of where to recycle items or how to dispose of items we no longer want or need. This is more important than ever as the way we reduce waste is changing. Will it change overnight? No. Will it change in the next month? No. Will it be a gradual change over the next 5-8 years? Yes!

It is my goal to help residents understand what those changes are going to be and how they will affect you as a resident or a business entity. The first change has been covered in the Marshall Independent recently and is concerning Construction and Demolition (C and D) landfills. This change, again, is not happening very soon but will change how residents and businesses handle construction waste and demolition waste, which may include such things as asphalt shingles, metals, bituminous, particle board, ceramic fixtures, concrete, insulation, wood, vinyl siding and so forth. These items are currently kept out of the regular trash. These items, currently, go to the Lyon County Landfill to a separate space located near the office. The items in this area are hauled away to a C and D Landfill and not placed into the Lyon County landfill where regular trash goes. The state wants these areas to be lined and built very similar to how a regular landfill is currently built. If we chose to not line this area, these items will not be able to go to the Lyon County Landfill C and D area as they do now but rather will need to be hauled to the nearest lined C and D landfill which is a distance away. Stay tuned as this develops for more information.

The second piece to be aware of and how it will affect recycling in Minnesota is something called EPR. This stands for Extended Producer Responsibility. This measure became law in Minnesota in the last legislative session. What does this mean to recyclers? Packaging that is used to sell a product in Minnesota must be recyclable or compostable. If it is not recyclable or compostable in Minnesota, then that company must seek special permission from the state to sell that item in Minnesota. This rulemaking will be phased in over the next number of years.

A good example that I have been using is any container that has a pump on it such as a lotion bottle. The bottle can be recycled once it is emptied but the pump cannot be recycled. It would just be trash. After the EPR law has been fully implemented, the pump will not be able to be sold in Minnesota because currently, it is not an item that can be recycled. The company, under this new law, would have to choose to either not sell the product here or change their product so that it is 100% recyclable. A company like this may choose to not have a pump on the bottle and just go with something like a twist cap instead. A statewide list of items that can be recycled will be put together by a state advisory committee and anything outside of this list, will need to have special permission from the state in order to be sold here. I am imagining that what we normally recycle at this point will remain the same items. Stay tuned as this develops for more information.

The last current change to disposal rules in Minnesota surround something called PFAS or PFOS. These products have been additives to many products that residents and businesses have been using. Starting January 2025, intentionally added PFAS will be prohibited in products such as carpets, cleaning products, cookware, cosmetics, dental floss, fabric treatments, some furnishings and much more. These products were used to keep things from sticking such as non-stick pans or products used to spray on fabrics to keep them from staining or repelling water.

Manufacturers will be responsible for understanding the regulations. Here again, we are waiting on some guidance from the state on how we will proceed with these items if they come in from the public for disposal.

The best way to have less trash in the first place is to reduce it (buying less or buying items that can be reused over and over again), reusing what we can and what is left over, recycle it. Remember that once you reduce your waste, reuse what you can recycle plus compost food waste, you will have very little trash left to worry about.

For more information on these topics, residents can look up more information on the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency website. For assistance with disposal or recycling, please call the Lyon County Environmental Department at (507) 532-8210 or the Lyon County Landfill at (507) 865-4615.