In less than 10 years, all packaging for items purchased in Minnesota will have to be more eco-friendly, according to the Star Tribune. This makes it the fifth state that has banned all packaging that has to be thrown in the trash, joining Colorado, Oregon, Maine, and California (which haven't yet fully implemented their policies).
Lawmakers in the state recently passed a bill outlining the details of their plan. By 2032, everything sold in Minnesota will have to be in a package that is recyclable, reusable, or compostable.
The bill was a priority for Rep. Sydney Jordan from Minneapolis because single-use plastic makes up about 40% of all waste, and there's no easy way to get rid of it or recycle much of it once it's out there.
"We need to generate less trash and deal with the trash we are generating more effectively," Jordan told the Tribune. With some companies using ridiculous amounts of packaging, it's more important than ever to make sure it's more environmentally friendly.
Making it easier to avoid single-use plastic in Minnesota, then, could help people to feel better and live better. According to the United Nations, plastic waste affects everything from the environment to health, the economy, and even social structures. We are still discovering details about how it affects daily life, from how we feel to what we buy and more.
So many of the effects of plastic waste that we do know about are bad, according to the Center for International Environmental Law. It increases our reliance on dirty energy, its production and destruction release cancer-causing chemicals into the air, and it exposes us to all sorts of chemicals when we use it. Some of these are known to be toxic, and others are under review.
The goal in Minnesota is to improve recycling rates, too, so that the packaging that is used can be disposed of properly. Kirk Koudelka, an assistant commissioner with the Pollution Control Agency in the state, said: "If you make recycling easy; if it is quick and simple, people will do it. When it is complex … that is where we lose people."
Reducing harm to the environment and making recycling easier go hand in hand to create a plan Minnesotans can applaud. It's also one that other states can watch and, hopefully, adopt for themselves.
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