§ 115A.931 — Yard Waste; Prohibition
Plain-Language Summary
This section bans putting yard waste — like grass clippings and leaves — in regular trash or sending it to landfills or waste-to-energy facilities. Yard waste may only be composted, reused, or co-composted. In the Twin Cities metro area, the ban has been in place since 1990, and since 1992 statewide. Plastic bags used for yard waste delivered to compost facilities in metro counties must meet certified compostable plastics standards.
115A.931 YARD WASTE; PROHIBITION.
(a) Except as authorized by the agency, in the metropolitan area after January 1, 1990, and outside the metropolitan area after January 1, 1992, a person may not place yard waste:
(1) in mixed municipal solid waste;
(2) in a disposal facility; or
(3) in a resource recovery facility except for the purposes of reuse, composting, or cocomposting.
(b) MS 2008 [Renumbered 115A.03, subd 38]
(c) On or after January 1, 2010, a person may not place yard waste or source-separated compostable materials generated in a metropolitan county in a plastic bag delivered to a transfer station or compost facility unless the bag meets all the specifications in ASTM Standard Specification for Compostable Plastics (D6400). For purposes of this paragraph, “metropolitan county” has the meaning given in section 473.121, subdivision 4, and “ASTM” has the meaning given in section 296A.01, subdivision 6.
(d) A person who immediately empties a plastic bag containing yard waste or source-separated compostable materials delivered to a transfer station or compost facility and removes the plastic bag from the transfer station or compost facility is exempt from paragraph (c).
(e) Residents of a city of the first class that currently contracts for the collection of yard waste are exempt from paragraph (c) until January 1, 2013, if, by that date, the city implements a citywide source-separated compostable materials collection program using durable carts.
History:
1988 c 685 s 21; 1991 c 337 s 44; 1992 c 593 art 1 s 28; 1995 c 247 art 1 s 66; 2009 c 37 art 1 s 44
History: History: 1988 c 685 s 21; 1991 c 337 s 44; 1992 c 593 art 1 s 28; 1995 c 247 art 1 s 66; 2009 c 37 art 1 s 44