On MPR’s Minnesota Today blog, reporter Michael Caputo asked “what does it take to improve the rate of recycling in Minnesota?”
Ben Olson’s response was featured on the blog, highlighting the Minnesota Recycling Refund Act as the only posited solution that has been shown to dramatically increase recycling rates by states with similar bills in place.
In citiesRead more..

This past weekend I, like 25,000 other people, attended the 15th annual Basilica Block Party. The block party is an annual two day concert/festival which benefits the historic Basilica of St. Mary in downtown Minneapolis.
If you’ve ever been to a music festival you’ve noticed there is a massive amount of waste produced from all theRead more..

by Lana Sargent
I have owned an Iowa redemption center since 1983 so I see every day how successful it can be. Iowa has over 2 billion soda and beer cans sold every year, with over 85% being  reclaimed, and recycled, plus another 600,000,000 non- carbonated no deposit containers.
So the first question is where do youRead more..

Have you seen the Story of Stuff project?
Its a great project, and I’m thankful to the person behind the project, Anne Leonard, for her work. This section highlights the need for initiatives that encourage people to recycle, like the Minnesota Recycling Refund Act. A higher recycling rate means cans and bottles are kept out ofRead more..

by Chrissy Stockton
I read an interesting news story today on a father and son who walked nearly 50 miles from their home in Indiana to the capitol to draw attention to the need for a recycling refund in their state. They did this by gathering bottles and cans along their walk- and pointing out thatRead more..

by Dave Dempsey
Sometimes it takes a newcomer’s fresh eyes to really see what we take for granted. A recent letter to the editor in the Star Tribune from a transplanted Iowan sung Minnesota’s praises — except for roadside litter: “Holy cow, what a mess!” Part of roadside ugliness is non-deposit bottles and cans that wouldRead more..

There have been some great discussions going on in our Facebook group.
If want to talk to other people thinking about this issue, or just view previous conversations, join our group here:
Minnesotans for a Recycling Refund

By Ben Olson
Do you know someone who doesn’t recycle?
Of course you do. Minnesota has a 35% recycling rate for bottles and cans. This means MOST of the people we know simply throw these items into the trash.
Sarah posted some feedback we’ve received last week. What stuck out to me was the person that said thatRead more..

By Ben Olson
 
I love curbside recycling. Its easy and convenient. As a resident of Maple Grove, St. Paul, and now Minneapolis curbside has always been available to me so its easy to forget that this just isn’t the case statewide.
 
Kristin Eggerling just posted in Conservation Minnesota’s blog this week about how recycling is almost non-existentRead more..

I was pumping gas today and snapped this pic of the trash bin next to me. Unfortunately, this is all too common as 65% of our bottles and cans are going in the trash, or worse, on the ground, and in our lakes and rivers.

I bet you see tons of wasted recyclables in the trash,Read more..