City Officials in Minnesota Trying to Increase their Recycling Rates

recycling ratesKeeping in mind the increasing solid waste collections in Minnesota City, the city officials are trying to increase their current recycling rate. With the new year in session, the officials are planning on introducing this issue in the legislative house. According to the officials, recycling is not only an eco-friendly activity, but it is also a vital part of the economic development of a city. Therefore, more efforts need to be made to try and restore natural resources via recycling.

The scope for improvement

According to experts, there is a lot of scope for improvement in the present recycling system of the city. A study conducted on household waste management in Minnesota showed that on an average, every household disposes approximately 400 cans made of out aluminum as well as 400 bottles made out of plastic every year. With a better recycling system, these figures can be depreciated by a large margin, and the aluminum and plastic cans or bottles can be recycled into various eco friendly promotional items.

According to Senator Katie Sieben, at present many households throw away a lot of their waste that can easily be recycled in recycling centers. This is the primary reason as to why she wants to present a proposal in front of the legislative house to implement new laws with regard to the recycling rates. The details of the new bill concerning recycling are still under discussion. However, an incentive system, where residents will be given some amount of compensation for their recyclables is expected to be proposed in this bill. Katie feels that an incentive system will motivate the residents to recycle, and the legislative council will approve of it as well.

Converting natural resources into eco friendly promotional items

According to experts, the waste that is collected from the domestic and commercial spaces can also be utilized as raw materials in many businesses in the Minnesota region. Around 200 companies in Minnesota use recycled material to make their products. So if the recycling rates increase in the region, these companies will have more raw materials to work with. As reported by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, the industry that uses recyclables as raw materials is worth approximately $9 billion, and employs close to 15,000 workers at present. So with the increase in the recycling rates, the city officials will not only reduce the burden on the landfills used for waste disposal, but also witness profits in the green sector of the economy.

Source: http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2013/01/06/environment/minn-recycling-trends/

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