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Product Stewardship

Issue

Should the Legislature pass a law defining and requiring product stewardship? Should the Minnesota Chamber endorse a nonregulatory approach to product stewardship?

Policy

  • The Minnesota Chamber supports efforts to educate makers, sellers and users of products on environmental responsibilities at the various stages of the product lifecycle. Programs like Minnesota Waste Wise, a voluntary waste reduction program, provide an excellent opportunity to educate businesses on the concepts of stewardship and to increase their voluntary participation.
  • The Legislature should not pass a law on product stewardship. Bureaucratic and regulatory approaches by one state (i.e. Minnesota) would be costly and are not feasible in the reality of the global marketplace. If legislation is needed, it should be passed by Congress. Any state legislation should anticipate, support and allow for federal pre-emption and should not mandate product take-back.

Business Impact

Previous legislative proposals have been broad and gone beyond product stewardship to require product take-back. Legislation of this type would have a significant effect on Minnesota retailers, distributors and manufacturers. The 2007 Legislature passed legislation that requires the collection and recycling of video display devices sold to households and consumers, including televisions, computer monitors and laptop computers. Manufacturers of these video display devices will have to register and pay a fee to the state and collect and recycle video display devices sold in Minnesota. They also will be required to meet annual targets for collection and recycling. Any new state government requirements will increase the price of products sold in Minnesota and may put Minnesota businesses at a competitive disadvantage in the global marketplace.

The Minnesota Chamber previously responded to product stewardship/ waste legislation by creating Minnesota Waste Wise, a voluntary approach to waste reduction that is implementing product stewardship in Minnesota businesses. More than 640 companies have participated in Waste Wise. Minnesota Waste Wise members have reduced 81.7 million pounds of waste, recycled/reused 735.5 million pounds of waste and saved more than $3 million in costs related to waste management. This is one example of how the issue can be addressed without legislation.

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