Committee recommends passage of broad e‑waste stewardship bill after hours of testimony

The Environment, Climate, and Legacy Committee voted 5–4 on March 6, 2025 to recommend passage of Senate File 1690 as amended, a statewide electronic‑waste stewardship bill that would require producers to fund collection, processing and consumer education while establishing a single non‑profit stewardship organization to administer the program.

Supporters told the committee the existing Minnesota electronics stewardship law is out of date, leaving counties and recycling operations to cover rising costs and safety risks from lithium batteries. “Minnesota’s e‑waste contains an estimated $3,100,000,000 worth of valuable metals annually,” Maria Johnson, co‑director of RECAP, told the committee, arguing better collection could create thousands of jobs and make local processors run at full capacity.

Why it matters: County officials and recyclers said fires from batteries are increasing insurance and operating costs and that current producer programs are not capturing many devices. Kirk Adelka, assistant commissioner with the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, said the MPCA supports the bill “due to the benefits, in regards to fire safety, economic and environmental and human health benefits,” and told…