Minnesota Statutes

Minn. Stat. § 115A.02 (2026)

Legislative Declaration Of Policy; Purposes

✓ current as of May 2026

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section MN-REVrevisor.mn.gov (official) Justiaon Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

(a) It is the goal of this chapter to protect the state's land, air, water, and other natural resources and the public health by improving waste management in the state to serve the following purposes:

(1) reduction in the amount and toxicity of waste generated;

(2) separation and recovery of materials and energy from waste;

(3) reduction in indiscriminate dependence on disposal of waste;

(4) coordination of solid waste management among political subdivisions; and

(5) orderly and deliberate development and financial security of waste facilities including disposal facilities.

(b) The waste management goal of the state is to foster an integrated waste management system in a manner appropriate to the characteristics of the waste stream and thereby protect the state's land, air, water, and other natural resources and the public health. The following waste management practices are in order of preference:

(1) waste reduction and reuse;

(2) waste recycling;

(3) composting of source-separated compostable materials, including but not limited to, yard waste and food waste;

(4) resource recovery through mixed municipal solid waste composting or incineration;

(5) land disposal which produces no measurable methane gas or which involves the retrieval of methane gas as a fuel for the production of energy to be used on site or for sale; and

(6) land disposal which produces measurable methane and which does not involve the retrieval of methane gas as a fuel for the production of energy to be used on site or for sale.

(c) As a means of accomplishing state waste management goals with respect to surplus food and food waste, the following waste management practices are in order of preference:

(1) reducing the amount generated at the source;

(2) upcycling or donating for human consumption;

(3) diversion for animal consumption or leaving crops unharvested;

(4) composting or anaerobic digestion when the biogas and digestate are not disposed of but are used as a salable product; and

(5) either using anaerobic digestion, when the biogas is used as a salable product but the digestate is disposed of, or land application of food waste.

(d) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings given:

(1) "anaerobic digestion" means a process through which microorganisms break down organic material in the absence of oxygen and generate biogas and digestate;

(2) "biogas" means a gas that is produced when organic materials decompose and is primarily composed of methane and carbon dioxide;

(3) "composting" means controlled, aerobic biological decomposition of organic material to produce a nutrient-rich material;

(4) "digestate" means the solid or liquid residual material remaining after the anaerobic digestion process has been completed;

(5) "diversion for animal consumption" means diverting food, food scraps, food waste, or surplus food not fitting the conditions of adulteration under section 25.37 or 34A.02;

(6) "food" means a raw, cooked, processed, or prepared substance, beverage, or ingredient used for, entering into the consumption of, or used or intended for use in the preparation of a food, drink, confectionery, or condiment for humans or animals;

(7) "food scraps" means inedible food, trimmings from preparing food, and food-processing by-products. Food scraps does not include used cooking oil, grease, any material fitting the conditions of adulteration under section 25.37 or 34A.02, or food that is subject to a governmental or producer recall and that cannot be made to be safe for human or animal consumption;

(8) "food waste" means all discarded food, surplus food that is not donated, food scraps, food fitting the conditions of adulteration under section 25.37 or 34A.02, and food subject to governmental or producer recall and that cannot be made to be safe for human or animal consumption;

(9) "land application of food waste" means the direct application of food waste from food manufacturing or processing activities onto or below the surface of the land to enhance soil health;

(10) "leaving crops unharvested" means not harvesting crops that are otherwise ready for harvesting and instead leaving them in the field or tilling them into the soil;

(11) "surplus food" means food that is not sold or used and that is still safe to be consumed by humans or animals. Surplus food does not include food damaged by pests, mold, bacteria, or other contamination; food that is subject to governmental or producer recall due to food safety and that cannot be made to be safe for human or animal consumption; or any material fitting the conditions of adulteration under section 25.37 or 34A.02; and

(12) "upcycling" means capturing, processing, and remaking parts of food and food scraps into new food products for human or animal consumption when the parts of food and food scraps do not fit the conditions of adulteration under section 25.37 or 34A.02.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 13 cases, 1990–2019 · leading case: Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 913 N.W.2d 456 (Minn. 2018).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 913 N.W.2d 456 (Minn. 2018). · cites it 2× “" Minn. Stat. § 115A.02(a) (2016). The relevant statute, Minn.”

Zenith/Kremer Waste Sys., Inc. v. W. Lake Superior Sanitary Dist., 572 N.W.2d 300 (Minn. 1997). · cites it 6× “These purposes are endorsed by the state legisla *306 ture in Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 (1996). 5 Furthermore, the Supreme Court has recognized the legitimacy of a state’s desire to aid its industries through its repeated suggestion that subsidies are a permissible means.”

In Re Combined Air & Solid Waste Permit No. 2211-91-OT-1, 489 N.W.2d 811 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992). · cites it 16× “Given that capacity, it is difficult to see how Recomp could qualify as a feasible and prudent alternative to a 640 ton per day capacity facility.”

Ben Oehrleins & Sons & Daughter, Inc. v. Hennepin Cnty., 115 F.3d 1372 (8th Cir. 1997). “In order of preference, the Act addresses waste reduction and reuse, recycling, composting, resource recovery, and land disposal.”

Nat'l Solid Waste Mgmt. Ass'n v. Williams, 877 F. Supp. 1367 (D. Minnesota 1995). · cites it 4× “47 defines “environmentally inferior” as: [A] solid waste management method that is lower on the list of preferred waste management methods in section 115A.02 than a solid waste management method chosen by a county or, as applied to a facility, means a waste management facility…”

United Power Ass'n v. Comm'r of Revenue, 483 N.W.2d 74 (Minn. 1992). · cites it 2× “Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 (Supp.1991). To argue that an integral part of the RDF handling and combustion, facility, which as a whole is designed to provide an alternative to solid waste landfilling and to recover energy from the waste, does not abate pollution, is to take a…”

Ben Oehrleins & Sons & Daughter, Inc. v. Hennepin Cnty., 922 F. Supp. 1396 (D. Minnesota 1996). · cites it 2× “In response to the Minnesota Waste Management Act, Minn. Stat. § 115A.02, et seq., Hennepin County (“the County”) enacted Ordinance 12.”

Poor Richard's Inc. v. Ramsey Cnty., Minn., 922 F. Supp. 1387 (D. Minnesota 1996). · cites it 2× “That same year, in response to the Minnesota Waste Management Act, Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 et seq., Ramsey County (“the County”) adopted a designation ordinance that provided, in part, that “[a]ll Acceptable Waste generated within the County and deposited within the State must be…”

Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 904 N.W.2d 234 (Minn. Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 4× “Minn. Stat. § 115A.02. If city voters could override the process under Minn.”

Cnty. of Winona v. City of Winona, 453 N.W.2d 710 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990). · cites it 4× “Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 (1988). The act allows a “district or county” to designate for disposal of “all or any” solid waste generated within its boundaries.”

Waste Recovery Coop. of Minnesota v. Cnty. of Hennepin, 504 N.W.2d 220 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993). · cites it 2× “The law requires that all or a portion of waste generated within the county or district be delivered to a processing or disposal facility within the county or district.”

Nat'l Solid Waste Mgmt. Ass'n v. Williams, 146 F.3d 595 (8th Cir. 1998). “See Minn.Stat. § 115A.02(b). If the county’s method is preferred, the public entity must (1) determine the potential liability to the public entity and its taxpayers for managing the waste as the entity proposes; (2) develop a plan for managing that potential liability; and (3)…”

Show all 13 citing cases →

— Minn. Stat. § 115A.02(a) — 5 cases

Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 913 N.W.2d 456 (Minn. 2018). “" Minn. Stat. § 115A.02(a) (2016). The relevant statute, Minn.”

Waste Recovery Coop. of Minnesota v. Cnty. of Hennepin, 504 N.W.2d 220 (Minn. Ct. App. 1993). “The law requires that all or a portion of waste generated within the county or district be delivered to a processing or disposal facility within the county or district.”

Jennissen v. City of Bloomington, 904 N.W.2d 234 (Minn. Ct. App. 2017). “Minn. Stat. § 115A.02. If city voters could override the process under Minn.”

BFI Waste Sys. of N. Am., LLC v. Bishop, 927 N.W.2d 314 (2019).

— Minn. Stat. § 115A.02(b) — 4 cases

Nat'l Solid Waste Mgmt. Ass'n v. Williams, 877 F. Supp. 1367 (D. Minnesota 1995). “47 defines “environmentally inferior” as: [A] solid waste management method that is lower on the list of preferred waste management methods in section 115A.02 than a solid waste management method chosen by a county or, as applied to a facility, means a waste management facility…”

In Re Combined Air & Solid Waste Permit No. 2211-91-OT-1, 489 N.W.2d 811 (Minn. Ct. App. 1992). “Given that capacity, it is difficult to see how Recomp could qualify as a feasible and prudent alternative to a 640 ton per day capacity facility.”

Zenith/Kremer Waste Sys., Inc. v. W. Lake Superior Sanitary Dist., 572 N.W.2d 300 (Minn. 1997). “These purposes are endorsed by the state legisla *306 ture in Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 (1996). 5 Furthermore, the Supreme Court has recognized the legitimacy of a state’s desire to aid its industries through its repeated suggestion that subsidies are a permissible means.”

— Minn. Stat. § 115A.02(d) — 1 case

Cnty. of Winona v. City of Winona, 453 N.W.2d 710 (Minn. Ct. App. 1990). “Minn.Stat. § 115A.02 (1988). The act allows a “district or county” to designate for disposal of “all or any” solid waste generated within its boundaries.”

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.