How much municipal solid waste is generated in Minnesota?
Unlike the recent stock market, the amount of garbage each person in Minnesota generates each year continues to increase. In 2001, Minnesota’s per capita figure for waste generation grew to nearly 1.2 tons (2,300 pounds) per person, an increase of 0.8% from 2000 and a continuation of the trend of increases from the previous ten years. The good news is that the increase from 2000 to 2001 was smaller than past increases, although how much of the slowed growth can be attributed to actual waste reduction efforts versus the downturn in the economy cannot be determined. To put the decade of increase in perspective, in 1993 the Legislature set a goal for a ten percent reduction in per capita solid waste generation by the year 2000. Since 1993, Minnesota’s generation has grown by nearly 24%. As the MOEA looks to the future of solid waste generation in Minnesota, they have set a goal for 2010 to achieve a zero percent annual increase in the per capita generation of solid waste. Figure 1 depicts
