Recycling Association of Minnesota

Recycling Education Committee

The Recycling Education Committee (REC) is a group of stakeholders that meets quarterly with the goal of increasing recycling and reducing recycling contamination by building consensus around recycling education and communication. Starting in June 2016, representatives from haulers, cities, counties, the state and other regional organizations and associations began discussions around how to improve recycling efficiency throughout the state of Minnesota. Recognizing the discord of recycling messages, the REC strives to improve recycling communication and outreach through coordinated and consistent messaging.

The Recycling Education Committee is a new and growing collaborative group with hopes to expand Minnesota’s recycling industry and work towards meeting ambitious state recycling goals. REC is committed to leveraging existing resources, using a sustainable materials management approach, and using an environmental justice framework to guide their work.

Group Charter and White Paper

The REC Team Charter documents REC’s purpose, goals and organization structure.
More information about this committee can be found in the REC White Paper.

Charter PDF

White Paper

The Purpose of the Group

Is to seek understanding from key stakeholders on recyclable and compostable materials, build consensus on what is universally acceptable/not acceptable, and agree on consistent messaging to communicate in an efficient and coordinated fashion throughout the state.

In the group’s quarterly meetings, REC members collaborated to craft a “Always/Never in the Curbside Bin” list and identified other priority recycling messages to help guide future campaigns/outreach. Those messaging priorities are:

No Bags and Un-Bag Your Recyclables
Back To Basics (No Wishcycling; Here’s How the System Works Info-Graphic)
Stop Hazards (lithium batteries, etc.)
Universal Cart Tags and Trainings
Shredded Paper

For questions or if you are interested in joining REC

please contact Gwendolyn Jenkins at [email protected]

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REC Steering Committee

REC is led by a steering committee that meets in between the quarterly meetings to help guide REC activities. The following people currently sit on the steering committee: