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OFFICE OF CITY COUNCIL <br />307 CITY HALL <br />MINNEAPOUS. MINNESOTA 55415 <br />PHONE 348-2211 <br />STEVE CRAMER <br />COUNCIL MEMBER ELEVENTH WARD <br />TPWcWr\ <br />IdKl]dfi m t <br />(BljfilfOfflta <br />Mayor Grabek <br />Box 66 <br />Crystal Bay, MN 55323 <br />Dear Mayor Grabek: <br />I am aware oF some discussion with Hennepin County about the effect of the <br />Minneapolis ordinance restricting food and beverage packaging on recycling. <br />Hennepin County Commissioner Randy Johnson, for one, has suggested the ordinance <br />would be inconsistent with his proposal (yet to be considered by the full <br />Board) to add plastics as a required and reimburseable item in local recycling <br />programs. <br />In fact, the Minneapolis ordinance and an aggressive move into recycling of <br />plastics are highly complementary. For your information, I have attached a <br />recent letter to Commissioner Johnson explaining why this is true. <br />The ordinance creates an incentive for public and private parties to not only <br />stirt plastics recycling, but to work together to sustain the effort over time <br />through effective market development. This incentive exists because to not <br />recycle plastics such as HOPE milk jugs or two-litre PET soda containers means <br />those items will be restricted through regulation, an outcome many people would <br />like to avoid. For those forms of plastics for which there is not a viable <br />re-use market at this time, the ordinance doesn't simply ignore the potential <br />environmental hazards they raise. Instead, it regulates their use so that more <br />environmentally benign alternatives are used when are where possible. <br />I hope these thoughts are helpful as we at the local level toil to make <br />recycling and other solid waste management strategies work. <br />Sinc;iirely, <br />^Steve Cramer, Council Member <br />City of Minneapolis