CALL TO ACTION

Bill will hurt small newspapers like us

TMC Publications CO is a small, family-run business. Here is owner Tesha M. Christensen with her two kiddos.

The whole family pitches in to deliver newspapers.

Tesha Christensen

TMC Publications CO is a small, family run business. When it's time for a family photo, everyone has one supporting journalism.

Margie O'Loughlin

Posted Monday, May 6, 2024 2:16 pm

NEWSPAPERS ALREADY CARE ABOUT RECYCLING:

• Newspapers are recycled at a rate of more than 64 percent, higher than any other product, and magazines have a similar success rate while recycling 100 percent of leftover retail product.

• Newspapers and magazines are environmentally friendly:

Newspapers use soy-based non-toxic inks, so newsprint is fully compostable and biodegrades in a matter of months.

Magazines use linseed oil-based non-toxic inks and soluble adhesives that do not contaminate or disrupt the recycling process and are similarly 100 percent biodegradable within months.

• Both newspapers and magazines can be recycled multiple times before the fibers become too short and weak to be reused.

• According to the Environmental Protection Agency, newspapers comprise only 1.7 percent of municipal solid waste and magazines comprise 0.3 percent.

• Newspapers and magazines encourage their readers to recycle and help inform and education the public about waste issues through their news stories.

• Including news publications in the bill would yield minimal environmental benefits at a very high cost of compliance for Minnesota’s newspapers.

A proposal to create a statewide recycling program financed by paper and packaging producers is included in the House & Senate Environment Omnibus bills (HF 3911/ SF 3887). However, unless there is an exemption for ALL news publications, this bill will affect the Midway Como Frogtown Monitor with its circulation of 23,500 and its sister publications, the Longfellow Nokomis Messenger (circulation 22,000) and Southwest Connector (circulation 25,000).

The Minnesota Newspaper Association secured an exemption in the Senate version for ALL news publications from the requirements, but the House version only exempts publications with circulations lower than 20,000.

PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS TO LET THEM KNOW YOU SUPPORT NEWSPAPERS AND SUPPORT THAT EXEMPTION.

DID YOU KNOW?
The focus of the proposal is packaging waste. Newspapers are not packaging and the amount of physical newspapers are not growing with the digital economy, as is the case for consumer packaging targeted by the bill.

The function performed by newspapers is very different from that of most other products in the waste stream. Newspapers provide vital news and information to residents of the state, frequently addressing environmental issues.

Given the current degree of disruption in the newspaper business and the stress on newspaper budgets, the kinds of additional expenses imposed by House bill would literally deprive residents of news and information.

Imposing the obligations and expense of compliance with this new program would have a severely negative impact on us, a small-family business owned by a local woman, Tesha M. Christensen. Having this kind of limitation could also disincentivize a newspaper to grow to avoid crossing the threshold.

All states but one that have enacted producer responsibility-related laws have exempted newspapers. Minnesota should do the same.