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On June 26, Reuse Minnesota traveled to Dodge County to host a workshop on how to host swap events and fix-it clinics, followed by a tour of the newly built ReUse Center. Fifteen people from various counties attended the event.

News station KIMT3 was on site to cover the workshop. You can view the newsclip and writeup.

We are quickly approaching the end of the Minnesota legislative session and we need your voice on Right to Repair!

Last week the Minnesota House passed the Digital Fair Repair Act as part of the House Omnibus Commerce Finance/Policy Bill (HF2680). Search for [325E.72] DIGITAL FAIR REPAIR to find the language. 

The MN Senate passed similar language (SF2744), but with an amendment that has the potential to gut large portions of the bill under the guise of cybersecurity.

The bills now go to conference committee and it is crucial that the members of the committee hear that we cannot give tech companies a loophole to undermine your right to repair.

What you can do

Write the members of the committee, even if they are not your legislator.

• Representatives Stephenson, Kotyza-Witthuhn, and O'Driscoll
• Senators Klein, Seeberger, and Rasmusson.

We encourage you to emphasize the importance of adopting the current House version of the bill, which includes language in the cybersecurity section to allow parts as necessary for repair or maintenance of equipment. Without this, any tech company can implement locks and say it is for cybersecurity, and continue to deny you your right to repair.

Sample language

Dear Conference committee member,

I am contacting you today in support of the Digital Fair Repair language in the Commerce omnibus policy bill.

Right to Repair:

• Gives Minnesotans throughout the state the freedom of choice of where to bring digital equipment for repair.
• Supports and expands jobs across a spectrum of Minnesota industries.
  
• Reduces the growing amount of e-waste in our world.

It is crucial that language related to cybersecurity remain strong. The current language in the Senate version leaves potential loopholes for companies to lock out individuals and independent repair shops under the guise of cybersecurity. Please adopt the House version of this language: Nothing in this section requires an original equipment manufacturer to make available parts, documentation, or tools related to cybersecurity, except as necessary for the repair or maintenance of equipment.

Please support Right to Repair for all Minnesotans! Thank you for your time and consideration!

Reuse Minnesota has been selected as a finalist for the 3rd Annual Reuse Awards #TheReusies, presented by Upstream and streaming live from #Circularity23 on June 7!

This is considered the OSCARS of the reuse movement, and we are deeply honored to be considered among those who are at the forefront of innovating reuse solutions and working toward a waste-free future.

Here’s how you can get involved

❎ VOTE for Reuse Minnesota to win now in the category of Community Action: Building Reuse by visiting TheReusies.org and support us by spreading the word to others!

RSVP for the show (it’s FREE!) at The Reusies.org so you don’t miss out on this exciting event!

Read the full press release here: Upstream Announces Finalists of The Reusies® 2023 — Upstream | Sparking innovative solutions to plastic pollution (upstreamsolutions.org)

Reuse Minnesota builds partnerships and supports a vibrant network of reuse organizations in our state. We amplify our members’ stories to help them build sustainable futures. We champion policies that reduce barriers and increase funding for reuse. We provide networking opportunities for organizations and individuals to make new and exciting connections.

One of the ways we fund this work is through paid memberships. Memberships support our staff, pay for our website, allow us to do policy work, and cover other basic expenses of running a nonprofit. We strive to keep our memberships affordable and accessible to a wide variety of reuse businesses. But as we know, the last few years have been tough on a lot of small organizations. In addition, there are many great organizations out there that run on volunteers and minimal budgets. While a membership offers great benefits, for some it simply is too much of a stretch to join.

In 2023, as we continue to reflect on our first decade, we know it is crucial that we bring more of these smaller reuse organizations into our network in ways that make sense for them financially. But the reality is, paid memberships are critical for funding our work, and offering discounts is not a sustainable option for our organization. This is where you can help!

As part of our 10-year anniversary celebration, we have a goal of raising $10,000 in donations by June 30. We are committed to dedicating $2,000 of these funds to membership scholarships for small organizations that cannot otherwise join our network. 

Your gift of $100 fully covers the membership for a small business or nonprofit. $50 can bridge the gap between an individual membership and an organizational membership. Any amount will help us reach this goal. Will you donate today to support this effort?

Donate today

Together we are building regenerative, reuse-centered communities in our state!

The time for Right to Repair has come. This year, at least 29 states introduced some sort of bill to address the need for individuals and businesses to be able to repair things from cell phones to tractors. Folks across the US overwhelmingly support the policy. Here in Minnesota, SF1598 and HF1337 would give Minnesotans the ability to access parts and manuals for fixing a wide variety of items.   At this point in the legislative session, many bills have been combined into omnibus bills. Right to Repair has been included in both the Senate and House Commerce omnibus policy bills. Our coalition of supporters has worked to address questions raised by the opposition and to clarify language, while ensuring that key elements of the bill remain intact. Unfortunately, opponents of the bill are actively petitioning legislators to water down provisions currently included in the bill. In addition, an exemption was added to exclude agricultural equipment in the Senate. We want to ensure that nothing is watered down and that agricultural equipment is included in the final law. Farmers already had a win in Colorado, it is time for Minnesota to follow suit! From what we understand, the bill will be heard on the Senate floor very soon. We encourage you to call or email your Senator today and tell them to stand strong on the proposed language and to not add any further exemptions.  Here is sample language: Dear Senator, I am contacting you today in support of the proposed Fair Repair language in the Senate Commerce omnibus policy bill. Right to Repair: Gives Minnesotans throughout the state the freedom of choice of where to bring digital equipment for repair. Supports and expands jobs across a spectrum of Minnesota industries – agriculture, tech, education, etc. Reduces the growing amount of e-waste in our world. It is important that agricultural equipment be included to ensure farmers of all sizes can perform repairs in a timely fashion. Please support Right to Repair, without further exemptions. Thank you for your time and consideration! Learn more about Right to Repair on our advocacy page.

The Birch Group and Scrapbox Salvage founder, Petrina Rhines was interviewed and featured in an article by Next City. Read the article to learn more about the impact her nonprofits are making on keeping building materials out of landfills.

Reuse Minnesota continues to track various bills moving through the state capitol. Among them are bills that propose to restrict the use of PFAS (Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances) chemicals in the manufacture of various products. HF1000 and SF0834 propose prohibitions in several categories of products including cookware, clothing, and upholstered furniture, along with other items. Reuse Minnesota supports these restrictions because the presence of these legacy chemicals in consumer goods creates an environmental and ethical dilemma in the reuse sector. These items become a burden for our thrift stores who must decide if they want to sell such products to their customers or deal with the expense of disposal. For charitable organizations that rely on used goods to assist people who are in need of household goods, items with PFAS become an environmental justice issue as they get passed on to communities that rely more heavily on secondhand items. In addition, our government members educate the public on the proper way to recycle or dispose of items. It can be difficult to determine what the “right” answer is when it comes to items containing PFAS, due to the long-lasting nature of the chemicals and if they might show up in recycled products. Eliminating the use of PFAS chemicals in the manufacture of products addresses these concerns upstream and in turn reduces the number of problematic items passed on to Minnesota reuse organizations.

SF0834 is scheduled to be heard in the Senate Environment, Climate, and Legacy committee on Thursday, March 2, at 3pm. While we will not be testifying, we have submitted a letter in support of the bill.

If you or your organization would like to sign up to testify (in-person, unless remote is requested 24 hours in advance), submit written testimony, or provide hand-outs, email Committee Administrator Kara Josephson at kara.josephson@senate.mn by 5pm on Wednesday, March 1. Include your name, organization, and title of all testifiers (if you wish to speak). Please provide any handouts/letters in PDF format.

The House Commerce Finance and Policy Committee hearing on February 15 was a success, and HF1337 was referred on to Judiciary Finance and Civil Law Committee. You can see a recording of the hearing here. Thank you to all the testifiers who spoke in support of the bill, as well as all those who wrote letters. We will continue to post updates for everyone to follow the bill progress at reusemn.org/right-to-repair.

In the meantime, we wanted to share the latest scorecard from U.S. PIRG on laptop and cellphone repairability. While there are claims that the industry is responding to consumer demand for repairable technology, that paints a grossly inaccurate picture of what is actually available. "Failing the Fix" shows that many of the largest manufacturers have a long way to go and why Right to Repair is so necessary.

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ADVISORY: ‘Failing the Fix’ scorecard grades tech giants including Apple, Google, on how fixable their devices are

Households in the United States spend nearly $1,500 on new electronics per year. We rely on our cellphones and computers to work, learn, stay connected and much more. When your device breaks, you need to be able to fix it for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, many phones and laptops on the market are built to be difficult to fix, so they become essentially disposable. How can you know if you are buying a product that can be repaired? 

In this year’s updated “Failing the Fix” scorecard, U.S. PIRG Education Fund calculates a repairability score for the most popular cellphone and laptop brands. Our updated scorecard reviews more than 330 products on the market. To determine the rankings, we used the "Repairability Index," which makers of laptops, cellphones and some other devices need to put on their products in France. We give good grades to manufacturers that are designing devices to last and bad grades to those that are failing the fix.

The prevalence of unfixable stuff is a problem for both consumers and the planet. Electronic waste is the fastest-growing waste stream in the world, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that it is now the fastest-growing part of our domestic municipal waste stream.  Americans could save a combined $40 billion if they were able to repair - instead of replace - products and extend those devices’ lifespans by 50 percent.

Right to Repair is moving forward again in Minnesota. Bills have been introduced in both the House (HF1337) and Senate (SF1598). The first hearing (House Commerce Finance and Policy) is Wednesday, February 15, at 1pm (central). Watch live here.

Several organizations will be testifying in support. Reuse Minnesota staff are unable to participate due to our quarterly member meeting at the same time, however, we submitted a letter of support, and eagerly await the hearing outcome. 

As the bills progress, we will be reaching out to supporters to contact legislators. To stay up to date, follow progress on our website and subscribe to our Right to Repair email list. 

A new study has found the reuse economy in Minnesota is worth over $5 billion, creates 45,000 jobs and takes the equivalent of 100,000 gas-powered vehicles off the roads in avoided greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year.
With the need for new green jobs, the reuse economy delivers many of the benefits these jobs would bring.

The report, entitled “Measuring statewide impacts of reuse,” was commissioned by Reuse Minnesota with funding from the Minnesota Environment and Natural Resources Trust Fund, and conducted by Eunomia Research & Consulting, a leading international circular economy consultancy.

Reuse is the continued use, repair, or repurposing of items or materials which extends the life of resources and decreases demand for new production and includes such businesses as thrift stores, repair shops, and rental outlets.

Reuse activities directly benefit the state economy by generally taking place within local communities, with the revenue of these activities estimated to be around $3.1 billion plus a further $2.4 billion social value in wages, taxes and shareholder profits.

Unsurprisingly, as the state’s largest population center and economic hub, the Twin Cities Metro area avoided the most emissions at 66% and accounted for almost half of all reuse jobs.

The findings add to Minnesota’s green credentials after Eunomia’s 50 States of Recycling report found that its recycling rate for packaging was the highest of any US state without a Deposit Return System (DRS).

The new study applies an improved methodological approach that applies weightings to businesses which only undertake some reuse activities such as book stores which sell new and used books. This provides a more accurate picture of the economic, social and environmental benefits from the sector when compared to a previous study done in 2020.

Emily Barker, Executive Director of Reuse Minnesota said: “This study demonstrates the profound impact reuse has on the local Minnesota economy and environment. It’s not a choice between economic growth or improving our environment, we can do both and the findings really reinforce that belief. We intend to repeat the study using the same model every five years and hope to continue to show progress towards cutting carbon emissions while creating good green jobs for Minnesotans.”

Sarah Edwards, Eunomia’s Director of North America added: “This report is important for emerging policy discussions on the role of reuse in the circular economy. It demonstrates that there are environmental, social and economic benefits which support a transition to a reuse economy. Reusing materials and extending their life cycle to delay or prevent the production of new products allows us to live more sustainably within a circular system. The current prevailing take-make-waste economic principles are both inefficient and insufficient in limiting climate change. The model we developed for this study will be a much more accurate reflection of the benefits the reuse economy has on Minnesota compared to previous studies.”

Click here to access the report and presentation.