Minnesota YMCA Youth in Government
Model Legislature
Introduced by: Nolan Leiran
Delegation: Rogers
Legislative Body: Spear Senate
Committee: Natural Resources
BILL #: 2304
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE YOUTH LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA YOUTH LEGISLATURE –
An act to
Plastic bag recovery machine
 
SECTION I - PURPOSE
I am trying to make it so there are plastic bag machines where you would input a plastic bag into the machine, it would
scan it to make sure then it would dispense a receipt for 5 cents per bag you input.
 
SECTION II - JUSTIFICATION
We are doing this because there are a lot of plastic bags. There are approximately 22 billion plastic bags in the ocean,
and this bill can help reduce that by 80% with almost all big grocery stores having to put one outside every store they
own. Plastic bags are only 12% of the waste in the ocean, but it can be able to save a lot of pollution and save a lot
of animals in the ocean, and help them live longer lives than they do, and they can help save coral and turtles. The
plastic bag would be recycled and could be made into bags that are less harmful to the ocean, and it could be turned
into reusable bottles.
 
SECTION III - DEFINITIONS
The machine would be built like the plastic bottle machines in Germany, but it would be programmed to detect plastic
bags. You would get 5 cents in receipt form, and the more bags, the more money, and the receipt is only for that store.
 
SECTION IV - FUNDING
The companies would have to buy the machine themselves and could get a cheap programer to program it into the
electricity system.
 
SECTION V – PENALTIES/ENFORCEMENT
If the companies don't place one, they will get a $500 fine, and if they don't place one after three warnings, they will
have to shut down the store until they place one.
 
SECTION VI – EFFECTIVE DATE
12/31/26