Solid Waste Management Tax Information

MMSW is garbage, refuse, and other solid waste from residential, commercial, and community activities. For MMSW, the tax is based on the sales price charged by the provider and the type of waste generator (customer).

“Sales price” is the total of all charges and fees for the service, whether billed separately or together. Examples include: collection, transportation, processing, disposal, and administrative fees; fuel surcharges; and any fee for garbage bags or stickers provided to the customer.

Non-MMSW waste is construction, demolition, industrial, infectious, and pathological waste material that’s collected, processed, and disposed of separately from mixed waste. The tax is based on the actual volume, container capacity, or weight of the waste. The provider must calculate the tax in the same way as they bill the customer. For example, if the provider bills by the cubic yard, they must calculate the tax using the cubic yard rate.

 *The commissioner of Revenue, after consultation with the commissioner of Pollution Control Agency, shall determine and may publish by notice a conversion schedule for construction debris.

The following types of waste or fees are exempt from SWM Tax:

• Waste from federal agencies
• Organic waste put in separate waste containers and disposed of at a qualified facility
• Certain waste management fees and surcharges under the following Minnesota statutes:
  • Fees a facility pays to a county for disposing of mixed municipal solid waste or construction debris  (M.S. 115A.919)
  • Fees a facility pays to a city or town for disposing of mixed municipal solid waste or construction debris  (M.S. 115A.921)
  • The Greater Minnesota Landfill Cleanup Fee (M.S. 115A.923) and Metropolitan Solid Waste Landfill Fee (M.S. 473.843)
  • County SWM service charges (M.S. 400.08)
  • County taxes levied to repay bonds and interest used to acquire or update solid waste facilities (M.S. 473.811)
• Landfill abatement and cleanup fees that are required, or allowed, by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA)
• Industrial waste transported to a facility owned and operated by the waste generator
• “Daily cover” materials (such as wastes serving the same purpose as sand, dirt, and/or gravel), spread over landfills to contain waste if approved by the MPCA
• Waste generated outside of Minnesota
• Mixed solid waste from a recycling facility that reduces the volume of the waste by at least 85 percent
• Construction and demolition waste from a presidentially declared disaster area (for 18 months after the disaster, only if the waste goes to a disposal facility designated by the MPCA)
• Certain recyclable materials (see details below)

Waste management charges for recyclable materials are exempt from SWM Tax if all of the following conditions are met:

1. The customer (generator) separates recyclables from other garbage.
2. The recyclables are collected separately from other garbage and delivered to a facility where they are recycled.
3. The charge for managing the recyclables is itemized on the customer’s bill.

For information about the SWM Tax Exemptions and Sales Tax exemptions please see Form SWMT-10, Solid Waste Management Tax Exemption Certificate, or the SWM Tax fact sheet.