Mn. Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Updated 11/14/2018

SCORE Guidebook

Introduction

This guidebook’s purpose is to answer the most commonly asked questions about the SCORE reporting form. Its audience is County solid waste officers and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, Local Government Assistance (LGA) staff in the central office and regions. The guidebook is designed to help MPCA regional staff answers questions without having to make a second call to the MPCA central office, and should help solid waste officers spend less time figuring out “the SCORE system.”

The guidebook is organized by the same headings used on the SCORE form for easy reference. However, unique or unusual circumstances may arise that are not addressed in the guidebook. Counties, regional staff, and other local government assistance staff should direct those questions to SCORE staff in the MPCA central office for written or verbal clarification. The following is a list of current regional LGA and St. Paul office SCORE staff:

St. PaulTina

DuluthHank

MarshallArlene

Copies of the county SCORE survey form and other reference materials can be found in electronic form on the MPCA’s website at:

Overview

1. How does statute define “recyclable materials?”

“Recyclable materials” include:

“...materials that are separated from mixed municipal solid waste for the purpose of recycling, including paper, glass, plastics, metals, automobile oil, oil filters, and batteries. Refuse-derived fuel or other material that is destroyed by incineration is not a recyclable material.” M.S. 115A.03, Subd. 25a.

2. How does statute define the process of “recycling” with respect to the SCORE program?

The statutory definition of “recycling” for the SCORE program is drawn from several places:

“Recycling” means the process of collecting and preparing recyclable materials and reusing the materials in their original form or using them in manufacturing processes that do not cause the destruction of recyclable materials in a manner that precludes further use.” Minn. Stat. 115A.03, Subd. 25b

“For the purposes of this section, “recycling” means, in addition to the meaning given in section 115A.03, subd. 25b, yard waste composting, and recycling that occurs through mechanical or hand separation of materials that are then delivered for reuse in their original form or for use in manufacturing processes that do not cause the destruction of recyclable materials in a manner that precludes further use....” Minn. Stat. 115A.551, Subd. 1.

Section I of the SCORE Survey Form: Program Survey

The SCORE Program Survey section asks basic yes/no, fill-in-the-blank questions that are used for a variety of purposes; some of which are described in the Q and A below (opportunity to recycle, yard waste credit calculation, etc.) In most cases, this information helps the MPCA, Minnesota Legislature, and counties gain a better understanding of waste management in Minnesota.

Recycling

1. Will the MPCA use the information in this section of the form to determine whether counties are providing an “opportunity to recycle,” as required by Minn. Stat. 115A.552?

Yes. According to statute, all counties must ensure that residents, including residents of single and multifamily dwellings, have an opportunity to recycle. The opportunity to recycle must include, at a minimum:

  • A conveniently located local recycling center in the county and convenient sites for collecting recyclable materials;
  • Curbside pick-up, centralized drop-off, or a local recycling center for at least four broad types of recyclable materials in cities with a population of 5,000 or more; and
  • Monthly pick-up (curbside) of at least four broad types of recyclable materials in first and second class and cities with a population of 5,000 or more in the Metropolitan Area.

Questions 13 through 20 on the SCORE form ask for information regarding the level of recycling service provided in a county.

2. What are “broad material types?”

Broad material types are different categories of materials such as metal, glass, paper, plastic, yard waste, and textiles. Different grades of the same material (such as old corrugated, newspapers, and office paper) constitute only one broad material type.

Yard Waste Management

1. Does yard waste count toward the SCORE recycling rate?

Not in the same manner as in the early 1990’s. The 2012 Legislation removed Yard Waste and Source Reduction Credits, recycling rates will be measured by weight only beginning in 2012. Prior to the 2012 Legislation, beginning in 1994, Minn. Stat. 115A.551, Subd. 2a., allowed the MPCA to add a credit, ranging from zero to five percentage points, to a county’s recycling rate based on answers to questions 27-32 of the “Yard Waste Management” section of the Program Survey. Counties should not include actual or estimated yard waste tonnage in the calculation of their county recycling rate, nor do they need to report yard waste generation or recycling.

Source Reduction

1. Do counties receive any credit for source or waste reduction?

No, counties will not receive credit for source reduction, 2012 Legislation removed this credit, recycling rates will be measured by weight only.

Section 2 of the SCORE Survey Form: Revenues and Expenditures

This section of the SCORE survey form focuses on revenues and expenditures associated with SCORE programs and activities. Information obtained from this section is used to verify SCORE grant disbursements, minimum match requirements, carryover balances, and to report the level of county financial investment to the legislature.

Please provide as complete of an accounting as possiblewhen reporting revenues and expenditures. Since this data is reported to the legislature each year, it is in the counties best interest to show the total revenues needed to fund a county’s annual expenditures.

Some counties show a large negative carryover balance as a way of telling the legislature that state funding is inadequate. The only problem with this is that a legislator may only look at the revenue side and make the incorrect conclusion that a county is not investing much of its own money to fund local programs (when in fact it may be just the opposite). By providing a full accounting of all revenues and expenditures involved in local SCORE programs, the full funding picture becomes clear to all parties.

Revenues

1. What local revenues count toward the required 25% local match?

Local revenue sources used for the purposes mentioned under question 1 under “Revenues” and question 1 under “Expenditures” can be used for the required local match. State or regional funds cannot be used for the match.

2. What is required of a county to receive its annual SCORE grant dollars?

A county must do the following things to receive SCORE grant funds:

  1. Set up a dedicated account for SCORE grant funds, county matching funds, and resulting interest.
  2. Complete the annual SCORE survey form and submit it to the MPCA.
  3. Have an approved, updated, county solid waste management plan.

If any of these activities are not completed, the MPCA will withhold SCORE funding.

3. Are there special requirements for the management of SCORE revenues at the county level?

State legislation requires that counties establish a separate fund for SCORE grant dollars. In addition, the counties must establish accounting procedures that ensure the funds will be spent only for the purposes listed in statute. Those include “the development and implementation of programs to:

  1. Reduce the amount of solid waste generated.
  1. Recycle the maximum amount of solid waste technically feasible.
  1. Create and support markets for recycled products.
  1. Remove problem materials from the solid waste stream and develop proper disposal options for them.
  1. Inform and educate all sectors of the public about proper solid waste management procedures.
  1. Provide technical assistance to public and private entities to ensure proper solid waste management.
  1. Provide educational, technical, and financial assistance for litter prevention.”

(Minn. Stat. 115A.557, subd. 2)

Expenditures

1. What activities, staff, and programs can a county fund with its SCORE grant?

A wide variety of activities are eligible for SCORE funding. They include staffing, operating costs and capital costs of facilities or programs that reduce the generation of solid waste, recycle waste, compost yard waste, support the development of markets for recyclable materials or reusable products, remove and manage problem materials (including household hazardous waste) from the waste stream, provide technical assistance services in waste management, conduct waste education and project promotion, or prevent litter. Further explanation:

  1. County SCORE dollars may be used to pay for SCORE Programs, not for disposal.
  2. County SCORE dollars may be used to develop and implement a county litter and recycling program and Ordinance. In order that the County can develop, implement and enforce programs for its residents for proper handling and recycling of materials, to stop non-compliance collection and disposal of materials, to stop illegal disposal sites in the future.
  3. County SCORE dollars may be used to educate its residents on proper disposal and management of materials.
  4. No County SCORE dollars may be used for disposal of materials, at landfills, etc.
  5. No County SCORE dollars may be used for pollution clean-up of an illegal disposal site(s).
  6. No County SCORE dollars may be used for the pulling together or collection of materials at illegal disposal site(s).

2. Can MSW composting, waste-to-energy, waste tire disposal, or other disposal facilities and programs be funded with the SCORE grant?

In some cases, yes. In 2001, Minn. Stat. 115A.557 (SCORE funding) was amended to allow SCORE funds to be spent on “processing mixed municipal solid waste generated in the county at a resource recovery facility located in Minnesota.” MSW composting and waste-to-energy facilities and related activities are now eligible for SCORE expenditures. If you are unsure whether or not a specific facility meets the waste processing and/or resource recovery definitions, contact the MPCA for further clarification.

3. Can a program that involves the reduction or recycling of demolition debris or other non-MSW solid waste materials be funded with SCORE dollars?

Yes, because the statutory purposes for SCORE funds include “solid waste,” not just MSW.

However, only the tonnage of recyclable materials that would otherwise be a part of MSW can be counted toward the SCORE recycling goal. Wastes that are normally handled as a part of a separate waste stream, such as most demolition materials or industrial wastes, cannot be counted toward the SCORE recycling goal, even if recycling of these materials involves the use of SCORE funds.

Counties that are interested in undertaking activities or programs for non-MSW solid waste streams should first consult MPCA SCORE staff to confirm the use of SCORE funds.

4. Can counties purchase office equipment with SCORE funds?

Yes; however, the amount of SCORE funding they are eligible to use depends on whether or not the equipment is totally or partially used for SCORE-related activities. For instance, if a county purchases a computer that is used 35 percent of the time for county zoning issues, 25 percent on non-SCORE related solid waste work, and 40 percent for SCORE related work, then only 40 percent of the computer costs are eligible SCORE expenditures.

5. Are expenses for the collection, transportation, and disposal of problem materials eligible SCORE expenditures?

Yes, as long as the problem materials are being removed from the solid waste stream and proper disposal options are developed for them.

6. Can a county use SCORE money to fund revisions to a solid waste ordinance?

Counties may use SCORE funds to cover expenses associated with that portion of an ordinance revision that is related to complying with SCORE programs and requirements.

7. If a county staff person only spends a portion of his or her time on SCORE-related activities, does all of that position’s cost count as a SCORE expenditure?

No. Only that portion of the cost associated with SCORE activities can be included as SCORE expenditure. Current job descriptions that assign a percentage of a staff person’s time to SCORE activities can be used as the basis for this calculation.

Balance

1. Can SCORE funds from the current year be carried over into next year?

Yes. A county may carry unspent SCORE funds forward to the next year. The county should, however, have plans for spending that money.

2. Can a negative balance be carried forward and how do I balance such a carryover?

On the top of page 7 of the SCORE survey form, section A, question 1, counties should report any SCORE fund carryover from the previous year; positive or negative. If you report a negative carryover (due to greater expenditures than revenues) in the previous calendar year, you may enter a positive amount on the next line “Adjust to balance carried-over” for the purposes of balancing or “zeroing out” your SCORE dedicated account. You may not, however, do a negative adjustment and take money out of the SCORE account using this part of the form. This is because there is no accounting for how the money was spent. Instead, report any use of SCORE money on your expenditure section.

Section 3 of the SCORE Form: Materials Collected for Recycling

Overview

1. In general, what materials can be counted toward the recycling goal?

The statutory definition of recyclable materials is specifically geared toward materials that would otherwise be MSW if they were not recycled. Examples include paper, glass and plastic from residences and retail establishments.

It does not include non-hazardous industrial waste, demolition waste, or other materials that would be managed separately and not destined for an MSW landfill or MSW processing facility, if they were not recycled. Although these other materials are sometimes recycled, that recycling does not count toward a county’s SCORE recycling goal, and should not be included in the recycling totals a county submits on the SCORE form.

2. When does recycling undertaken by a large, single industrial or commercial source count toward the SCORE recycling rate?

Only the recycling of commercial and industrial materials that have historically been landfilled as a part of the MSW stream, or accepted at an MSW processing facility for management with MSW, counts toward the SCORE recycling goals. If a commercial or industrial waste stream has historically been accepted at an MSW landfill as a part of the MSW stream (as opposed to being managed in a separate industrial or demolition cell in an MSW landfill), or has been accepted at an MSW processing facility, but is now being diverted and recycled, then the county should include the tonnage recycled on its SCORE form.

Recycling of materials such as scrap metal, which have not historically been managed as a part of the MSW stream, may not be counted toward the SCORE goal. Counties should not include the tonnage of these materials recycled on the SCORE form. Such materials are often classified as non-hazardous industrial wastes or other separately managed wastes. Other examples include demolition materials that have historically been taken to a demolition landfill, automobile hulks, I-beams, farm machinery, and industrial wastes that have historically been taken to an industrial landfill or placed in a separate industrial waste cell in an MSW landfill.

“Historically” has generally been interpreted to mean since the time of the enactment of the SCORE legislation (1989).

3. Can foundry sand recycling or reuse be considered recycling?

No, because foundry sand is not mixed municipal waste. It is a separately managed non-hazardous industrial waste.

4. Can I report estimated recycled material tonnages on the SCORE survey form?

Yes, until SCORE is revamped, which is estimated to be completed by 2014. We are encouraging all counties to no longer estimate recycling but to obtain and use only recycled tonnages that have been documented. However, until then, there are four sectors that can be used to report recycled material tonnage on the SCORE survey form; residential, commercial documented (CII doc), commercial estimated (CII est), and mechanical/hand separated. The residential category is for recycled materials generated by county residents or citizens. Since obtaining actual documented totals from local businesses and industry is not always possible, we have two categories under the commercial sector; documented and estimated. A county is encouraged to use documented totals when possible, however, reasonable estimates are acceptable if a county provides a brief written explanation of how the estimate was generated included with the survey form. Recyclables that are reported as a result of MSW processing (up-front separation, etc.) should be reported in the mechanical/hand separated sector. If a county can separate mechanical/hand separated recycling totals into residential and commercial categories, the MPCA requests that they do so on the reporting form.

Glass

1. What uses of glass count as recycling?

In the broadest sense, reuse of glass in its original form (such as a glass bottle being melted and manufactured into a new glass bottle), or use of glass in a manufacturing process that does not preclude further use of the glass, constitutes recycling.

The MPCA has approved, on a case-by-case basis, additional specific uses of glass, including:

  • Glass aggregate in roadbed construction.
  • Glass aggregate in asphalt.

Counties that use glass for these or other specific uses should obtain MPCA approval before including any tonnage on their SCORE form.

2. Can glass or other recyclable materials be used as landfill daily cover?

No. There are two main reasons for this:

  • Source separated recyclables are prohibited from disposal in landfills or other disposal facilities.
  • Recycling by definition means materials must be reused in their original form or in a manufacturing process that does not cause the destruction of the material or preclude further use.
Plastics

1. Does using multiple grades of plastic to create plastic lumber constitute recycling?