BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP): A state lawmaker who co-authored legislation setting a goal for Indiana to eventually recycle at least half of its municipal waste says the state's manufacturing industry was a key to the bill's passage this year.



Democratic state Rep. Matt Pierce of Bloomington says environmental groups had asked the Legislature for years to look at the possibilities for recycling in the state.



But Pierce tells The Herald-Times that lawmakers approved the new measure after glass maker Verallia North America and aluminum maker Alcoa Inc. backed the bill.



Gov. Mike Pence signed the measure into law in late March. The law sets a new recycling standard for the state of 50 percent of all municipal waste, but doesn't set a timeline for achieving that goal.



___