The Latest

  • Aerial view of a collection truck picking up waste or recyclables in a residential area
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    RichLegg via Getty Images
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    Tracking the waste and recycling industry’s M&A activity

    Natural Upcycling acquired Curbside Compost; Reconomy acquired two more U.S. companies; Waste Eliminator acquired another Georgia hauler; Deep Green Waste & Recycling acquired Junk King franchises.

    Updated Jan. 29, 2025
  • stacks of blue bags filled with recycled beverage containers
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    The waste and recycling industry outlook for 2025

    EPR implementation, organics requirements, bottle bill updates, PFAS regulation, federal tax credits and M&A are all expected to be key topics for the year ahead.

  • "Hon. Lee M. Zeldin," as a placard states, sits at a table with a microphone in front of a crowd in a hearing room.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Zeldin pledges to visit Missouri landfill; Hawai’i landfill debate reaches state house

    Elsewhere, landfill permit denials occurred in Virginia and Michigan, while a landfill odor lawsuit continues in Illinois, and landfill expansion plans in Mississippi remain on hold.

  • Trucks line up behind a waste facility
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    Brandon Bell via Getty Images
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    WM reports margin milestones for Q4, focuses on Stericycle integration in 2025

    WM expects synergies from the Stericycle deal to be about $250 million over a three-year period, with about $100 million of that in 2025. It also expects to complete more RNG facilities this year.

  • Lee Zeldin sits at a desk
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Zeldin is confirmed as the new EPA administrator. What’s next?

    The former New York representative will helm the agency as it navigates executive orders pausing climate programs and reviews pending regulations that could affect the waste and recycling industries.

    Updated Jan. 30, 2025
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    EPR and bottle bills enter a crowded legislative agenda in 2025

    Extended producer responsibility and bottle bills will continue to influence recycling policy at the state level, even as federal priorities could shift. Other bills for batteries or mattresses could also make an appearance in 2025.

  • A hand brushes organic materials like vegetable scraps off a plate and into a bin
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    svetikd via Getty Images
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    What’s in store for organic waste in 2025

    Shifting power in Washington may not be an obstacle for groups advocating for favorable organic waste policies. But composters and anaerobic digester developers are navigating an evolving business environment this year. 

  • Sean Duffy testifies before senators in Washington, D.C. at his confirmation hearing on Jan. 15.
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    Samuel Corum/Getty Images via Getty Images
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    Sean Duffy confirmed as Transportation secretary

    The former congressman will now lead agencies responsible for regulating vehicle safety and funding infrastructure projects.

  • four blue recycling carts stand next to each other
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    Thomas Demarczyk via Getty Images
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    9 stats about US packaging recycling

    A recent pair of reports from the U.S. EPA, released in the prior administration, estimated the agency could take upward of $28 billion to modernize recycling systems and divert more packaging materials from disposal.

  • Two tractors scooping compost
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    Courtesy of Agromin
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    California law aims to expand options for compost procurement under SB 1383

    The state’s organics law requires jurisdictions to procure a certain amount of organic material, but some have struggled. A recent law expands the options and could boost categories such as vermicomposting or edible food recovery.

  • A woman speaks at a lectern with the Miami-Dade County, Florida, insignia on its front.
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    Joe Raedle via Getty Images
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    Miami-Dade County mayor backs off incinerator, proposes new $556M landfill

    The Florida mayor said the threat of legal challenges and other expenses made building a new waste-to-energy facility too difficult. She now recommends landfilling to meet long-term capacity needs.

  • A close up of bottles and other trash floating in a river
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    Beck Harlan via Getty Images
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    D.C.’s proposed bottle bill aims to tackle high-profile pollution in Anacostia River

    Bill sponsors say a bottle bill could help alleviate pollution that has long affected communities of color. It calls for a 10-cent deposit starting in 2028, with a recycling rate target of 70% the first year.

  • A close-up shot of Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    8 Trump actions that could affect waste and recycling

    Trump administration executive orders have called for numerous changes related to climate change initiatives, greenhouse gas research, grant funding and potential tariffs.  

  • Recyclables in a blue RTS bin on the curb of a New York City street
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    Permission granted by Clare Miflin
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    RTS raises $40M, sues investor K1 over alleged takeover plan

    The waste broker and tech company’s latest funding round, led by Edison Partners, is described as a way to keep growing the business. It comes days after a lawsuit alleging interference by K1 Investment Management.

    Updated Jan. 24, 2025
  • Lee Zeldin speaks into a microphone
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    EPA nominee Zeldin advances out of committee for final confirmation vote

    During a prior confirmation hearing, Lee Zeldin highlighted his plan to balance environmental and economic concerns. He also addressed PFAS passive receiver issues and plastics.

    Updated Jan. 23, 2025
  • A pair of circular engineered outdoor ponds with a pipe spraying into each pool and a catwalk to each pool's center.
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    "Annual Report of the Board of Commissioners 2022". Retrieved from Albany County Water Purification District.
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    Groups urge New York DEC to require on-site landfill leachate treatment

    Toxic pollutants like PFOA and PFOS are being released into drinking water through the practice of shipping leachate for disposal in wastewater treatment plants ill-equipped to handle the contamination, they say.

  • Trump holds up an executive order after signing it on at a post-inauguration parade in Capital One Arena
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump freezes IRA and infrastructure law funding

    The White House issued a memo to clarify the funding pause, specifying that it pertains only to aspects of the law mentioned in Section 2 of the executive order.

    Updated Jan. 23, 2025
  • a worker disassembles a mattress in a warehouse filled with mattresses
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    Courtesy of Mattress Recycling Council
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    Oregon kicks off mattress stewardship program

    The Mattress Recycling Council expects recyclers to process over 374,400 mattresses through 2026 as it rolls out more collection and recycling infrastructure. Connecticut, California and Rhode Island have similar programs.

  • Two men in suits shake hands
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    Chip Somodevilla via Getty Images
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    Up to $43B needed to modernize recycling infrastructure: Biden EPA

    A recent report, spurred by a congressional funding bill, outlined what it would take to surpass a 50% recycling rate by 2030. This comes as the Trump administration seeks to pause certain infrastructure grants.

  • DOJ use of statements of interest in antitrust law
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    Bo Shen via Getty Images
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    Stericycle to pay $9.5M penalty for RCRA violations by former hazardous waste business

    The U.S. EPA and DOJ said Stericycle lost track of hazardous waste shipments or failed to document them for years, until the business unit was sold in 2020. It could be one of the largest civil penalties ever paid for RCRA violations.

  • The front of the EPA building
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    PFAS and waste solutions funded in final days of Biden EPA

    The EPA under former President Joe Biden funded two dozen small businesses working on early-stage environmental technologies that incorporate materials like agricultural waste and wasted glass.

  • A close-up view of various old corrugated boxes that are flattened.
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    Watcharin panyawutso via Getty Images
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    Following market volatility, will OCC prices return to ‘normal’ in 2025?

    OCC prices are down from recent highs in 2024. This plays into packaging producers’ bottom lines as they try to balance economic factors such as input costs and new capacity.

  • Office building in Lexington, Kentucky
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    Jon Cherry via Getty Images
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    Rubicon names former Circulus head Dulin as new CEO

    Michael Dulin is the second executive to join Rubicon’s C-suite from Circulus, a plastics recycler that Dow acquired last year. Dulin reunites with CFO Eric Bauer.

    Updated Jan. 16, 2025
  • An excavator pushing a muddy pile onto agricultural land.
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    The image by Sustainable Sanitation Alliance is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    EPA warns of PFAS exposure from biosolids in long-awaited report

    Farmers could be at risk due to the chemicals leaching into food and water, the agency said in its draft risk assessment, which is now open for comment. EPA noted plans to focus enforcement upstream on industrial sources like landfills.

  • A Freightliner eCascadia is plugged into a fast-charging dispenser at Forum Mobility's FM Harbor site in Long Beach.
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    Colin Campbell/Waste Dive
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    California withdraws Advanced Clean Fleets EPA waiver request

    The proposed rule would have required manufacturers to phase out diesel trucks by 2036.