The Latest

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

    Advanced Polymer Recycling acquired multiple Georgia companies, Macquarie sold DTG Recycle assets to various parties and Vanguard Renewables acquired Minnesota depackager E-Z Recycling.

    Updated Feb. 24, 2026
  • A trash truck leaves a material recovery facility.
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    Casella gives landfill and organics facility updates after strong 2025

    In his first earnings call since becoming CEO, Ned Coletta highlighted 2025 acquisitions and offered updates on landfill optimization strategies and an organics facility closure in the Northeast.

  • Incinerator stacks with steam and emissions coming out
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    Minnesota’s MSW incinerators effectively destroy PFAS, study finds

    A new study sponsored by a state waste-to-energy group and spurred by Minnesota’s PFAS Blueprint shows the facilities are receiving PFAS but expelling relatively little.

  • Cropped shot of a team of garbage collectors
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    Waste worker fatalities fell in 2024, but industry still 5th deadliest: BLS

    The latest Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed fewer fatalities for the refuse and recyclable materials collection occupation. The number of fatalities in MRFs also decreased in 2024.

  • A green trash truck is parked outside a shopping complex.
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    Q4 earnings results for major waste and recycling companies in 2025

    Catch up with the latest results from Enviri, WM, Waste Connections, Casella, Republic Services, Clean Harbors and GFL Environmental.

    Updated Feb. 24, 2026
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    Ahead of the demand curve? What’s behind the rPET slump.

    A recent spate of rPET facility closures follows a slightly premature ramp-up, said one converter. But renewed investment is needed to ensure “we still have an rPET industry on this continent,” according to NAPCOR.

  • Equipment at ExxonMobil's advanced recycling facility in Baytown, Texas
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    Courtesy of ExxonMobil
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    Chemical recycling debates influence state and legal discussions in California, New York

    California's AG is appealing a judge's ruling that ExxonMobil can continue its chemical recycling defamation suit, while a New York EPR bill could get hung up over chemical recycling restrictions.

  • Clean Harbors at household hazardous waste collection event in Abington, Pennsylvania.
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    The image by Montgomery County Planning Commission is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0
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    Clean Harbors looks to spend record cash on M&A and internal growth

    The company met its guidance for full-year 2025 and looks to act on growth levers. That includes capital investments and M&A, such as a new $130 million deal with Depot Connect International.

  • A load of recycled cartons crushed into a bale
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    Courtesy of Carton Council
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    Carton recycling options expanded for about 2.5M households in 2025: Carton Council

    About 63% of households now have access to some kind of carton recycling program, the Carton Council says. It attributes major expansions to Circular Services’ MRF upgrades and Oregon’s new EPR program launch.

  • Republic Services collection truck
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    Courtesy of Republic Services
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    Republic misses 2025 earnings projections but promotes underlying strength

    The company fell short of guidance issued a year ago for revenue, but reported strong free cash flow and a business positioned for growth in environmental services.

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    Will EPR actually increase recycling?

    Skeptics sparked debate about the value of extended producer responsibility for packaging at The Packaging Conference in Austin, Texas. Perhaps the only clear thing is that a lot is still unclear about the emerging legislation.

  • President Donald Trump walks into an ornate room where a podium is set up and a sign reads "Largest Deregulation in U.S. History."
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Waste facilities expected to escape effects from federal climate rollback, for now

    Regulations surrounding landfills are unlikely to be affected by Thursday’s “endangerment finding” rollback. But a warming climate brings broader dangers for the industry and its workers.

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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    Combined policy options needed to remedy plastic waste in US, Pew report finds

    The adoption of any new policies such as bottle bills, reuse systems, EPR or certain food packaging bans could reduce disposal by 10% to 20% by 2040. Such changes could influence new jobs and investments, Pew said.

  • blue plastic bottles crushed together
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    Domestic markets and policy could help weather rPET woes

    Speakers addressed domestic rPET’s market challenges during a webinar hosted by The Recycling Partnership. The discussion comes in the wake of recent PET reclaimer closures.

  • The top of the U.S. Capitol Building's dome is pictured on a cloudy day.
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    Win McNamee via Getty Images
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    Recycled content claims bill introduced in Congress

    The bipartisan Recycled Materials Attribution Act aims to establish federal standards and ensure the Green Guides are updated accordingly.

  • Waste Connections truck on display at WasteExpo 2022
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    Maria Rachal/Waste Dive
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    Waste Connections previews AI, RNG investments for 2026

    During a Q4 earnings call, executives highlighted about $330 million in acquired annualized revenue from 19 acquisitions in 2025. CEO Ron Mittelstaedt previewed AI projects for routing and customer experience.

  • The GFL Environmental logo decal on the door of a large garbage truck
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    Jacob Wallace/Waste Dive
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    GFL details headquarters move, EPR and RNG plans

    The company is officially relocating its headquarters to Miami Beach, but will maintain its presence in Canada. The company reported strong underlying business but foreign currency translation headwinds to end 2025.

  • a close-up of recycled consumer batteries
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    EPA’s upcoming battery EPR framework aims to guide state consistency

    The U.S. EPA expects to publish its framework for battery EPR programs this summer. Industry stakeholders informed the voluntary guide for states implementing the programs.

  • An illustration of the U.S. Capitol with recycling containers
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    Danielle Ternes/Waste Dive
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    Tracker

    Tracking the future of US recycling policy in Congress

    The House introduced the Recycled Materials Attribution Act, which calls for establishing federal standards for recycled content marketing claims. It also introduced the Reuse Act, which calls for a reuse and refill study.

    Updated Feb. 13, 2026
  • Metal sign that says Environmental Protection Agency on stone wall of building.
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    White House will revoke EPA climate endangerment finding Thursday, Leavitt says

    The Trump administration is calling it the largest deregulatory action in U.S. history. Environmental leaders say local governments must now safeguard public health and climate resilience.

    Updated Feb. 11, 2026
  • A large pile of discarded fruits and vegetables, including watermelons, tomatoes, leafy greens, and root vegetables, lying on damp soil.
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    Alamy
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    Washington weighs contamination limits in organics law update

    The state is in the midst of updating its statutory language around organic waste diversion. A proposal would set hard limits on contamination of both organic feedstock and finished compost.

  • An aerial view of a snowy section of Ottawa filled with historic buildings.
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    Canada explores protectionist biofuel policies, prompting industry pushback

    Regulators recently closed the comment period for proposed amendments that seek to boost domestic production of biofuels. Developers of projects that refine gas from landfills and digesters could be affected.

  • Heavy equipment moves material in a pit.
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    The image by U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service/Steven Alexander is licensed under CC BY 2.0
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    EPA extends coal ash landfill monitoring, cleanup deadlines

    The agency is now delaying a cleanup requirement until 2032. This is part of a broad push by the Trump administration to support fossil-fueled power plants.

  • The steps of the Tennessee State Capitol in Nashville.
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    Tennessee packaging EPR bill revamped with small business, county exemptions

    The bill takes a business-centric approach to recycling, a key difference from other state EPR programs. It also allows certain small businesses and counties with fewer than 200,000 residents to opt out of the program.

  • A bulldozer pushes trash on the open face of a landfill early in the morning. A town partially covered by fog is visible in the background.
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    [Photograph]. Retrieved from Lycoming County Resource Management Services.
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    Michigan OKs Republic hazardous landfill expansion; Georgia county closing site

    Republic Services received approval to expand its Wayne Disposal landfill. Public officials are facing difficult decisions due to the finances of their landfills in states like Georgia and Pennsylvania.