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    Photo Illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    Tracker

    Tracking recycling laws by state

    Oregon legislators passed a battery EPR bill, which now moves to the governor for consideration. Plus, catch up on other recent bill actions from throughout the country.

    Updated an hour ago
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    Tracking the waste and recycling industry’s M&A activity

    VLS Environmental acquired a California company, Triumvirate Environmental acquired Environmental Waste Minimization, Cullet acquired Repeat Glass in Ohio and ReSource Waste Services acquired C.L. Noonan in Massachusetts.

    Updated 3 hours ago
  • Two piles of brown material, labeled "Finished Compost" and "Almost Done!" are separated by cinderblocks on a concrete pad outside.
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    Courtesy of Rhode Island Food Policy Council
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    EPA properly awarded $1.5B of now-terminated grants, IG says

    A report released by the U.S. EPA’s Office of the Inspector General validated the process used to award $1.5 billion in grant funding. Environmental groups say its further evidence they should not have been terminated.

    Updated March 6, 2026
  • Bales of clothing and textiles are pictured in a store house.
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    Landbell to launch California’s nation-leading textile EPR program by 2030

    Landbell, which has experience with European programs, was selected over two other groups. It aims to launch nearly 16,000 collection bins, starting with pilots in five counties, over a multiyear period.

  • Gas well equipment pokes out a tarp covering a sloped area. Fields and forested area are visible in the background.
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    (2024). "P6210154" [Photograph]. Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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    Republic expansion suffers setback; Noble nixes rail transfer station

    Odor complaints continue to complicate expansion plans for Republic Services’ Coffin Butte Landfill in Oregon. Elsewhere, WM, Rumpke and others plan for the future of their facilities.

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    Washington taps Circular Action Alliance as PRO for packaging EPR

    The latest appointment means CAA now serves as the approved producer responsibility organization in six states. A draft program plan is due in 2028 to implement in 2030.

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    With help of EPR, aerosol can groups push for recycling acceptance

    A new playbook from trade groups addresses concerns about safety and consumer education. Eureka Recycling weighs in on an issue dividing MRF operators.

  • Steam rises from factory pipes in a city and the sky behind the pipes is bright pink and orange.
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    EPA delays greenhouse gas reporting as it moves to shut down program

    Covered entities for the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program will not be required to submit 2025 emissions data until October. By then, the agency may have already repealed the requirement.

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    Jacob Wallace/Waste Dive
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    Veolia, Enviri receive FTC approval for Clean Earth deal

    Bob Cappadona, Veolia North America's CEO of environmental services, said in a 2025 interview that the deal opens up an expansive hazardous waste transportation and processing network.

    Updated March 4, 2026
  • Several people stand in front of a dirt pile wearing hard hats and holding shovels. Behind them, a banner includes the Dem-Con and Kanadevia Inova logos, amid several others. It reads "Groundbreaking Ceremony, DCHZI Anaerobic Digester Facility."
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    Courtesy of Kanadevia Inova
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    New RNG facilities hit lowest level in years; Dem-Con breaks ground on Minnesota digester

    A report finds that the biogas industry faced a slow year in 2025 amid regulatory uncertainty and the need for new market outlets. Companies like Maas Energy Works and Taurus RNG reported facility progress.

  • Men sit on a stage and a man speaks at a podium
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    Regulators, PROs sort through responsible end market complexities

    Developing and following these rules is a new frontier for states with EPR for packaging laws. Speakers at the Plastics Recycling Conference offered a snapshot of what’s at stake as recyclers prepare for regulations.

  • California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a news conference
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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    CARB approves California’s climate disclosure regulations

    The California Air Resources Board, tasked with enforcing the state’s climate disclosure laws, will require companies to report scope 1 and scope 2 emissions by August this year.

  • Various buckets filled with food scraps like banana peels, onion skins, and kale being repurposed for chicken feed.
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    Alamy
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    US Food Waste Pact reports progress on diversion

    The data shows increased composting and anaerobic digestion in 2024, though retailers’ still wasted $26.9 billion worth of food.

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    Getty Images
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    ‘Dalilah law’ legislation calls for English proficiency testing

    A new federal bill suggests that anyone with a commercial driver’s license would need to be recertified by a state within six months.

  • An aerial view of three waste trucks in a landfill site; the surrounding area contains waste and dirt.
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    Alamy
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    Major public waste companies spent nearly $3.3B on M&A in 2025

    The combined spending from WM, Republic Services, Waste Connections, GFL Environmental and Casella was down year over year, but that’s largely due to a major deal in 2024. 

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    [Screenshot]. Retrieved from Senate Environment and Public Works committee.
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    John Busterud, head of EPA waste office, to depart in March

    The OLEM assistant administrator, who cited health concerns for his exit, leaves the top role just months after his nomination was confirmed. The office leads Superfund, RCRA and other waste-related programs.

  • Bales of crushed plastic bottles, most of them green in hue.
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    Getty Images
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    Reclaimers: No quick fix to weather plastics markets storm

    Speakers at the Plastics Recycling Conference said they're more positive on longer-term solutions like recycled content mandates, contract changes and other supply drivers from policies like EPR.

  • A residential neighborhood scene featuring a blue Republic Services garbage truck collecting compostable yard waste. A worker in a bright yellow vest loads large brown paper leaf bags into the truck. A row of suburban houses and overcast skies form the backdrop.
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    Alamy
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    Republic Services acquires second Kansas landfill of the year

    The C&D landfill owned by Cornejo & Sons builds on another transaction that Republic closed in February. The company plans to continue to spend aggressively on M&A this year.

  • The National Labor Relations Board headquarters building on Half Street in Washington, D.C.
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    Ryan Golden/Waste Dive
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    NLRB applies Browning-Ferris joint employer standard at court’s direction

    Following the D.C. Circuit’s instructions, the board agreed to apply its embattled 2015 framework in one case, but said it still adheres to its stricter 2020 interpretation. The case traces back to a California MRF.

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    Permission granted by Clean Earth/Harsco Corporation
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    Enviri brings back former CFO and provides Clean Earth update

    The company expects the antitrust review period to expire on March 9, after which the sale of Clean Earth to Veolia is expected to move toward closing by mid-year.

  • Conveyor processing compost at a landfill from consumer collection program
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    Getty Images
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    Producers, composters renew push for federal rulemaking on compost

    “This national leadership is needed now more than ever to provide market certainty for the US supply chain,” BPI wrote in a letter to the USDA signed by Georgia-Pacific, the Foodservice Packaging Institute and dozens of others.

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    Retrieved from DTG Recycle on May 16, 2024
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    Macquarie exits DTG Recycle with sales to founder, Waste Connections

    The investment firm purchased the Washington-based C&D company in 2022. Founder Dan Guimont has returned to run the business, with select assets divested to Waste Connections.

    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.

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    Getty Images
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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.

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    Getty Images
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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.