Dive Brief:

• The National Waste & Recycling Association (NW&RA) and the Solid Waste Association of North America (SWANA) issued joint comments in response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) proposed rules that would update the Standards of Performance for Municipal Solid Waste landfills. 
• The organizations say they are concerned about what they feel are unnecessary new regulations that could potentially cause undue expense on a substantial number of landfills; in addition, new requirements could disrupt current progress in reviewing standards. 
• The organizations also noted that the rules may create redundancies that will impede efficiency at landfills. Operations could slow, efficiency could be hampered, and costs could rise -- without any additional environmental benefit, according to the groups. 

Dive Insight:

NW&RA and SWANA represent the public and private waste and recycling industry. The groups warned that the proposed rules could also prevent new renewable energy projects from being developed.

The EPA expects to publish its final rule in 2015 -- and the agency can expect plenty of opposition from industry groups.