It's been a busy, at times hectic, week in national news. But don't worry if you found it hard to filter out the noise and focus in on waste and recycling — we've got you covered.

This week saw a breakthrough report about labor, news about Houston's recycling system and an exclusive Waste Dive interview.

Ready? Let's go.

Stories that drove the week

A new report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City showed men are leaving the workforce in record numbers.

• "Prime age" men — those between 25-54 — have been leaving the workforce in unprecedented numbers since the 1960s.
• It in part has to do with the types of skills that are required of midlevel workers. As required skills change, some people are forced out of the workforce, which can create a "vicious cycle," according to one economist.

This news isn't a big surprise for the waste industry, where workers are mostly male and retention is difficult. One of the biggest areas of concern is finding qualified drivers due to the training costs and safety risks. Leading company Waste Management recently disclosed that about 50% of drivers and mechanics leave their jobs within their first 2 years.

Houston is considering extending its recycling contract with Waste Management for one more year until its new long-term deal with FCC Environmental takes effect.

• The city's existing contract with WM is set to expire next month, with the extension taking the contract through March 25, 2019. 
• FCC's contract is set to start next year once the company's new MRF is constructed. That process is expected to take about 14 months.

Houston has had many decisions to make regarding its recycling system, from back-and-forth debates over the new contract, to dealing with service interruptions after Hurricane Harvey. The extension isn't expected to cost the city any extra money, as its original budget discretion has not been fully spent.

Waste Dive Reporter Cole Rosengren traveled to Chattanooga, TN this week for the first-ever Measurement Matters Summit. The event was a culmination of EPA-facilitated state collaboration that started in the city nearly 10 years ago.

• The logistical challenges of gathering standardized data from cities and states are steep, in part because the value of this work isn't always recognized by those that might fund the effort. "Often leaders don't appreciate how fundamental and how important it is to invest in measurement," said Kathleen Salyer, deputy director of EPA's Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery, while speaking about the agency’s broader sustainable materials management work.
• Making that case, especially to legislators in charge of agency budgets, may mean doing more to show the economic benefits of recycling. "That message is not out there," said Southeast Recycling Development Council Executive Director Will Sagar. "We’ve got a tremendous challenge in front of us to overcome that and we’re only going to overcome that with hard data."

Using that data to a useful end is a core part of making the case for collecting it in the first place. The Environmental Research & Education Foundation is finalizing a report that compares the plethora of diversion and "zero waste" goals often set by governments. As many of those goals approach their target dates, cities and states are realizing the limitations of weight-based diversion metrics. Figuring out how to organize and track this work through sustainable materials management was another common theme. 

In an exclusive interview with Waste Dive, Executive Director of Recycle Across America Mitch Hedlund laid out her vision for "fixing" recycling in America.

• Her fundamental argument is "education" won't fix recycling, because recycling bins look different in different areas around the country. Instead, label standardization is the way to go.
• Hedlund said the industry is "at risk of losing recycling" until the public's experience at the recycling bin is fixed.

Hedlund discussed the efficacy of single-stream versus dual-stream, the risks from China's import restrictions and much more. 

The latest in M&A

Savage Services announced the acquisition of EnviroServe, a waste hauling company with offices in the Eastern U.S., which provides services across the country and in Canada.

The Suez CEO said a merger with French company Veolia would "destroy a lot of value."

Did we miss a merger or an acquisition? Let us know by emailing cboteler@industrydive.com.

How are Chinese import policies playing out across the U.S.?

The past couple weeks have seen continuing ripple effects around the country. Starting in the Pacific Northwest, Oregon is seeing increasing challenges. Multiple counties have now limited their lists of accepted materials, more disposal concurrences have been approved by the state and the Portland area is beginning to more publicly recognize markets won't improve any time soon. Talk of domestic infrastructure investment is ongoing, but not a near-term solution. In Washington, one small city suspended drop-off service for everything but cardboard.

Nearby in Idaho, the screws tightened further for Twin Falls. Similar to Boise, the city now faces a decision about whether to raise rates, suspend recycling service, or something in between after already dropping mixed plastics from its program earlier this year.

On the East Coast, Sonoco Recycling recently informed customers that rates would be going up, citing low prices for mixed paper as a particular issue. This increase has adversely affected companies such as Pink Trash who don't have existing contracts with the recycler.

Farther north, the Pennsylvania Recycling Market Center has come out with new guidance and some unique perspective from contacts in China.

You can follow all of this information on our 50 state tracker page. Tips and feedback are highly appreciated.

Other stories from the week...

• DSNY announced 30,000 more residential customers in the Bronx are getting curbside organics collection.
• A meeting over the Renewable Fuel Standard at the White House once again ended with no deal in sight.
• New York lawmakers are considering a statewide ban on plastic bags, while Utah lawmakers are considering a preemption bill in the state.
• Advanced Disposal and Covanta posted their Q4 earnings, both showing growth.
• The world's first plastic-free grocery aisle opened in Amsterdam, in an attempt to cut down on plastic waste.