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

    All American Waste recently acquired a longtime Connecticut hauler; Nexwaste launched with three Texas C&D acquisitions; Casella acquired a New York hauler; Laurel Mountain Capital acquired a Colorado hauler.

    Updated April 15, 2025
  • An environment engineer's blue gloved hand collects wastewater samples from industrial canals in a test tube in the morning with trees in the background blurred.
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    onuma Inthapong via Getty Images
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    State bills tackling PFAS in biosolids advance

    A bill in Washington would require wastewater facility operators to test PFAS levels in their biosolids. It’s the latest state legislative effort to address a problem increasingly attracting attention.

  • View of Rhode Island statehouse
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    sgoodwin4813 via Getty Images
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    Packaging groups support combo EPR, bottle bill legislation in Rhode Island

    A commission on plastic bottle waste recommended combo legislation as one path forward. Some packaging and recycling group leaders said in an op-ed that the state “can learn from, and leapfrog, other states” with a new bill.

  • A man speaks at a podium
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    EPA’s Zeldin says agency will announce PFAS updates in ‘coming weeks’

    During a Monday press conference, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said unspecified PFAS announcements were on the way and noted the agency is well aware of waste industry concerns over potential PFAS regulatory impacts.

  • A flame burns out of a metal stack against a dark sky
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    The image by Carl Young is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
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    Colorado draft landfill emissions rule features faster well installation, remote monitoring

    The rule would bring Colorado in line with other states that have taken a stronger stance than the federal government on landfill methane emissions.

  • an e-bike battery
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    Courtesy of Lime
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    Redwood Materials partners with Lime to recycle scooter batteries

    The companies say the partnership will shore up domestic supply of critical materials and improve battery recycling supply chains. Recyclers hope such partnerships can prevent related fires.

  • Workers collect waste on a street in Point Lookout, New York
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    Bruce Bennett via Getty Images
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    Deep Dive

    What the pandemic means for waste and recycling five years later

    While the “essential worker” spotlight may have faded and business is largely back to normal, certain effects still linger when it comes to labor investments and recycling streams.

  • A room full of people seated, with two standing, in a conference room at the MassDEP offices.
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    Cole Rosengren/Waste Dive
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    Massachusetts EPR commission starting with paint, mattresses, batteries

    The MassDEP-led group launched this week with discussions about how to advance legislation in various categories, including packaging.

  • Several large plastic waste bins sit directly in front of a building in a fenced-off area. One of them reads "Food & Yard Waste"
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    Jacob Wallace/Waste Dive
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    New York City pauses curbside organics enforcement

    The city issued tens of thousands of warnings before enforcement began on April 1, but Mayor Eric Adams has since paused that plan through the end of the year for most building owners.

    Updated April 18, 2025
  • a close up of syringes in packaging
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    Mikhail Dmitriev via Getty Images
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    Healthcare packaging an untapped chemical recycling feedstock: report

    The Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council says its multi-year research into chemical recycling for healthcare packaging shows the material is an untapped feedstock that could help overcome collection and processing hurdles.

  • A biodiesel tanker truck delivers used vegetable oil from restaurants to a facility where it will be converted into biodiesel.
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    Melanie Conner via Getty Images
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    Bipartisan groups reintroduce pro-biofuel bills in Congress

    One bill would extend the a tax credit through 2034, while another would add a $1-per-gallon tax credit for renewable natural gas sold as fuel. Their reintroduction comes amid division over the future of clean energy credits.

  • Black trash bin next to blue recycling bin, which has lid propped open
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    MattGush via Getty Images
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    Q&A

    Inside The Recycling Partnership’s policy pivot

    Founder Keefe Harrison said the organization’s shift toward recycling policy advocacy has helped spark improvements to recycling systems that can’t be accelerated with grant programs alone.

  • A truck trailer has the Arcwood Environmental logo emblazoned on the side
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    Permission granted by Arcwood Environmental
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    Q&A

    Arcwood CEO HP Nanda talks rebrand, new incinerators and tariffs

    One year after EQT Infrastructure acquired a majority stake in Heritage Environmental Services, the company has rebranded to Arcwood Environmental. It caps off a period of expansion with fresh leadership.

  • donald trump signs an executive order at his desk
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    Anna Moneymaker via Getty Images
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    Trump administration ordered to resume IRA funding

    The decision, which stated federal agencies lacked authority to pause funding, follows the president’s executive order to freeze the money on his first day in office. 

  • Several people wearing hard hats and construction vests stand around an engineering map.
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    (2025). [Photograph]. Retrieved from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
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    EPA speeds up West Lake Landfill cleanup timeline after Zeldin visit

    The changes mean responsible parties, which include Republic Services, could hire a contractor to begin remediation work 12 to 18 months sooner than previously expected.

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    Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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    EPA confirms SWIFR, REO grant funding disbursement on track

    EPA will move forward with awarding the second round of solid waste and recycling grants. The news comes after uncertainty over the status of numerous federal funding opportunities for the waste and recycling sectors.

  • The exterior of the Environmental Protection Agency in Washington, D.C.
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    Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
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    Trump targets state climate laws, escalates deregulatory agenda

    The White House is targeting state laws related to climate and environmental justice, which could ensnare waste laws covering organics or landfills. It also told federal agencies they can repeal certain rules without public comment.

  • A man wearing a suit and tie sits at a wooden desk and speaks into a microphone.
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    [Video]. Retrieved from YouTube.
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    Generate Upcycle takes parting shots at Michigan regulators as digester shuts down

    Executives have characterized the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy as hostile to the Fremont Regional Digester, which Generate Upcycle has owned since 2017.

  • Clear plastic bottles
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    golubovy via Getty Images
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    4 ways tariffs could impact recycled plastic markets

    Recycling industry analysts say high-level trends affecting markets and manufacturing will affect recyclers as trade war uncertainties continue.

    Updated April 10, 2025
  • United States map with recycling arrows superimposed on top
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    Photo Illustration: Shaun Lucas/Industry Dive; Getty Images

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    Tracker

    Tracking recycling laws by state

    An EPR for packaging bill continues to advance in Washington. A similar bill was recently approved in Maryland and awaits the governor’s signature.

    Updated April 16, 2025
  • Federal recycling legislation
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    Danielle Ternes / Waste Dive
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    Tracker

    Tracking the future of US recycling policy in Congress

    The House reintroduced the bipartisan Recycling Infrastructure and Accessibility Act, a bill that would offer grants to improve recycling access in underserved communities. 

    Updated April 11, 2025
  • Aerial view of an industrial facility showing three similar-looking receptacles that are several stories tall.
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    Permission granted by WIN Waste/Travis Satiritz
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    Maryland lawmakers vote to end renewable subsidy for incineration

    The move to repeal waste incineration from the state’s Renewable Energy Portfolio Standard was tucked into a broader energy package. It could cost operators like Win Waste millions in lost subsidies.

  • Firefighters in red, black and yellow protective gear spraying white aqueous film-forming foam to extinguish a fire.
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    Sviatlana Lazarenka for iStock via Getty Images
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    New Mexico governor signs 2 laws banning PFAS

    The newly signed laws ban PFAS in most products and designate PFAS-containing firefighting foam as a hazardous waste, a move to more tightly regulate PFAS cleanups in the state.

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    Mark Wilson via Getty Images
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    Maryland EPR for packaging bill heads to governor’s desk

    The bill calls for reimbursing key recycling collection, transportation and processing costs in the state, including for organics. Maryland would be the sixth state with packaging EPR if Gov. Wes Moore signs the bill. 

  • A facade of a portion of the U.S. Department of Agriculture building
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    Douglas Rissing via Getty Images
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    USDA tells digester funding applicants to remove diversity, climate language

    The announcement means federal funding for anaerobic digesters on dairy farms could be unpaused for applicants willing to change project language.