ESG in the Waste and Recycling Industry

Emissions from the waste sector ticked up in 2023, snapping a three-year streak of declines, according to a chapter of the U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks report released by the U.S. EPA.

Waste emissions totaled 165.8 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in 2023, compared to 165.1 million metric tons of CO2e the prior year, per the report.

Landfills continue to represent roughly three-quarters of the waste sector's emissions. They contributed 119.5 million metric tons of CO2e in 2023, up slightly year over year but below 2021 levels. Wastewater treatment is the second largest contributor to the waste sector's emissions with 21.1 million metric tons of CO2e. Composting is the third largest contributor with 2.6 million metric tons of CO2e. 

Overall gross emissions in the U.S. declined 2.3% from 2022 to 2023, according to an executive summary of the report. The country's overall methane emissions have declined 21.4% since 1990, the report's baseline year.

The EPA was set to release a full version of the 2023 report in 2025, but it was reportedly paused following the change in administration. A draft version of the waste chapter was one of two, along with agriculture, to be released by the agency.

The Environmental Defense Fund obtained a copy of the full, completed report via a Freedom of Information Act request after the EPA declined to publish it or submit it to the United Nations, something it's done since the late 1990s. The agency has not commented publicly on its decision to forego publishing the report.

The Trump administration has targeted emissions reporting efforts in recent months, including through proposed changes to the EPA’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program. Environmental groups argue such changes would reduce transparency and data availability at a time when global agreements demand a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The agency has said it would consider longstanding waste industry concerns about the accuracy of landfill emissions estimates in its program changes.

Landfills are the third largest source of methane emissions in the country, behind enteric fermentation in cattle and natural gas systems. Overall methane emissions fell 2% year-over-year in 2023, in part due to a decrease in beef cattle populations and decreased emissions from natural gas distribution, transmission and storage. While landfill emissions increased over the short term, improved landfill gas collection systems and landfill closures reduced the facilities’ emissions by 39.6% between 1990 and 2023.

The EPA continually updates its emissions estimates for each sector, including waste. That means data from last year's report has since been updated and looks different in the latest report. The agency noted that changes to MSW and industrial waste landfill activity data, as well as wastewater and anaerobic digestion estimates, resulted in lower emissions estimates for the industry across multiple years. 

The annual report also tracks greenhouse gas emissions from incineration of waste in its energy chapter. MSW combustion created 12.4 million metric tons of CO2e in 2023. That's down 3.7% from waste incineration emissions in 1990, and is roughly the same as 2021 and 2022 levels.

As the waste industry waits for the U.S. EPA to kick off a formal rulemaking on landfill air emission regulations, key voices are providing feedback on a series of white papers released by the agency in 2024.

The 10 papers provided an early glimpse into EPA’s thinking on several variables it could tweak in a future landfill regulation. They covered topics like cover material, aerial and fenceline monitoring, organic waste diversion and gas collection and control systems. The non-regulatory public docket for the white papers initially closed on Jan. 23, but that deadline was extended until May 23.

The agency is overdue to update its New Source Performance Standards and Emissions Guidelines for new and existing MSW landfills. The process is meant to occur every eight years, though the last update in 2016 wasn’t fully implemented until 2021.

The agency acknowledged its tardiness in 2024, and announced plans to update the rules in 2025. The EPA did not respond to a request for an updated timeline on its rulemaking.

Industry groups including NWRA and SWANA, research groups such as FluxLab and environmental groups like GAIA all provided comments in a public docket. 

Among the commenters, there was a divide between groups who favored mainstreaming the use of new emissions technologies and those who felt measurement technologies like satellites and drones were too new to replace standard surface emissions monitoring (SEM) methods.

NWRA and SWANA issued joint comments on the white papers.

On the whole, the two industry groups favored a status quo approach to regulation. They opposed bans on open landfill gas flares, new biocover requirements for intermediate cover, earlier installation of gas collection and control systems, a reduced working face size and other changes. 

On aerial monitoring technologies like drones, plans and satellites, the groups said "we do not believe that any of these technologies are sufficiently developed or available for mandated use through the Landfill Rules at this time, nor would they be appropriate for every site." 

That said, they encouraged continued evaluation of several technologies and practices, including alternative emissions monitoring methods.

Beyond opinions on the white papers, the NWRA and SWANA also urged the EPA to streamline existing regulations for landfill operators and speed up the review process for gas collection and control systems. 

FluxLab, the research group at St. Francis Xavier University, also submitted comments. It urged the EPA to consider setting up a prescribed certification process for aerial monitoring methods for landfills. It believes the technology is ready for widespread use, especially among larger landfills.

The group noted that its own study, conducted in coordination with the Environmental Research & Education Foundation, found that several forms of aerial testing are 40% to 60% more cost-effective than traditional ground methods of SEM, and can be effective. 

GAIA encouraged the EPA to adopt tactics to reduce harm on neighboring communities, noting longstanding environmental justice issues with the siting of landfills near disadvantaged communities. To mitigate harms, the group said EPA should adopt fenceline monitoring requirements, particularly near the active face of a landfill where emissions are highest. 

GAIA also urged EPA to take a closer look at certain pollutants emitted by landfills, particularly benzene and PFAS. On the latter, the group urged EPA to study the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances via both landfill gas and leachate. The EPA could adopt several measures to reduce leachate generation, including improving cover practices, diverting organics, reducing the size of landfills' active face and mandating biocovers, GAIA wrote. 

EPA included among its white papers an exploration of organic waste diversion as part of landfill regulations. It contemplated a credit or alternative compliance system for landfills that engage in such activities, particularly composting, which produces less methane than landfilling. 

NWRA and SWANA argued the proposal was outside the scope of existing landfill regulations, though some industry players have been open to organics diversion projects. Orange County Waste & Recycling, a public entity which operates three landfills and two composting operations in California, urged EPA to streamline the permitting process for composting facilities on landfills.

Other commenters included LoCI Controls, SCS Engineers and the Institute for Local Self-Reliance. The EPA is expected to weigh feedback before issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking for NSPS and EG rules for MSW landfills, after which it will again examine comments before issuing a final rule.

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By GHGSat

With its ability to unlock profit for operators, landfill methane has emerged as a line item on business profit-and-loss statements and as part of boardroom conversations, with detailed methane data being treated as a key performance indicator. One analysis found that a 2.0 MW gas-to-energy project generates about $1.86 in net present value for every $1.00 invested, turning what was once treated as “lost gas” into electricity or fuel—the sale of which can nearly double an operator’s investment into gas capture technology.

Executives and boards have realized that each cubic foot of captured methane is effectively a fuel credit, shifting the conversation from "Are we permitted to emit?" to "How efficiently are we capturing methane?" Innovative technologies like satellites and aircraft now provide operators with detailed insights into where and how much methane is escaping. In the U.S., landfills contribute 14–17% of national methane emissions, and recent studies show that modeled emissions often differ from real measurements, largely due to outdated modeling methods and infrequent ground surveys.

The sections below break down the forces driving this shift, from regulations to revenue-generating opportunities, and explore how emissions data is enabling smarter, faster decisions across the waste sector.

Why Methane Emissions Monitoring Has Taken Center Stage

Historically, methane emissions monitoring has been seen as just a regulatory obligation, calculated using modeled emission estimates and infrequent ground-based surveys. The result? Reported figures that rarely changed year-to-year. But in the past three years, the landscape has shifted.

First, more accurate technologies have come online, revealing that traditional methods are not yielding a full or accurate emissions profile. Persistent, high-volume leaks can go undetected for months if operators rely solely on quarterly walkover surveys or estimates. Operators have relied on theoretical models that assume gas collection systems and covers “work as designed,” often missing leaks in practice. In short, without precise measurement, operators are often in the dark about where and how much methane is leaking.

Second, methane itself is under heightened global scrutiny. With about 155 countries now signed onto the Global Methane Pledge, increasing pressure for rapid emissions reduction, landfills have moved squarely into the spotlight. In North America, both the U.S. EPA and Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) has released rules to curb methane from municipal solid waste landfills. At the regional level, states like California and Colorado rolled out tighter emissions thresholds and even more rigorous monitoring requirements.

This means methane management is now a source of regulatory risk and competitive differentiation. Forward-thinking landfill operators are moving early and using data to get ahead of public accountability.

A Modern, Multi-Tiered Approach: Satellite and Aircraft Monitoring

Leading landfill operators are closing the data gap with a multi-tiered monitoring approach that combines satellite and aircraft-based monitoring. This layered strategy ensures both wide coverage and detailed accuracy, helping operators better understand and manage their emissions footprint at an operationally useful frequency. GHGSat, for instance, offers both types of monitoring, delivering daily to monthly monitoring at the facility level.

Under this strategy, satellites provide broad, frequent coverage at high resolution. This regular cadence means operators can monitor emissions trends, such as changes over time, and identify hotspots quickly without needing to dispatch costly ground crews. The high-resolution measurements uncover cracked covers, leaky flares, and poorly tuned wells that quarterly ground surveys often miss. Indeed, landfill operators only perform surface checks every 3 to 6 months.

Aircraft complement this frequent coverage with near-surface surveys that pinpoint smaller leaks, especially useful during operational changes like new cell openings or gas system upgrades.

By integrating data from both sources, landfill owners gain:

• A full lifecycle view of emissions across active, closed, and transitional cells
• Verification of gas collection system performance
• Targeted identification of leaks requiring repair
• Evidence to support grant applications or carbon offset crediting

Financial Drivers: Unlocking Value Through Emissions Intelligence

Beyond more effective compliance and monitoring, accurate methane data directly translates into financial value. Methane, when captured, is fuel, whether burned for on-site power or upgraded to renewable natural gas (RNG), every captured emission is a monetizable opportunity.

According to the U.S. EPA Landfill Methane Outreach Program, there are more than 500 landfill gas energy (LFGTE) projects in operation across the country. However, only about a third of eligible landfills have gas utilization systems. California regulators estimate that improved monitoring and cover practices could cut landfill methane by ~10% by 2030. Maryland’s landfill gas control rules similarly forecast 25–50% of emissions reductions once fully in place.

Importantly, methane capture can pay back its investment. Market incentives like California’s Low-Carbon Fuel Standard, federal tax credits, and emerging clean fuel tax credits support some landfill RNG producers generating returns exceeding $20 per MMBtu. But these incentives hinge on knowing exactly how much gas is available and proving it.

Direct measurement via monitoring enables an operator to quantify what’s being lost and estimate the economic value of recovery. Methane monitoring is the data layer that enables developers and investors to size systems accurately and validate performance.

Operational Efficiencies: Smarter Maintenance, Optimized Planning

Beyond revenue opportunities, emissions data delivers operational intelligence. Operators can use leak maps to prioritize field inspections, adjust wellfield tuning, or redesign cover strategies. Emission trends identify inefficiencies in blower operation, flare sizing, or vacuum balancing.

For example, if data shows methane escaping from a capped cell, it may indicate a poor seal or an underperforming gas well. ⁣⁣Emissions rising after waste placement may suggest the need for faster well installation or earlier interim cover. These insights enable actions to reduce odor complaints and increase gas capture.

Moreover, emissions trends can guide capital planning. A site preparing for closure can use historical data to forecast post-closure gas production. This supports investment decisions on whether to install permanent controls or pursue gas recovery.

Regulatory Foresight: Get Ahead, Stay Ahead

The regulatory momentum behind methane monitoring continues to evolve. By adopting emissions intelligence tools early, operators can reduce their regulatory risk and boost their credibility. When enforcement does come, whether via state inspections or EPA audits, having robust data already in hand can make the difference between a violation and a clean record. Moreover, data transparency can smooth permitting for expansions or gas projects.

In jurisdictions like California, data-backed methane reductions may also help operators access state funding or participate in incentive programs. Some waste sector stakeholders are already leveraging emissions tracking to demonstrate ESG performance to shareholders and municipal customers.

Community Trust and Reputation Management

Communities living near landfills are increasingly aware of their odor, air quality, and environmental impact. In some cases, legal action has followed large, uncontrolled methane releases.

Transparent emissions monitoring builds trust. Being able to show that a site is proactively managing emissions, responding to leaks, and reducing impact year over year positions landfill operators as responsible stewards. This matters not just to neighbors but also to investors, boards, and buyers who are evaluating climate risk across their portfolios.

Global Trends and Policy Context

Although this article focuses on North America, these trends are spreading worldwide. Rapid urbanization in Asia, Africa, and Latin America means many countries will see landfill emissions rise unless mitigated. Global initiatives reflect this urgency. For example, the United Nations Environment Programme’s Global Methane Pledge (2021) has committed to cutting anthropogenic methane by 30% by 2030. Many countries are updating waste regulations; for example, Canada’s draft rules would halve landfill methane by 2030. The EU’s Landfill Directive already requires gas collection on most landfills, and newer member states are tightening controls.

In this global context, high-resolution and frequent data is key. The historical data from the GHGSat repository provides a compilation of a worldwide baseline of landfill emissions. The figures in those global studies will inform international policy and help waste operators in any country benchmark their performance.

What Landfill Operators Can Do Now

With emissions data becoming a boardroom priority, here are the steps landfill operators can take today to get ahead:

1. Invest in comprehensive monitoring & benchmark current emissions: Use a mix of technologies (satellites, aircraft, and ground sensors) to get frequent, high-resolution methane maps. This fills the gaps left by quarterly surveys, and persistent leaks can be validated and measured quickly. Use this data to establish a baseline for each site.
2. Identify & fix leaks: Leverage emissions data to locate hot spots—then repair covers, realign piping, or adjust well vacuum settings. Studies show these tweaks can raise gas capture rates by double-digit percentages, yielding immediate energy and revenue gains.
3. Capture and monetize methane. Capture and optimize gas collection infrastructure so that more of the measured methane is piped to flares or energy systems. GHGSat's analysis of five U.S. landfills found that capturing methane to produce natural gas could generate more than $1 million in revenue per site annually. Use economic analysis to prioritize projects with the best return (e.g., flares vs. power generation vs. RNG injection).
4. Embed methane metrics in strategy. Track key methane indicators (e.g., emissions rate per ton of waste) in your executive dashboards. Benchmark against industry best practices and set internal targets. Include methane outcomes in ESG reports and investor updates to highlight operational excellence.
5. Engage regulators and stakeholders: Proactively share monitoring results with permitting agencies and local stakeholders. Transparent data demonstrates that you’re “ahead of the curve,” reducing regulatory scrutiny. It also supports grant or rebate applications (e.g., for methane capture technology) by providing verifiable performance metrics.
6. Build monitoring into standard operations: Make emissions intelligence a core part of your risk and asset management strategy.

Looking Ahead

The trend is clear—methane emissions from waste are not just a compliance issue but a strategic one, with potential revenue on the line. With global attention on methane at a peak, executives who capitalize on high-fidelity emissions data will gain an edge. By treating methane intelligence as a boardroom priority, landfill operators can unlock value, reduce exposure, and lead the industry toward a cleaner, more profitable future.

GHGSat is already working with landfill operators across the globe to help plan an effective emissions monitoring strategy—connect with our team to see what's possible.

Truck manufacturers still see a future for hydrogen-powered refuse vehicles despite the recent dissolution of Hyzon, which ran the first U.S. pilot for such vehicles in 2024.

Manufacturers think waste and recycling haulers are a natural fit for the technology, given their proven ability in recent years to pivot to new fuel types like compressed natural gas. 

"This industry works very well at adapting to infrastructure," Tyler Ohlmansiek, director of e-mobility sales at Mack Trucks, said during a panel at WasteExpo on May 7. "That's a leg up for hydrogen in the waste and recycling space."

Hyzon partnered with manufacturer New Way Trucks to deliver the first hydrogen fuel cell-powered refuse hauling vehicle in 2024, and it had begun receiving orders for the model. Recology, GreenWaste and other waste companies conducted pilots of the truck, and found that it was performing as well as diesel-powered trucks in certain applications. 

That early success wasn't enough to keep Hyzon afloat, however. Its board of directors voted to liquidate and dissolve the company in December 2024, and an auction for its assets remains ongoing.

Despite Hyzon's demise, New Way has still received interest in hydrogen fuel cell refuse trucks and is evaluating ways to continue in the space, said Marc de Smidt, senior director of engineering at New Way. That may include partnering with an entity that takes over the defunct company's assets or partnering with another fuel cell manufacturer.

"We're working on getting something out there," de Smidt said. 

Other manufacturers are dipping their toe into the space as well, though mostly for heavy-duty applications beyond waste and recycling hauling. Kenworth was set to begin production this year on a hydrogen fuel cell truck jointly developed by Paccar and Toyota, but that's now delayed. Hyundai has been manufacturing a heavy-duty hydrogen fuel cell vehicle for several years, and recently debuted an updated model at the Advanced Clean Transportation Expo in California. Volvo Group and Daimler also plan to bring a hydrogen fuel cell truck to market this decade through a partnership.

Hydrogen fuel cell-powered trucks face a shifting policy landscape, as the Trump administration has attempted to cut funding for a hydrogen research hub program created during the Biden administration. Critics have also attempted to repeal the Advanced Clean Trucks rule, first created by California and later adopted by other states. They say the rule’s timeline to transition manufacturers away from fossil fuel-powered vehicles is aggressive and unrealistic given the availability and performance of alternatives.

Nevertheless, manufacturers are still eager to make hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles work, in part because sustainability-minded customers are demanding them, said Mitesh Naik, director of product planning and strategy for Peterbilt Motors, a subsidiary of Paccar.

“Despite what happens with regulations, I know two things. Number one: We'll be ready. ... And number two: There's still a lot of ESG-minded customers,” said Naik. “It's not a matter of if, it's just a matter of when.”

The sector’s adoption of battery-electric vehicles has also been growing, albeit slowly. In 2024, 19 new battery-electric refuse vehicles were registered, according to an industry-sponsored report. That number is expected to grow, in part because Republic Services ordered 100 electric McNeilus Volterra waste and recycling vehicles from Oshkosh Corp. in 2024.

Proponents of hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles note the technology can be lighter than the battery packs needed for battery electric-powered heavy-duty vehicles. That means hydrogen trucks may be a better drop-in replacement for diesel trucks on more hauling routes.

One of the key challenges to wider hydrogen truck adoption will be fueling infrastructure, panelists said. As fleets evolve, operators will have to decide where and how they deploy permanent hydrogen fueling stations, often working with third-party partners.

In some cases, fleet operators could position a hydrogen fuel tank on their lots. That could be a quicker interim move to transition fleets, especially given the delays with gas and power utility interconnections that have caused setbacks for other fuel types, said Peterbilt’s Naik.

"OEMs can very quickly produce a truck, deliver a truck to a great partner and customer. But oftentimes the infrastructure is the missing item," he said.

Jim Mendoza, director of equipment, procurement and maintenance for Recology, said haulers are looking for a "one-to-one" replacement for diesel-powered trucks, but "the reality is we may not get to one-to-one."

Instead, he envisions a mixed fleet with some hydrogen fuel cell-powered vehicles, some battery-electric and some internal combustion-powered trucks.

Even so, Mendoza said there are potential upsides beyond the emissions savings touted by proponents of hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. He said the trucks could also be a recruitment tool for haulers, noting Recology drivers didn’t go home smelling like exhaust after the hydrogen fuel cell pilot, making the job more pleasant.

"We don't have that influx of drivers anymore. We have to go shop for them and it's very difficult," Mendoza said. "This is maybe a good story for them.”

Disclosure: Informa, which owns a controlling stake in Informa TechTarget, the publisher behind Waste Dive, is also the owner of WasteExpo. Informa has no influence over Waste Dive's coverage.

The amount of capital invested in U.S. projects across sectors that use biogas grew by 40% year over year in 2024, according to an analysis released by industry group American Biogas Council.

The number of new facilities that came online also increased by 17% year over year, the group revealed, including at landfills, farms and wastewater treatment plants. There are now nearly 2,500 facilities that capture and use biogas in the United States.

The report also reflects how policies that are favorable to renewable natural gas have dominated the industry, as 95% of the 125 projects that came online in 2024 produced RNG.

Those trends reflect growing interest in using biogas for energy or to convert into renewable natural gas, a fuel that can be used in place of petroleum-based natural gas.

The use of biogas for energy has a long history, particularly for wastewater treatment facilities and landfills. The first modern anaerobic digestion plant was built at a sewage treatment site in India in the 1800s, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Biogas capture and use has also become common for U.S. landfills above a certain size due to federal programs like the U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program, which began in the 1990s.

Today, 47% of all biogas capture facilities in the country are at wastewater facilities. An additional 25% are at agricultural facilities, 23% are at landfills and 5% are built to process food waste alone. Codigestion, where multiple feedstocks like food waste, agricultural waste or sewage are processed at the same time, has also become more common.

A growing number of public incentives have made refining biogas a more profitable enterprise as demand increases for fuel not derived from petroleum. Policies like the federal Renewable Fuel Standard and state clean fuel initiatives have led to major growth in the biogas industry, specifically for RNG. 

While 77% of biogas facilities today produce power, 95% of new projects in 2024 produced RNG instead to take advantage of those incentives, per ABC. NREL has previously estimated that RNG could displace about 5% of electric power sector natural gas consumption and 56% of transportation-related natural gas consumption.

"The biogas industry is changing very quickly," Patrick Serfass, executive director of ABC, said in a recent webinar discussing the data.

The landfill sector of the industry saw the least growth year over year, with 24 facilities coming online in 2024 compared to 26 in 2023. Large waste companies previously have complained about construction and permitting delays that slowed project starts, though they remain committed to building dozens of landfill-gas-to-RNG facilities across the country. Even so, landfills account for 72% of total U.S. biogas production capacity due to the high volume of gas they produce.

Agriculture-based digesters grew 24% year-over-year in 2024, the most of any sector in the industry. There are currently 615 such digesters nationwide, with more on the way thanks to continued investment in the space.

Standalone facilities that handle food waste remain the smallest sector in the biogas industry, with 114 operations representing 5% of all biogas facilities. Of those, 52 handled postconsumer food waste while the rest handled pre-consumer industrial food waste. Still, the sector has plenty of room for growth.

"A lot of people in our industry are pretty bullish that the food waste systems will see much more significant growth in the coming years," Serfass said.

ABC projects that more than 15,000 new sites could be developed for biogas use in the U.S., based on capturable gas generation across industry sectors. It notes Germany has nearly 10,000 digesters nationwide, allowing some communities to almost entirely stop using petroleum-based fuels as a result.

ABC advocates for policies that would support additional industry growth, including "tailpipe rules" for medium- and heavy-duty fleets that don't favor electric vehicles over natural gas-fueled vehicles. The group is also pushing to preserve and extend tax credits that support fuel and electricity production, which may be threatened by President Trump’s targeting of Inflation Reduction Act measures.

"Organic waste is everywhere; this is not an urban/rural or red/blue issue," Heather Dziedzic, vice president of policy at ABC, said. "This is nationwide."

Nearly a third of the U.S. food supply ends up wasted, nonprofit ReFed revealed in a report. The roughly 73.9 million tons of surplus food generated in 2023 amounts to 442 pounds of surplus food per capita.

Total wasted food has risen to levels last seen in 2016 after a pandemic-related drop. ReFed said a "significant acceleration in action" is needed to meet the U.S. goal to halve food waste by 2030. 

Currently, 85% of surplus food goes to waste destinations. That includes 24.2 million tons to landfills and 3.03 million tons to incineration, according to the nonprofit’s Insights Engine.

The value of surplus food generated in the U.S. totaled $382 billion in 2023, per the nonprofit. The climate impact of that food is significant, especially if it’s discarded — the U.S. EPA has identified food waste as a major contributor to methane generated in landfills. 

ReFed argues that addressing that wasted food requires a "systemwide" approach. That means increased efforts from food producers and retailers to prevent waste and collaboration with logistics companies and waste haulers to keep organic waste in a closed-loop system. 

Legislation will likely be required to encourage best practices. In the Congressional session that ended last year, 16 bills were introduced that could have impacted food waste, including the Food Date Labeling Act and Compost Act. None of those proposals passed, but ReFed expects some could return as Congress gears up for a belated farm bill, which funds the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The nonprofit is also tracking policies designed to tackle food waste at the state level, and notes bills encouraging alternatives to disposal are on the rise. Last year, ReFed tracked 100 state-level bills that addressed food waste in some form. Of those, 18 passed, seven failed and the rest remain pending. 

Oregon lawmakers, for instance, are currently debating a bill that would require large food waste generators to divert that material to composting. The bill, HB 3018, would also standardize date labels.

A dozen states and Washington, D.C., ban or restrict food from entering landfills, ReFed reported. Twelve states also have codified tax incentives for food donation.

Moving forward, Refed said, policies may need to focus upstream. A study by researchers at the University of California, Davis, found that current state-level policies nationwide can only lead to a 5% reduction in waste generation and overemphasize organics recycling rather than was prevention, food rescue or repurposing wasted food for animal feed.

While long-term funding trends show an increased flow of capital to food waste solutions, the field has seen a decline in recent years. Venture capital funding for such efforts appears to have peaked in 2021, per data from ReFed. And while the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Rescue Plan Act both pumped significant federal dollars into the space, those funding sources are now threatened by the Trump administration.

Federal funding for food waste solutions topped $300 million in 2024, and private funding was roughly $640 million, ReFed reported.

The nonprofit argues large public, private and philanthropic funders that are willing to finance climate mitigation and adaptation projects should focus more of their attention on food waste, noting just 4% of global climate funding to date has gone toward food waste.

"Climate finance entering the food loss and waste sector has fallen critically short of the need," ReFed's team reported. "This current mismatch in capital allocation toward the areas with the greatest impact potential represents a huge opportunity for climate funders to lead in driving real and meaningful change."

Looking ahead, the nonprofit is tracking opportunities to tackle food waste. It notes a rise in the use of artificial intelligence to monitor food for freshness and improve supply chains. It expects policy drivers to continue to improve the landscape as well, with state and federal bills still on the table.

During WM’s Investor Day presentation on June 24, executives offered a vision for long-term stability and investment in sustainable waste management plans into 2027 and beyond. 

The company laid out new 2027 earnings targets along with some details of how it plans to update its infrastructure and asset networks. WM is also continuing its integration of Stericycle, now known as WM Healthcare Solutions, which it expects to drive revenue growth.

WM executives offered a few updates on long-term sustainability projects, which Chief Sustainability Officer Tara Hemmer said position the company to compete in a North American business environment increasingly being shaped by extended producer responsibility laws and disposal diversion policies. Along with recycling and renewable energy infrastructure projects that WM has mapped out through 2026, the company has also invested in organics infrastructure in states like California, as well as in Canada. 

At the same time, CEO Jim Fish said the company has long-term plans for maintaining reliable disposal capacity as both MSW volumes and disposal costs are poised to rise in coming decades. WM’s network of landfills also have longer remaining lives than some of its competitors’, he noted.

WM also sees opportunities in pursuing environmental solutions business in coming years, particularly for hazardous waste, biosolids and PFAS processing and disposal.

Here are some highlights from the event.

Revenue projections and M&A considerations

WM introduced new long-term earnings targets across its business segments, which the company expects will be supported by a balance of organic and inorganic growth. CFO Davina Rankin said the company hasn’t released such long-term projections in more than 10 years. 

WM Healthcare Solutions

Rafael Carrasco, president of WM Healthcare Solutions, said the continued Stericycle integration is already offering new business opportunities. “We have the largest network, we have the largest portfolio of customers, so we're in prime position to really gain more than our fair share of growth from the industry,” he said, noting that WM was able to add its logistics expertise and optimize Stericycle’s previous service delivery model to grow this sector over the next few years.

WM is also focusing on improving its selling, general and administrative expenses in this sector. WM has long mentioned that getting back into healthcare services was an ideal business strategy due to an aging population, Carrasco added that WM Healthcare Waste Solutions now also serves a diverse range of other kinds of clients, including laboratories, schools and even tattoo parlors.

Sustainability segment projections

During a sustainability investor day in 2023, WM announced plans to invest heavily in recycling and renewable energy. Today, policy trends like EPR are a “huge driver” of WM’s continued recycling business, Hemmer said, because it will bring more kinds of materials to recycling facilities. About half of the new and upgraded recycling facilities WM is building in the U.S. or Canada are located in places with an EPR law, she said, with more U.S. states expected to adopt an EPR law in coming years.

Regarding WM’s renewable energy plans, Hemmer said WM welcomed the U.S. EPA’s release of a draft update to the Renewable Fuel Standard, calling the proposed changes a “constructive” turn of events that could help stabilize the broader RIN program over the next three years. That broader stability has contributed to recent RIN prices of about $2.20, she said.

Labor and fleet improvements

WM has reworked some of its employee retention strategies over the years, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic struck in 2020. Pay increases and automation strategies have all helped lower turnover, said President John Morris. Investments in fleets, including safety features such as automatic side loaders and AI-assisted cab technologies, have also played a role. “Maybe it's one of those softer metrics, but any of you who work in the business and have lived through some of the labor strikes that we've seen over the last handful of years will know this has been a big benefit to the organization.”

Landfill capacity considerations

Landfill capacity is a major consideration for the waste industry, and WM executives estimate disposal costs will rise in coming years. WM internalizes about 70% of its entire waste stream. Though Fish did not offer specific numbers, he said WM is well-positioned to expand certain existing landfills in coming decades by purchasing adjacent land, “even in places that aren’t cheap, like Pennsylvania and Florida.”

Business leaders across the economy struggle to meet circularity goals when they lack proper investment or adequate tools to measure progress, according to a new survey from Republic Services and The Harris Poll.

Republic released its findings in a report that includes its Circularity Index, which identifies what the company describes as solutions for better materials management.

The index pitches Republic Services, which serves about 13 million customers across roughly 1,000 locations in North America, as a partner in companies’ moves toward circularity. Republic has been investing in its recycling and hauling infrastructure, including by opening “polymer center” recycling facilities capable of breaking down plastic packaging. Its high degree of visibility into customers' disposal habits gives it the opportunity to target materials that go to disposal in landfills or incinerators and offer an alternative.

"As a key player in the circular economy, we are strategically focused on expanding recycling volume through innovative material handling processes and programs to help our customers achieve their goals related to sustainability and environmentally sound waste practices while also generating an appropriate return," the company noted in its annual report.

Executives on Republic's sustainability team discussed the findings of their Circularity Index, which surveyed 1,200 sustainability officers across 10 industries, on a webinar. The index measures a company’s progress versus its industry peers on three metrics:

• Commitment, which tracks “the extent to which leadership, resources, goals and budget are aligned with circularity-related initiatives.”
• Execution, which tracks “how well an organization plans, implements and measures their progress to achieve their circularity goals.”
• Recovery, which tracks “the degree to which an organization’s circularity programs are achieving waste minimization and diversion, along with increasing material reuse and recycling.” 

A company can reach one of five levels in each category, but the survey found that 45% of all respondents fell into the first two levels, indicating they have “novice” or “emerging” status in achieving their circularity goals. 

Through the survey, Republic’s sustainability team found that respondents sometimes overestimated their recycling commitments. A sizable majority of respondents in the early stages of achieving circularity said that they had implemented recycling across all of their facilities, but Republic's internal data shows only about 20% of its customers have recycling services.

"Those numbers aren't exactly adding up," Kristin Steiner, director of sustainability solutions at Republic, said on the call.

That "reality check" could be addressed with a more thorough accounting of a company's materials management practices, Steiner said. She described waste audits as an essential first step to recognize where a company's opportunities for circular improvements lie. The Circularity Index found that 87% of respondents say they're tracking diversion, but only 19% are calculating and publishing diversion rates, which could lead to a lack of accountability.

Once sustainability officers have identified their company’s opportunities for improvement and a reasonable metric for success, companies need to authorize spending to meet their goals, according to Tony Fritz, Republic Services’ director of sustainability.

"Putting capital to work is a key sign that a company is truly committed to a strategy," Fritz said.

Following an audit, prioritizing items that are high volume or high weight will make a difference, especially if a company has a weight-based diversion goal. The kinds of investment necessary to target those items could include a baler or compactor, floor space, training or added processing or hauling fees.

Some industries, particularly the consumer packaged goods and energy and utilities sectors, are leading on circularity, according to the report. Republic's leaders said this was due in part to a sophisticated regulatory environment, where programs like extended producer responsibility and minimum standards for postconsumer recycled content have driven innovation.

Companies hoping to catch up to those leaders can use the Circularity Index as a guide which provides case studies of successful circular initiatives. Fritz said those examples are emblematic in the “long-tailed opportunity” of taking the process of achieving circularity in stages — starting with certain materials or opportunities like plastic reduction and working outward from there.

“Change is good,” Fritz said. “These all started as strongly performing industries, but working through a circular model gave them opportunities to be even better so they could save on costs and save on their emissions.”

Republic Services also released a modified form of the assessment it used to create the report that anyone can complete online to determine their current level of circularity. 

Like some of its other large peers, Republic also offers consultations for companies looking to go deeper on improving their circularity.