Waste Dive

At an EPA event on Thursday, Administrator Lee Zeldin called the proposal a “major step forward” for providing regulators with better research into microplastics’ health impacts.

Inequities in waste collection and funding are a major global issue, according to an updated report. Upfront investments today will mitigate future expenses that impact climate change and global health, the report states.

The purchase of private equity-backed Star is worth an estimated $100 million in annualized revenue. The company comes with multiple municipal hauling contracts and hauling locations, plus a C&D facility.

The state plans to collect 350,000 gallons in the first year. The program comes a few months after Illinois launched its own PaintCare system and New Hampshire vetoed a plan for a similar program.

The forthcoming plant in the Twin Cities area is backed by a family company with ties to composters that believes anaerobic digestion can complement the region’s organic waste toolkit.

The transaction includes nearly 650 trucks, 24 locations and a landfill. It significantly expands GFL’s footprint in the state, which is built on prior purchases from WCA and Sprint Waste.

Europen said the guidance “still falls short of providing the legal certainty and operational clarity businesses urgently require” ahead of Aug. 12. Implementing acts are still in the works.

Noble Environmental is attempting a new waste-to-rail plan, but the Surface Transportation Board is asking for more information. Meanwhile, the Casella-operated Juniper Ridge Landfill gets another approval from Maine.

EcoVape Recovery offers small-scale collection services for vape waste. Raymond Tucker, a parks service worker and firefighter, also advocates for recycling outlets, infrastructure support and formal vape management rules.

Keefe Harrison shared how the nonprofit is thinking about the PET market crash, supply chain resilience, a loss in federal grants and the divergent funding needs of states with and without EPR laws at a MassRecycle event.

The agency announced it has locked in requirements for the Renewable Fuel Standard through 2027. It tweaked its proposal released last summer, but kept in aspects like a penalty for foreign fuels.

New amicus briefs filed in court this week argue that state and local governments are unable to meet the challenge of preventing PFAS contamination from the land application of sewage sludge.

WM, Republic Services and APR discussed ongoing rPET market instability during a Recycling Partnership webinar. Incentives and trade transparency could help thermoformers and other packaging producers, they said. 

On a webinar hosted by the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, stakeholders in Colorado, Florida and Maryland discussed how local governments can work with composters to maximize diversion.

Officials in the states discussed during a NERC webinar on Wednesday how infrastructure projects and proposed legislation could influence management, destruction and disposal of PFAS in biosolids.

E360s developed the custom truck after a request from the City of Chilliwack as part of a new curbside collection offering. British Columbia aims to ramp up flexible plastic collection as part of EPR. 

The state set a target for investor-owned utilities to procure enough renewable natural gas to meet roughly 12% of the gas used by residences and small businesses. Anaergia expects more projects to meet the demand.

Per-gallon costs surpassed $5 for the U.S. across all major regions this week, putting additional pressure on carriers and shippers.   

The state’s Senate and House must each take a final vote on a pair of bills that would create a new grant program. It builds on previous legislation to promote organics diversion.

The agency seeks public comments on a plan clarifying that pyrolysis is not a form of incineration. It’s a move the chemical recycling industry pressed for, but the agency previously declined to reflect in air emissions standards.