The first SWEEP Newsletter of each month focuses on larger, longer-term issues facing the waste industry. In August we are looking at the growth of battery fires, the jumble of PFAS legislation across multiple states, whether EPR’s promise can deliver, and how robots and AI can make recycling more effective and efficient.
The big picture
This Month in Waste
Lithium-Ion Battery Safety Consolidates Into Cross-Industry Standards
With 448 US and Canadian battery fires reported in 2025 and 52 in just the first two months of 2026, battery fires are the fastest growing and most expensive safety issue in the waste and recycling industry. What began as isolated company response plans has evolved into coordinated industry action: CDRA, NWRA, SWANA and ReMA have held joint sessions since January, SWANA formed a dedicated battery work group, and SWANA partnered with Fire Rover on incident reporting tools. The associations have signaled more joint guidance is coming as vaping devices and e-bike batteries keep entering the waste stream in growing volumes.
Key takeaway: A safety issue that used to be handled company by company is now being addressed through coordinated, cross-association standards — a sign of how seriously the industry is treating the risk.
Sources: Recycling Today ·
SWANA
PFAS Regulation Expands Beyond Landfills Into Biosolids and Wastewater
PFAS oversight has broadened steadily from landfill leachate, which has by far the highest concentrations of PFAS, to the full materials chain, where these compounds have increasingly been found in biosolids compost and organic municipal solid waste-based compost. Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia have all advanced biosolids monitoring rules since spring, while Maine and Connecticut have already banned biosolids in land application. EPA published draft guidance on PFOA and PFOS in biosolids in June, and New York has moved toward requiring composters using biosolids to test for PFAS. In the absence of mandatory EPA requirements, each state has taken a different regulatory approach, creating a fragmented compliance landscape.
Key takeaway: While compounds like PFOA/PFOS are clearly tied to cancer and other major human health concerns, PFAS as a class is a situation where litigation and legislation are running ahead of the science — leaving national and regional operators to comply with a patchwork of state rules rather than a single federal standard.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Pennsylvania DEP
State EPR Programs Shift From Legislation to Live Implementation
The last several months mark a turning point for packaging EPR, moving from statute to initial PRO operations. Oregon reached its first full year under the country’s first packaging EPR program in July, Washington packaging producers hit a Circular Action Alliance registration deadline, California’s SB 54 producer registration took effect, and textile and carpet EPR programs advanced in California and New York respectively. NERC’s tracking shows this pattern repeating across the Northeast.
Key takeaway: As noted in last week’s newsletter, the real litmus test for EPR is how fast and how effectively the resources are implemented, not just whether the programs get off the ground.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Recycling Today
AI and Robotics Move From Pilot to Core MRF Infrastructure
Since spring, AI-driven sorting has shifted from scattered pilots to standard capital planning. Waste Connections now expects roughly $100 million in EBITDA improvement from AI programs as they mature, and deployments like AMP Robotics’ Neuron system and Tetra Pak’s carton-sorting investment with Recycleye have scaled across dozens of facilities. Industry forecasts now put North America ahead of other regions on AI adoption, driven by labor shortages and pressure for cleaner recyclate.
Key takeaway: AI sorting has crossed the line from experimental technology to a line item in capital budgets — a sign that MRF operators expect it to pay for itself.
Sources: Yahoo Finance ·
Grand View Research
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From coordinated battery fire safety standards to a fragmented state-by-state approach to PFAS, EPR programs moving from statute to live operations, and AI sorting becoming standard capital planning, this month’s news shows an industry in the middle of real, structural change. A measurable, third-party standard is how that change gets held to account. Join SWEEP and help set the standard for what good waste management actually looks like.
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