What waste programs cost depends less on the materials than on how the system is designed. California’s packaging EPR budget fell by as much as $765 million between the draft and final plans, and organics collection costs vary widely with route design and participation. But good system design needs good data, which can range from fire reports that build the case for battery laws to structural choices for recyclables collection that determine what MRFs can recover.
The big picture
This Week in Waste
California’s Packaging EPR Plan Gets Cheaper, and CAA Gets a New Leader
Circular Action Alliance (CAA) filed its final SB 54 program plan with CalRecycle on Oct. 13. The plan cuts the 2027 budget to $1.105 billion, down from as much as $1.87 billion in the June draft. It also concedes that even PET and HDPE bottles fall more than 10 percentage points short of the law’s 30% plastic recycling target for 2028. CAA Founding CEO Jeff Fielkow is stepping down, with Jeff Meyers as interim CEO.
Key takeaway: California jurisdictions can comment on CAA’s draft reimbursement funding agreement through Oct. 24. Only new costs incurred after Jan. 1, 2023 qualify, so local governments should document program costs now.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Resource Recycling ·
Resource Recycling Policy Now
Vapes and Embedded Batteries Become EPR’s Next Target
New Jersey’s SB 681 would make New Jersey the second state after Maine with a vape EPR law, with lower fees for reusable devices, a first among U.S. vape bills. Meanwhile, California has banned battery-embedded disposable vapes starting in 2027. According to the Product Stewardship Institute (PSI), most of the 11 state battery EPR laws passed since 2022 still exempt products with built-in batteries, which cause many of the more than 5,000 fires each year at waste and recycling facilities. A UK public tracker links vapes to 23% of reported waste system fires, the most of any identifiable cause.
Key takeaway: Better fire data drives better laws. PSI is asking haulers, MRFs and local governments to report fire incidents, anonymously if needed, to support adding embedded batteries to state programs.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Resource Recycling ·
Resource Recycling Policy Now ·
Waste360
Curbside Organics Pays Off When the Whole System Is Redesigned
A Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) study of 10 municipal curbside organics programs found that cities that redesign routes, renegotiate contracts and reduce trash pickup frequency can absorb most of the added cost. Boise reaches 97% participation by charging higher trash fees to households that opt out. Organics tipping fees ranged from $0 to $100 per ton. Based on the study’s figures, per-ton collection costs range from about $200 in a combined food and yard waste program to nearly $2,500 in a small food-only pilot.
Key takeaway: Processing access often decides program cost. Local governments should secure public capacity or lock in long-term rates with private facilities before launching collection.
From SWEEP: Lancaster County Waste Management: The Power of Integration shows how one authority ties collection, recycling and energy recovery into a single system.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
NRDC
New MRF Capacity Depends on How Communities Collect
Republic Services broke ground on a 45-ton-per-hour MRF in Bridgeton, Missouri, opening in 2028 to serve about 3 million residents. Meanwhile, St. Louis, facing contamination rates of up to 60%, replaced alley dumpster recycling with drop-off sites, which increased the actual tonnage recycled by 8%, despite receiving less than half the total tonnage. In Pennsylvania, Pro Disposal used a Closed Loop Partners loan to add four optical sorters, moving from a 5-ton-per-hour hand-sorting line to a 20-ton-per-hour MRF.
Key takeaway: Sorting technology improves bale quality, but collection design sets the quality of material coming in. Cities and MRF operators should plan both together.
Sources: Resource Recycling ·
Waste Dive
Featured from SWEEP
Latest from SWEEP
Announcing the Release of the SWEEP Pilot Standard 2.0. As EPR funding, battery rules and organics programs raise the bar on documentation, the SWEEP Standard gives local governments and businesses a measurable framework to track performance across the whole waste system.
Get Involved
Join SWEEP
This week’s news shows system design, not just the materials themselves, driving what waste programs cost and recover. Certifying to or participating in the development of a measurable, third-party standard defining the future of sustainable materials management can be a hedge against unanticipated change. Join SWEEP and help set the standard for what the future of waste management looks like.
|
⬥ Download the Standard ⬥ Become a Member |