This week’s articles highlight the difficulties in building markets for recovered materials, from the need for adequate infrastructure to process recovered materials, to restrictions on the market for, or disposition of, these materials. They also underscore the cyclical nature of commodity markets and the challenges of leading in an industry undergoing profound changes.
The big picture
This Week in Waste
End-of-Life Battery Critical Minerals Face US Export Restrictions
The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security issued a temporary one-year rule requiring US sellers of battery black mass and tungsten scrap to direct 100% of monthly sales to domestic buyers starting August 27, invoking the Defense Production Act on national security grounds. The Recycled Materials Association called the move well-intentioned but warned it “overlooks critical industry dynamics,” noting domestic battery recycling capacity may take two to four years to scale to meet the mandate. The IEA’s Global Critical Minerals Outlook 2026 found average recycling rates for these materials climbing, though recovery still lags far behind overall demand growth.
Key takeaway: The rule addresses national security concerns around critical minerals, but a domestic recycling industry that needs two to four years to scale to meet a 100% domestic redirection mandate highlights a gap between policy timelines and market readiness.
Sources: Resource Recycling ·
Recycling Today ·
Resource Recycling
OCC Prices Climb Through 2026, Lifting Hauler Commodity Revenue
Old corrugated container (OCC) prices have risen every month in 2026, reaching about $100 per ton nationally after starting the year near $80, though levels remain below the five year average of $140 per ton. Since OCC makes up roughly two thirds of the commodity basket at major haulers, the gains are helping offset weak PET pricing and are expected to lift blended commodity revenue for Republic Services, Waste Connections and GFL Environmental this quarter.
Key takeaway: Analysts expect the OCC tailwind to continue boosting margins through the third quarter, but most project that prices will ease seasonally later this year rather than sustain the current pace.
Sources: Packaging Dive ·
Waste Today
Pennsylvania Proposes First PFAS Monitoring Limits for Land-Applied Biosolids
Pennsylvania’s DEP opened a 60 day comment period, running July 4 to September 2, on draft permits that would set the state’s first PFOA and PFOS monitoring requirements for wastewater treatment plants producing biosolids for land application. The proposed permits also would allow codigestion of food waste at those facilities’ digesters, and the state has acknowledged it lacks the upstream enforcement authority that peer states like Michigan use to control PFAS before it reaches treatment plants.
Key takeaway: Biosolids operators in the mid-Atlantic region should expect PFAS monitoring to become standard practice regardless of federal action and should submit comments before the September 2 deadline if the proposed tiered thresholds would affect current land application practices.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Pennsylvania DEP
SWANA CEO Amy Lestition Burke to Depart After Three Years
The Solid Waste Association of North America announced that CEO and Executive Director Amy Lestition Burke will leave the organization after about three years, during which SWANA credits her with rebuilding its membership base and launching the RCon conference. Carolyn Muller, SWANA’s vice president of industry engagement, will serve as acting CEO while the board conducts a national search, with a goal of naming a permanent successor by year end.
From SWEEP: Announcing the Release of the SWEEP+ Pilot Standard 2.0 looks at how the SWEEP framework is evolving to keep pace with a changing industry, a fitting companion piece as SWANA charts its own next chapter of leadership.
Sources: Waste Dive ·
Resource Recycling
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From new export restrictions on battery critical minerals to OCC prices hitting new highs, Pennsylvania’s first PFAS biosolids monitoring proposal, and a leadership transition at SWANA, this week’s news captures an industry building markets for recovered materials while navigating real constraints, cycles, and change. A measurable, third-party standard is how that progress gets held to account. Join SWEEP and help set the standard for what good waste management actually looks like.
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