Mandatory standards play an important role in removing the worst actors from the market. These rules set the floor of acceptable performance and enforcement; verified data and public trust demonstrate how the system performs. Fifty years ago, RCRA was signed and within a decade the number of municipal landfills had been cut roughly in half. Similar lessons are playing out today: a county lawsuit testing landfill compliance, a leading zero waste certification raising its bar, EPR advocates asking who will hold producers to account, and a Michigan county restarting its search for a recycling center site after residents objected.
The big picture
This Week in Waste
Fifty Years After RCRA, Landfill Rules Still Depend on Enforcement
President Ford signed the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) on Oct. 21, 1976. Before it, open dumps made up 94% of land disposal sites. Municipal landfills fell from 18,500 in 1979 to 9,300 by 1986, and roughly 40% of landfills closed after the Subtitle D rules. Enforcement is still the test. This month, Harris County, Texas, sued a WM subsidiary in federal court to close the Hawthorn Park Landfill near Houston, alleging methane above the regulatory limit at the property boundary from 1995 through 2025 and arsenic and barium in groundwater above maximum contaminant levels. The county says methane could reach explosive concentrations in a storm sewer it plans along the site’s southern edge. WM says it does not comment on pending litigation.
Key takeaway: Local governments that host or contract for disposal capacity should ensure that landfill performance meets minimum legal performance criteria, not just confirmation that a permit is current.
Sources: Waste Dive (RCRA at 50) · Smart Cities Dive · Waste Today (Hawthorn Park)
TRUE Zero Waste Certification Raises Its Bar in First Major Update
The U.S. Green Building Council launched TRUE v2, the first major update to its roughly 10-year-old zero waste certification. The maximum score rises from 81 to 100 points, with points rebalanced to bring in projects just starting out while still rewarding high performers. Projects still need 90% diversion, and incineration and waste-to-energy do not count toward it. An optional pre-certification step and a new digital platform, Arc, help applicants measure and verify performance. TRUE has helped certify more than 680 projects that have diverted 8.9 million tons of waste, and Colgate-Palmolive alone reports 53 certified projects in 27 countries.
Key takeaway: Facility-level certification is growing as disposal costs rise. Haulers and local governments serving certified businesses should expect more requests for verified, site-level diversion data.
Sources: Waste Dive
From SWEEP: How The SWEEP Standard Works explains how SWEEP certification is structured for local governments and waste industry service providers.
Lack of Community Input Can Stall or Cancel Waste Projects
A Genesee County, Michigan, project illustrates the importance of involving affected community members when conceiving and executing waste projects. After residents raised concerns about its proximity to neighborhoods, Genesee commissioners are looking for a new site for a planned year-round recycling center, which would also take electronics and household hazardous waste. A former dairy facility on the original site has already been demolished, and commissioners say about $1.5 million has been spent. In 2023, residents of Montrose Township in the same county learned of a proposed 80-acre landfill two days before an open house; the planning commission later approved the county plan without it.
Key takeaway: Consultation costs least before money is spent. Before buying or clearing a site, give residents real notice, share expected traffic, odor and safety impacts, and show how their input changes the plan.
Sources: Waste Dive (Genesee County) · WNEM (Montrose Township)
Featured from SWEEP
Latest from SWEEP
Interstate Waste Flow: 2025 Data. Interstate shipments of municipal solid waste reached about 58 million tons in 2025, up 3.3% from the year before, according to Waste Business Journal estimates. As local landfills close and new sites stall, waste travels farther, and a small number of large regional facilities take a growing share.
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This week’s news shows enforcement, verified data and community trust influencing how waste systems actually perform. 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.