Industry News

Mergers & Acquisitions

Superior USA Waste acquires SDS Roll-Off Dumpsters

Superior USA Waste, a Shawnee, Oklahoma-based environmental services holding company, has acquired SDS Roll-Off Dumpsters, a solid waste management company offering commercial and residential roll-off collection services to customers across central Oklahoma. The acquisition is the company’s third, according to a news release.

“SDS is a perfect fit for us strategically as we continue our strategy of expanding and densifying within Oklahoma,” Superior USA Waste CEO Billy Dietrich says. “We are very impressed with what the SDS team has accomplished, and we are committed to delivering the same high-quality service to both existing and new customers.”

Superior partnered with Red Dog Equity LLC, an Atlanta-based private equity firm, which, through its partnership with Chicago-based Monroe Capital and Tom Pritzker’s family business interests (advised by The Pritzker Organization), has additional equity capital available to fund Superior’s future acquisitions. Monroe Capital also provides debt financing for Superior USA Waste.

“It has been a pleasure working with Billy and the Superior USA Waste team, and it is evident they share our commitment to best-in-class customer service,” says Ira Romine, owner of SDS.

Legislation & Regulations

Maine legislators approve food waste recycling mandate

Maine legislators have voted to approve a bill that would keep commercial food waste out of landfills by requiring some large producers to donate edible leftovers and recycle food scraps at Maine’s five organic recycling facilities, the Press Herald reports.

The House voted 76-64 to adopt the bill, and the bill then passed in the Senate with a 20-12 vote.

“The bill has the ability to help reach the state goal of reducing solid waste below a half-ton per capita,” says Rep. Stanley Zeigler Jr., who introduced the bill. “Unfortunately, right now, a lot of our waste is food.”

Maine’s solid waste policy calls for reduction, when possible, followed by reuse, recycling or composting, with landfill or incineration to be used as a last resort. By diverting scraps from the waste stream, the bill would save landfill space and reduce municipal tipping fees, if signed by the governor.

Food waste producers would have to donate edible food before resorting to agricultural use, such as feeding animals, or to recycling, such as composting or anaerobic digestion for the production of fertilizer, biogas or animal bedding.

Critics of the bill include the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, which argues that the legislation is well-intentioned but ahead of its time for a state that lacks the infrastructure to make it successful. Critics say most large-scale food waste producers already recycle what they can.

If the bill is signed by the governor, enforcement would begin in 2026 for businesses generating 2 tons of food waste per week and located within 20 miles of an organics recycler. In 2028, enforcement would broaden to producers that generate 1 ton of food waste per week and are located within 25 miles of a recycler.

Maine is the only New England state that does not have a food waste law in the books. In 2022, almost 60,000 tons of food waste were sent to Maine landfills, according to the report.

Association News

NWRA, Together for Safer Roads partner on fleet safety training

The National Waste & Recycling Association (NWRA), Arlington, Virginia, and Together for Safer Roads (TSR), New York, have partnered to extend the Focus on Fleet Safety Training Program to independent haulers in the waste and recycling industry.

TSR says its Focus on Fleet Safety Training Program helps independent fleet operators develop a safety culture with best practices drawn from TSR’s group of fleets and technology companies. The program is structured around training development, safety leadership and technology and includes executive coaching and before-and-after benchmarking.

“Small to midsize fleets account for roughly 88 percent of all commercial fleets on the road,” TSR Executive Director Peter Goldwasser says. “The Focus on Fleet Safety Training Program is a commitment to saving lives and creating safer roads. We are excited to partner with NWRA and to be recognizing the integral role that independent haulers play in the waste and recycling industry.”

Through its collaboration with NWRA, TSR seeks to address the challenges and needs of the waste and recycling industry.

“Our partnership with TSR and the expansion of their Focus on Fleet Safety Training Program underscore our dedication to ensuring that every operator, regardless of size, has access to the tools and knowledge needed for a comprehensive fleet safety program,” says Kirk Sander, chief of staff and vice president of safety and standards at NWRA. “We’re not just promoting compliance; we’re fostering a culture of safety that goes above and beyond.”

NWRA and TSR are in the process of identifying fleets to participate in the new Focus cohort. For more information, visit www.togetherforsaferroads.org.

Landfills

New Hampshire legislators pass moratorium on new landfill permits

The New Hampshire House of Representatives has passed a bill that would place a moratorium on new landfill permits until 2028 and also is considering bills that would either change or clarify landfill siting and regulations.

The state is grappling with a new 10-year solid waste plan and outdated laws and regulations, reports InDepthNH.org. States including Massachusetts, Maine and Vermont have adopted solid waste plans that include landfill closures and have turned to New Hampshire as an attractive place to transfer waste, essentially turning New Hampshire into a “dumping ground” for surrounding states, the report adds.

The state’s House Environment and Agriculture Committee held public hearings on three bills that would either change or clarify landfill siting and regulations as well as House Bill 1630, the moratorium. The bill originated in a solid waste study committee that met last year and a New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services report that said the state’s landfills have ample capacity to continue taking waste until 2034.

The proposed legislation was prompted by Rutland, Vermont-based Casella Waste Systems’ proposal to construct a new landfill in Dalton near Forest Lake State Park, according to the New Hampshire Bulletin, which has prompted statewide policy debate over solid waste.

Rep. David Rochefort, the bill’s sponsor, says the moratorium would allow the state to explore advanced recycling, composting, incineration and greater utilization of recycled products to decrease the waste going into landfills.

“There is not any intention here to eliminate landfills entirely; they are a necessary evil we have to deal with,” Rochefort says. “It’s really a pause to find the most elegant solution to this issue with so many moving parts. We do have the capacity here in New Hampshire.”

The bill would not stop the department from accepting applications or investigating the applications.