Industry News

Legislations & Regulations

EPA adds 9 PFAS to Toxics Release Inventory list

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has added nine per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the list of chemicals covered by its Toxics Release Inventory.

Their addition was pursuant to the 2020 National Defense Authorization Act, which provides the framework for the automatic addition of PFAS to the inventory each year upon the agency’s finalization of a toxicity value. These nine PFAS were added for the reporting year 2025 because the EPA finalized a toxicity value during 2024.

The compounds include ammonium perfluorodecanoate; sodium perfluorodecanoate; perfluoro-3-methoxypropanoic acid; 6:2 fluoro-telomer sulfonate acid; 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate anion; 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate potassium salt; 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate ammonium salt; 6:2 fluorotelomer sulfonate sodium salt; and acetic acid, [(γ-ω-perfluoro-C8-10-alkyl)thio] derivs., Bu esters.

Toxics Release Inventory data are reported to the EPA annually by facilities in designated industry sectors and federal facilities that manufacture, process or otherwise use listed chemicals above set quantities. The data include quantities of such chemicals that were released into the environment or otherwise managed as waste.

The data collected are available online and help to support informed decision-making by companies, government agencies, nongovernmental organizations and the public.

“EPA continues to make strides in getting information on PFAS into the Toxics Release Inventory so the public can see if these chemicals are being released into their communities,” says Michal Ilana Freedhoff, assistant administrator for the Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. “People have a right to know when facilities in their backyards are releasing toxic chemicals into the environment, and with [the Jan. 6] action, we are providing important information about nine more.”

As of Jan. 1, facilities that are subject to reporting requirements for these chemicals should begin tracking their activities involving these PFAS as required by Section 313 of the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. Reporting forms are due by July 1, 2026.

IC&I

First NYC commercial waste zone is operational

The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) has announced that, following an extensive outreach and education period, the first New York City commercial waste zone is fully operational.

As part of an overhaul of the city’s commercial waste industry, the initiative establishes no-cost contracts with carters authorized to operate in a designated commercial waste zone within the city’s five boroughs.

The first zone to be implemented is Queens Central, which includes Jackson Heights, Corona, Elmhurst and parts of Forest Hills and Ridgewood.

DSNY says it engaged in thousands of contacts with local businesses and sent educational mailers in multiple languages. All businesses have had the opportunity to sign contracts with newly authorized carters, and a majority have done so, the department reports.

To ensure no commercial trash is left on the street, DSNY recently amended the commercial waste zone rules to allow greater flexibility in the amount of service carters provide to businesses that did not actively sign a new carting contract.

While DSNY collects waste, recycling and compostable materials from residents, businesses are required to hire private carters to collect waste, which historically has been an inefficient and hazardous system, the department says.

The city’s Local Law 199 of 2019 was designed to overhaul the commercial waste industry by establishing new safety standards for workers in the commercial carting industry, improving service for businesses, increasing diversion rates and reducing vehicle miles traveled to reduce emissions from waste hauling vehicles.

Under the new system, the city is divided into 20 commercial waste zones, and DSNY authorizes three carters to operate in a given zone. In addition to three carters per zone, five carters are authorized to pick up large containers from loading docks or large off-street compactors citywide.

The implementation of the first zone gives DSNY substantial new regulatory authority over commercial waste, but some new enforcement authority began with the start of the first implementation period in September 2024.

Since September 2024, DSNY says it has issued about 150 notices of violation to commercial waste haulers in Queens Central.

Company Expansion

Aspen Waste Systems expands into Denver metro market

Aspen Waste Systems, a privately held, Minneapolis-based waste and recycling collection company, has expanded its service footprint into the Denver metro market. The company has begun operations with a local office in Commerce City, Colorado, that will provide services across the Denver metro area.

Aspen Waste is establishing its Denver operation through sales-driven growth rather than acquisitions, a model that has succeeded in its other markets. Denver is the first market outside the Midwest to be served by the 35-year-old, family-owned and -operated company, which also serves the Twin Cities and Rochester, Minnesota; Des Moines and Ames, Iowa; and St. Louis metro areas.

Aspen Waste’s business is 80 percent commercial collection and 20 percent residential. The company says it enters each new market from the ground up with a focus on building local connections and culture. The Denver metro market has become highly consolidated in recent years through acquisitions by large national companies and national private-equity investors, and Aspen Waste’s leadership identified an opportunity to bring another option to consumers and businesses in the market.

“We’ve been looking forward to the opportunity to serve the businesses and residents across the Denver metro area,” says Alexa Kircher Fang, daughter of company founder Robert Kircher. Kircher Fang joined her father’s company in 2015 and has served as its president since 2022. “Denver is a beautiful and thriving metro area, and we believe the way we do business—as a family-owned and -operated company with an unwavering commitment to customer service—will resonate.”

Together with Executive Vice President Thor Nelson, great nephew of Robert Kircher, Kircher Fang is responsible for Aspen Waste’s day-to-day operations.

Aspen Waste does not own any disposal sites and has built its company by focusing exclusively on hauling and service.

“It’s uncommon for a company of our size not to own any disposal sites, but we’ve built a successful company by keeping the focus on customer service, hauling operations and doing what’s in the best interest of our customers, not owning and filling our own landfill,” Nelson says. “We’re excited to begin delivering that service across the Denver metro market.”

Organics

Food waste composting system coming to Canadian province

A food waste composting system has been approved for installation at a British Columbia transfer station. 

During a Cariboo Regional District (CRD) board meeting in December 2024, members approved the purchase of an Earth Flow in-vessel waste composting system manufactured by Bainbridge Island, Washington-based commercial composting solutions manufacturer Green Mountain Technologies. 

The in-vessel composting process occurs inside a contained unit that will limit access by vectors as well as manage odor, leachate and temperature, The Williams Lake Tribune reports.

“This purchase aligns with the CRD’s proposed new solid waste management plan, which remains under review by the Ministry of Environment and Parks. The funds required for this purchase will be sourced from the CRD’s apportionment of the Community Works Fund,” the district says in a news release announcing the equipment purchase. 

CRD Solid Waste Manager Tara Grady tells MyCaribooNow.com that the food waste composter is an automated system with an auger that can be run day or night with the oversight of an operator. 

When operational, residents will have access to an organics drop-off area at the district’s transfer stations around the Williams Lake area. Residents also can subscribe to a private curbside composting collection program. 

Grady says it will be roughly six months before the unit will be delivered, with hopes for it to be operational by mid-2025. 

“This unit will not be able to process all of the organics generated in the area. This is a way for us to get started,” she tells MyCaribooNow.com. “The long-term location for composting is yet to be determined, but we first have to see if we can actually divert the material from the waste stream if people are willing to participate.”