By the numbers: 2024 waste and recycling trends
The waste and recycling industry saw a range of advancements and investments in 2024.
More people entered the workforce this year, and newly proposed safety protections and regulations on PFAS could affect operations moving into 2025. Meanwhile, companies continued to invest in notable M&A transactions and recycling infrastructure improvements.
The industry also saw an influx of federal funding for recycling and composting initiatives. Industry-backed federal bills were slow to move forward, though states had better luck passing influential legislation.
We’ve gathered some of the industry’s highlights by the numbers to help put 2024 in perspective. What themes will you be watching in 2025? Let us know at waste.dive.editors@industrydive.com.
Labor and the economy
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
By the numbers
The estimated number of workers employed in “waste management and remediation services” in November 2024, according to seasonally adjusted BLS data. That number is up 20,000 from November 2023.
The heat index threshold that triggers Maryland’s new heat stress standard for workplace safety. Discussion intensified in the state after a Baltimore sanitation worker’s death this summer. A federal heat standard was proposed, but not finalized.
The ranking for refuse and recyclable material collectors on the deadliest jobs list, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released in December 2024.
M&A
Brandon Bell via Getty Images
By the numbers
The number of transactions involving solid waste and environmental services companies, in the U.S. and Canada, tracked by Waste Dive so far in 2024.
The value of WM’s purchase of Stericycle, which closed in November and was the sector’s biggest deal of 2024.
The maximum number of commercial waste zones one company can operate in as part of New York’s nonexclusive franchise system. Waste Connections bumped against that threshold with its purchase of Royal Waste Services, triggering ripple effects. It was the local market’s biggest acquisition in years.
Federal policy
Photo illustration by Brian Tucker/Waste Dive
By the numbers
The maximum contaminant level for PFOA and PFOS in drinking water set by the U.S. EPA in April. The limit could affect landfill operators and other waste entities due to groundwater, leachate and clean-up standards.
100+
The number of landfills the EPA said it inspected over the past three years as it ramped up enforcement. The agency documented “widespread noncompliance” with basic emissions rules among landfills during its inspections, culminating in a warning to operators in September.
The combined total in grant funding that the U.S. Department of Energy issued to American Battery Technology Co., Cirba Solutions and Clarios Circular Solutions. The grant program is one of many in recent years aimed at boosting recycling capacity, including for lithium-ion batteries.
The total grant amount EPA will provide to a coalition tasked with creating a national campaign to reduce consumer food waste and boost composting. The grant, funded through the infrastructure law’s Recycling Education and Outreach program, builds on efforts laid out in the National Strategy to Reduce Food Loss and Waste and Recycle Organics finalized this year.
State and local
Megan Quinn/Waste Dive
By the numbers
The amount CalRecycle will spend on innovation grants to improve beverage container redemption in the state. California hopes reverse vending machines, bag drop programs and other approaches will make the process easier after numerous redemption centers closed in recent years.
The number of fires estimated to occur at recycling facilities each year, according to an NWRA and RRS report. Fire prevention measures drove support for state and local battery recycling laws this year, including EPR for batteries laws in Illinois and New Hampshire along with a battery disposal ban in Seattle that stemmed from a similar state law. Vermont also passed a battery EPR update this year.
5
The number of states that now have EPR for packaging laws after Minnesota passed its own earlier this year. 2024 was a year for detailed EPR implementation processes in the other four states.
Over 8M
The population of New York City, which rolled out residential curbside organics collection citywide this year and now operates the nation’s largest program.
Recycling trends
Courtesy of Rumpke Recycling
By the numbers
$66
The average price per ton for OCC in December, down 16% year over year and 11% from the previous month, according to Jefferies. OCC prices increased rapidly in the early part of the year before leveling off over the summer. Recent port strikes and lower-than-expected demand are factors in the recent downturn, which could affect revenue for major waste companies going into Q1.
The amount that Rumpke Waste & Recycling spent to open its new regional MRF in Columbus, Ohio, this year. Numerous MRF operators spent millions in 2024 to upgrade their facilities to meet regional demand, integrate more AI-enabled equipment and open up opportunities to connect with new markets or fetch higher commodity prices.
The year that California expects its EPR for textiles law to be fully implemented. The new law, the first of its kind in the U.S, calls for diverting this material from disposal by building a range of new options for recycling, repairing and reusing old clothing and textiles.
The amount ExxonMobil announced it will invest in expanding its chemical recycling operations in Baytown and Beaumont, Texas, expected to open in 2026. ExxonMobil announced the future spending plans amid a year where it faced several lawsuits related to its recycling claims.