Stefanie Valentic

My first experience at an H&M store remains a vivid memory. It was a bustling day at a shopping center in the heart of Ljubljana, Slovenia, nearly two decades ago. I was fresh out of high school, carrying my Motorola RAZR phone. Waiting on the other end was the world of fast fashion.

Environmental WM (NYSE: WM) reported its 2024 first-quarter earnings, citing cost optimization and investment in technology as contributors.

It's trash and recycling day all week at WasteExpo 2024 in Las Vegas! More than 13,500 attendees and 500 exhibitors+ are making their way to the Entertainment Capital of the World for four days for education, networking and the latest technology and innovations.

WasteExpo 2024 returned to Las Vegas this week, bringing the latest in new technology and ways to drive your business. Here are the highlights from Day One!

A bill detailing Extended Producer Responsibility in Minnesota passed on May 21, making it the fifth state to push legislation regarding packaging manufacturing, use and disposal. The new legislation, introduced in February, incentivizes manufacturers to make all packaging reusable, recyclable, or compostable by 2032, shifting costs away from the consumer.

San Bruno, Calif.-based Mill has completed a year-long study with the city of Tacoma, Wash. The data gathered analyzed food scrap separation in the municipality, both from curbside and other collection methods.

The hilly streets of San Francisco are the first in North America to pilot a hydrogen fuel cell-powered electric refuse collection vehicle.

The demand for at-home and chef-prepped options has bolstered the need for meal kit delivery service companies such as HelloFresh to refine waste diversion efforts and reduce the food waste generated in the pre-production process. The Berlin-based meal kit provider recently partnered with organics recycler Denali to divert an estimated 4 million pounds of food waste from Phoenix landfills by the end of 2024. The companies began collaborating in 2023 to recycle pre-consumer food waste at HelloFresh facilities in Goodyear and Phoenix, Ariz.

Republic Services reported a strong Q3 2024, with a 6.5 percent revenue increase to $4.076 billion, driven by rising commodity prices and core pricing. The company emphasized its focus on digital innovation, sustainability initiatives like polymer centers and renewable natural gas projects, and strategic acquisitions to support growth through 2025, despite softer cyclical volumes.

On this week's episode of Waste World, Stef and Gage chat with Jonathan Quinn, CEO of U.S. Plastics Pact about reducing plastic waste, packaging and building a circular system.