Emissions concerns grow within solid waste, C&D industries

A growing expectation for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting has made waves through state legislatures across the U.S., with many practices in the waste and recycling industries becoming a major topic of discussion.

Given the sector’s role in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)—landfills being the third-largest source of methane emissions in the nation—waste facilities are increasingly being called upon to adopt emission mitigation protocols and to forge new relationships with surrounding communities.

At this year’s C&D World, hosted by the Construction & Demolition Recycling Association (CDRA), based in Chicago, ESG and environmental justice (EJ) trends were a pressing subject for the conference’s diverse audience of C&D professionals.

“If the state you’re in hasn’t targeted [carbon emissions], they’re likely going to,” said Chris Whitehead, air practice lead for New Jersey-based Enviro-Sciences of Delaware Inc. and C&D World speaker for a session titled “EJ/ESG: Collaborating with Your Local Community.”

Putting on the pressure

During his presentation, Whitehead explained how the widespread push for environmental compliance has put increased pressure on the solid waste industry to take a closer look at its impact on air quality.

More and more states have begun to propose EJ action bills, including Massachusetts, California, Vermont, Illinois and Georgia. In New Jersey, the state made headlines for the passing of a landmark EJ law in the fall of 2020, which has been described as the “strongest law of its kind” in the U.S.

The legislation, known as S232, requires the state Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) to evaluate the environmental and public health impacts on vulnerable communities when reviewing permit applications for certain new facilities, such as power plants, incinerators, sewage plants, landfills and more.

“In September 2020, New Jersey Gov. [John] Murphy signed what’s been called one of the most progressive, or gold standard, radical justice rules that has ever come of that … but New Jersey is not the only one [implementing these laws] and there are more to follow us,” Whitehead said.

While many of the proposed environmental compliance laws within state legislatures are still in their infancy, Whitehead noted it is never too early to begin planning for future regulations.

“Every state who is [pursuing an EJ or ESG] law will first form an action group to discuss various mapping capabilities and different [community] stressors, and they want to study this … [In New Jersey], every site is required to do a geographic point of comparison test and take their projected impacts judged against the 80^th percentile of non-overt communities,” he said. “If the site’s impact is over the 80th percentile, [NJDEP] has the authority to impose permit conditions concerning the operation of the facility.”

“If you’re talking to the NJDEP, they’re trying to tell you [these regulations] are in no way anti-business and that they are just trying to clean up the environment … but there’s a lot of uncertainty hanging over this,” Whitehead added.

Increasing government involvement

While there has been hesitancy from facility operators surrounding the potential for EJ and ESG laws to hinder C&D recycling operations, state and federal governments have faced increased pressure from communities and environmental groups to better regulate emissions.

In fact, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) recently revealed a draft rule March 21 that could require U.S.-listed companies to disclose a range of climate-related risks and GHG emissions, known as Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions. The proposed legislation—part of President Biden’s push to join global efforts to avert climate-related catastrophes—would also require companies to disclose GHG generated by suppliers and partners, known as Scope 3 emissions, if they are material or included in any emissions targets the company has set.

Described by the CDRA as “the most stringent path” the SEC could take in regard to proposed emission guidelines, some believe it has the potential to pave a path to where private recycling businesses could be requested to divulge climate risks and emissions data by publicly-held customers.

The draft proposal, subject to public feedback, is likely to be finalized later this year, as reported by Reuters.