Industry News

Legislation & Regulations

New York legislators propose resolution to revoke landfill operating permit

The Rensselaer County Legislature in Rensselaer, New York, has unanimously passed a resolution to revisit and revoke the operating permit of the Dunn C&D Landfill, WTEN Albany reports.

The resolution requests that the New York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Gov. Kathy Hochul reconsider their December 2024 permit renewal for the landfill.

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The Dunn Landfill is a DEC-permitted construction and demolition (C&D) debris landfill located in the city of Rensselaer and the town of North Greenbush in Rensselaer County. The landfill began accepting C&D debris for disposal in 2015.

The resolution cites truck traffic, offensive odors, debris in the air and proximity to the Rensselaer City School District as concerns raised by residents and other local officials.

Kelly Hoffman, chairwoman of the county legislature, told WRGB Albany, “The landfill impacts communities beyond Rensselaer, and we are surprised that after all of the opposition from residents and local officials, the state allowed the operating permit to be renewed.”

The Rensselaer County Legislature previously had taken a firm stance against the landfill’s continued operation, passing multiple resolutions opposing its permit renewal and urging its closure, according to WRGB.

“DEC will continue to closely monitor operations at the Dunn landfill to ensure the facility fully complies with all permit conditions, laws and regulations,” DEC says in a statement to WTEN.

Labor

Construction hiring slowest since early pandemic

The Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) reports that the construction industry had historically slow hiring in December 2024, the lowest since April 2020.

The construction industry had 217,000 job openings on the last day of December 2024, according to an ABC analysis of data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS).

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JOLTS defines a job opening as any unfilled position for which an employer is actively recruiting.

Industry job openings decreased by 55,000 in January and are down by 217,000 from last year.

“Construction industry hiring slowed to an unprecedented pace in December,” ABC Chief Economist Anirban Basu says. “The hiring rate fell to 3.6 percent for the month, the lowest level on record aside from the pandemic-affected month of April 2020. This slowdown is a direct result of diminished demand for labor; industrywide job openings have fallen exactly 50 percent over the past year.

“Despite these signs of weak demand for labor, both layoffs and quits remain extremely low by historical standards. It’s possible that the weak demand for construction labor is the effect of cold weather and slowing activity during the transition between presidential administrations. A majority of contractors intend to increase their staffing levels over the next six months, according to ABC’s Construction Confidence Index, suggesting that hiring could pick up during the first half of 2025.”

Aggregates

Northstar signs asphalt shingle supply agreement with York1

Northstar Clean Technologies Inc. says its wholly owned subsidiary, Empower Environmental Solutions Hamilton Ltd., has signed a nonbinding letter of intent with York1 Environmental Waste Solutions Ltd. as a general partner.

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The partnership is related to the formation of a strategic alliance to supply end-of-life roofing shingles and colocate complementary facilities at Northstar’s planned facility in southwestern Ontario.

The parties anticipate entering into a definitive agreement by June 30. Empower Hamilton anticipates receiving up to 10,000 tons of asphalt shingles for reprocessing per annum from York1 facilities, with a mutual understanding that the supply volume will increase over time.

“We are thrilled to announce this strategic alliance with York1, a key milestone in advancing our plans for the Empower Hamilton Facility and, additionally, a key step in our overall growth plans,” says Aidan Mills, president and CEO of Northstar. “Securing a reliable and consistent supply of waste asphalt shingles is a critical step in ensuring the success of our operations and our ability to make a significant environmental impact in southern Ontario. We are excited to work with York1 to create a scalable, sustainable solution for the reprocessing of asphalt shingles.”

Northstar is a Canadian clean technology company focused on the sustainable recovery and reprocessing of asphalt shingles. Northstar developed and owns a proprietary process for taking discarded asphalt shingles and extracting the liquid asphalt for use in new hot mix asphalt shingle manufacturing and asphalt flat roof systems while also extracting aggregate and fiber for use in construction products and other industrial applications.

Mergers & Acquisitions

Mazza Recycling adds to transfer station operations

Mazza Recycling Services, headquartered in Tinton Falls, New Jersey, has acquired a transfer station in Philadelphia from AMA Resources that it says significantly enhances the company’s ability to serve the greater Philadelphia and Delaware Valley regions, providing more efficient and reliable waste disposal and recycling services. The transfer station will operate under Mazza’s Liberty division, doing business as Liberty Transfer Station LLC.

AMA Resources, headquartered in Wilmington, Delaware, is a woman-owned family business serving the Mid-Atlantic region with services that range from construction and demolition (C&D) recycling to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design recycling and management to special waste and recycling disposal.

The newly acquired transfer station in southwest Philadelphia is designed to streamline waste processing, reduce transportation times and optimize resource recovery. At Liberty Transfer Station LLC, Mazza Recycling says it can accept, transfer and recycle various C&D debris in a cost-effective, sustainable manner while also providing a high-caliber customer experience.

The company adds that the investment highlights Mazza Recycling’s commitment to providing sustainable and cost-effective waste management solutions to businesses and residents throughout the region.

With the acquisition, Mazza also acquires a large-scale event work platform business line. This division offers direct tractor-trailer service from jobsites to landfills across the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions.