As we celebrate the 250th birthday of the United States, Waste Advantage is looking at how the solid waste and recycling industry has changed and what we can learn from the past in order to move into the future.
How far the waste and recycling industry has come. Waste collection has transitioned from horse drawn trucks to modern, automated, state-of-the-art 21st century vehicles that have the latest technology—and the pace of change is accelerating. At first the goal was simple: remove waste from communities and prevent the disease and odors associated with unmanaged refuse. Landfills were little more than dumping grounds with limited environmental controls compared to the sophisticated facilities operated today. Modern landfills are now highly engineered containment systems with liners, gas capture, emissions controls, and extensive monitoring. Recycling existed largely through informal networks of scavengers, scrap dealers, and entrepreneurs who recognized value in discarded materials. Recycling in its early form was informal and inconsistent, driven more by commodity value and local markets than by system design. Today, recycling is a complex industrial process dependent on global commodity markets, advanced sorting technology, and strict contamination thresholds.
Early Days
Some of the earliest pioneers in the West were the San Francisco scavengers—many of them Italian immigrants, primarily from Northern Italy—who began collecting discarded materials in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. “Long before recycling became formal policy or modern infrastructure, they understood something essential: what people throw away can still hold value. Through grit, discipline, and ingenuity, they built an early recovery economy, moving through neighborhoods in horse-drawn carts to reclaim bottles, rags, paper, and other reusable goods,” explains Sal Coniglio, CEO of Recology. “In the earliest days, collection and hauling were highly manual, labor-intensive services. Small teams—often family members—moved through neighborhoods with horse-drawn wagons, picking up refuse and separating anything that could be reused or sold. What we now call “recycling” was then an exercise in practical recovery: salvaging materials by hand and making full use of what was collected. ‘Landfill’, as we understand it today, was far less engineered and far less regulated than modern disposal systems.”
In the last century, waste and community health have been inextricably linked. Bryan Staley, President and CEO of the Environmental Research & Education Foundation (EREF) points out that innovators like George Waring, an American Sanitary Engineer and Civic Reformer, helped professionalize sanitation and connect waste management to public health, while immigrant communities in Chicago and San Francisco built the collection businesses that eventually became some of the largest companies in the industry. Equally important were public health reformers like Ellen Swallow Richards, whose work established the connection between environmental conditions and human health. “Growing cities were overwhelmed by waste, animal manure, and human sewage. The industry emerged because communities needed a way to manage the consequences of urbanization and economic growth,” comments Staley.
Rachel Oster, Owner and Principal of Diversion Strategies, says long before waste management was an industry, civilizations were grappling with a fundamental challenge: how do you protect public health, preserve resources, and maintain a community in a fixed place? “In the modern era, I think the true pioneers were the sanitation workers, scavengers, and immigrant communities who found value in materials others discarded. Long before recycling became a public program or corporate initiative, these individuals were recovering, repairing, reusing, and creating markets for materials that would otherwise have been thrown away. Over time, collection became a sophisticated logistics operation, landfills evolved into highly engineered environmental facilities, and recycling developed into a global commodity and manufacturing supply chain. At its core, however, the industry has always been about the same thing: protecting public health while making the best possible use of society’s resources.”
Today, waste management is a highly engineered system focusing on managing materials responsibly. It is among the most essential public services ever created, and plays a pivotal role in everyone’s lives no matter where they are located. “If you disagree, you’ve never lived through a garbage strike,” notes David Biderman of Biderman Consulting LLC. The business model has evolved from simple collection and disposal to a highly regulated, sustainability-driven system built around diversion, compliance, and material recovery. “The shift from hand-sorting on wagon beds to integrated collection and processing systems is more than an operational story—it reflects a broader transition from disposal thinking to resource thinking,” says Coniglio.
In more modern times, Will Flower, Solid Waste and Recycling Industry Consultant, points out that Wayne Huizenga and Dean Buntrock of Waste Management (now WM) were among the early pioneers and operators who defined the modern solid waste and recycling sector—especially the shift from fragmented, local, “Mom and Pop” type businesses into a large-scale, investor-backed, efficiency-driven industry. “Their work demonstrated waste collection could be scaled into large businesses with long-term enterprise value with the adoption of corporate discipline, standardized reporting, and financial transparency.” Then, the next layer of influence came from operators who brought rigor and discipline to the industry. Leaders like Jim O’Connor, former CEO of Republic Services, Inc. “reinforced operational consistency, cost control, and structured management systems that turned waste collection into a repeatable, scalable service business rather than purely local operations,” says Flower.
Importantly, Tod Holmes, the former CFO of Republic Services, made a big impact on the sector as he focused on financial accountability. Flower emphasizes, “This was an important but sometimes underappreciated role in tightening reporting standards, improving cost visibility, transparency, and ensuring operators truly understood their margins and performance metrics. The financial discipline that Tod demanded was what ultimately gave investors confidence to invest in the sector and provide municipalities with the assurances they needed to enter long term contracts with financial stable companies.”
He continues, “Today, leaders like John Morris, the President of WM, are successfully pushing an agenda that focuses on innovation in routing, fleet utilization, and customer service, which drives efficiency. These trends not only benefit the large companies, but also regional and local companies as well. John’s approach reflects a more entrepreneurial, performance-driven model that creates real value.” Flower believes that taken together, these pioneers have shaped three foundational pillars of modern industry:
1. Scale and consolidation
2. Financial discipline and transparency
3. Operational innovation and efficiency
A Real Shift
Every industry has its turning points and waste and recycling has had a few. David Biderman, President of Biderman Consulting, LLC, points out that the U.S. Supreme Court decisions in Philadelphia v New Jersey (1978) and C&A Carbone v. Town of Clarkstown (1994) laid the legal foundation for much of the modern U.S. solid waste industry. “The first decision ruled a state was not permitted to keep out another state’s garbage because it’s considered an ‘article of commerce’ under the dormant Commerce Clause.. The second ruling found that a town was not allowed to engage in flow control and force haulers to dispose waste at a privately-owned, privately-operated transfer station because such a law discriminates against interstate commerce,” he explains. “These decisions have fostered the movement of waste and recyclables across state lines in the US and the development of disposal facilities far from large U.S. cities, such as New York City. The passage of RCRA by Congress in 1976 and EPA’s issuance of Subtitle D regulations also fundamentally changed the waste and recycling industry. More recently, China’s National Sword program, starting in late 2017, disrupted the U.S. recycling system and resulted in substantial changes at recycling facilities and to local recycling programs,” added Biderman.
Flower agrees, “The passage of laws such as the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Clean Water Act, and Clean Air Act marked the beginning of modern waste management. These regulations, especially the passage and implementation of Subtitle D in the early 1990s largely ended the era of open dumping and established environmental standards for waste facilities. State recycling laws and diversion goals have also transformed recycling from a voluntary activity into a core municipal service.”
While several developments have fundamentally changed the waste and recycling industry, Coniglio points out the transition from horse-drawn wagons to motorized trucks transformed the scale and reliability of service. In addition, post-war consumption and the rise of plastics introduced a far more complex material stream, forcing the industry to rethink infrastructure, regulation, and recovery. Operationally, the invention of the residential automated collection vehicle made a significant impact of safety, productivity, and fostered the transition to containerization. Coniglio says, “More recently, advances in material recovery and organics processing have extended what is possible not only in diversion, but in climate impact and circularity. One of the most consequential milestones was the introduction of curbside food scrap collection through the three-bin system. It showed that organics recovery could move from niche concept to core municipal service—and, in doing so, changed the trajectory of the industry.”
While 2017’s National Sword program changed the role of processors and end markets, Oster believes one of the most overlooked shifts is the adoption of single-stream recycling because it changed the role of the consumer. “Single-stream made recycling easier for residents, dramatically increased participation, and helped make recycling a routine part of everyday life. At the same time, it fundamentally changed the material stream. The convenience gained at the curb translated into greater complexity at processing facilities. Contamination increased, material quality declined, and recycling facilities had to invest heavily in technology, labor, and infrastructure to recover commodities from increasingly mixed streams.”
In addition, technology has transformed nearly every aspect of operations over the last several decades, but it has accelerated significantly over the past 20 years. From routing software, cameras, scales, optical sorters, robotics, AI, and contamination monitoring, these solutions have changed how the industry collects, sorts, and manages materials. “Decisions that were once based largely on experience and intuition are now driven by route efficiency, contamination trends, commodity quality, cost modeling, regulatory compliance, and investment analysis,” says Oster. “The next challenge is connectivity. We have more data than ever, but not always the right data, and not always data that connects across the system.”
Staley agrees, “Data may ultimately prove even more transformative. Historically, decisions were often based on observation and experience. Today, operators can measure contamination, diversion, emissions, route efficiency, customer behavior, and facility performance in real time. The industry’s future will increasingly depend on the ability to collect, interpret, and act on data.”
Investment in Safety
Safety has become the most important part of every company’s culture. As a core operating priority with formal onboarding practices, organizations have implemented consistent, recurring training, defensive driving programs, and detailed incident tracking. Technology has also transformed safety management through tools like telematics, dashcams, sensors, and performance monitoring that help prevent incidents and improve coaching. Safe operation of specialized equipment requires a culture of accountability, disciplined procedures, and ongoing reinforcement. Effective training, whether hands-on, classroom-based, or technology-supported, is essential to helping employees do demanding work safely, confidently, and consistently. Says Biderman, “Over the past 25 years, as the industry recognized that having tens of thousands of collisions annually and being one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. was a problem, the importance of safety has filtered down to small and medium haulers. These companies recognize that providing safety training prevents accidents and injuries, which provides immediate ROI. Some of the training has evolved as well, with more of a focus on coaching frontline employees to change unsafe behaviors.”
Not only have tools and best practices been put in place to ensure worker safety, but the industry is also far more proactive and integrated, resulting in stronger safety cultures, better technology, and more consistent training. However, Haley Kunert, Senior Project Manager at HF&H Consultants, LLC, points out that a meaningful shift has been the growing recognition that mental health directly impacts safety, decision making, and long-term workforce sustainability. “I see this as a critical turning point for the industry. We are starting to recognize stress, fatigue, and emotional strain, especially in a demanding field like waste and recycling, not as individual issues, but as factors that directly affect performance and safety outcomes.”
A Critical Look at the Past to Move Forward
Staley points out the waste and recycling industry’s business model has really evolved from simple local hauling services into complex, integrated environmental infrastructure networks. “Revenue once came primarily from collection fees, but today it includes disposal, recycling, renewable natural gas, organics management, environmental services, and increasingly data-driven solutions. Understanding the industry’s history reminds us that waste management has always been responsive to larger societal changes. The industry succeeds when it adapts to shifts in population, technology, regulation, and consumer behavior.”
Kunert agrees, “It reminds us that every shift (from public health, environmental science, regulation, and market forces) forces the model to adapt, and it is that awareness that helps us design future systems that are not just reactive, but resilient, circular, and aligned with where policy and environmental priorities are heading.”
The industry’s past has not only shaped the evolution of waste management, but it has also helped to guide future decisions, such as regulations, environmental concerns, technological innovation, and changing public expectations. In the past, waste management was viewed primarily as a public service focused on collection and disposal and success was mostly measured by the ability to remove waste efficiently and inexpensively. Today, the industry is much more complex. “Waste is increasingly viewed as a resource, and revenue streams have expanded beyond collection and disposal to include material recovery, landfill gas utilization, composting, anaerobic digestion, and environmental compliance services,” emphasizes Flower. “I think you can find a roadmap for the future in our industry’s past. Organizations that understand where the industry has been are often better positioned to identify opportunities, manage risks, and lead the next generation of sustainable materials management solutions.”
The Next 50 Years
So, what will the waste and recycling industry look like in 50 years? According to Staley, waste will always exist, but definitions will change as will our ability to extract value from discarded materials. More waste streams will be treated as resources, but complete circularity will remain difficult because economics, contamination, and material degradation will continue to matter.
It is agreed that waste and recycling material will not go away and will continue to be an essential industry. Says Kunert “Waste is about a mindset. It is deeply embedded in our history, our systems, and our habits, and it should not be erased. It should be studied, taught, and remembered as one of humanity’s most expensive psychological blind spots.”
The Human Element
Currently, the industry stands at a pivotal point in history, where the rise of automation and AI has changed the way operations take place and how certain parts of the job are tackled, such as reducing manual tasks, including routing, pricing, and customer service. Most believe that it soon will be integrated into every aspect of the industry, including taking over repetitive tasks, allowing professionals to focus their work in other areas. However, it is complementary to the people that have built this industry into an efficient business. The industry will always need people to run the essentials, like customer service, relationships with employees, outreach, community participation, etc. Flower says, “My hope is that the industry’s physical operations will become increasingly automated and safer while the leadership, innovation, and public policy decisions will remain a human responsibility.”
Coniglio agrees, “Even with major advances in automation, this will remain a people-centered relationships-based business. Customer relations, business development, collection, recycling, composting, and the safe management of complex materials all require judgment, adaptability, and accountability in real-world conditions, AI will support these areas, but I see human interaction continuing to lead. Technology can enhance our work and improve safety and efficiency, but it will not replace the need for skilled employees, strong supervisors, and capable operational leadership.”
For decades, the industry has focused on improving what happens after materials reach the curb with heavy investment in trucks, facilities, landfills, recycling centers, and processing technologies. Oster says what has not been done particularly well is rethinking how people interact with waste inside their homes. “I believe we are likely to see disruptive technologies emerge that make waste management more interactive, personalized, and intelligent. Imagine systems that identify products automatically, provide real-time sorting guidance, track household diversion performance, and connect directly to local recovery programs. The future recycling bin may look more like a smart appliance than a container.”
Understanding consumer behavior will be an essential part of the industry’s success in the future. From there, organizations may be able to better predict how to improve routes, education, outreach, and how consumers think about disposing of their waste. For the next generation of leaders, success is not just going to come from technical knowledge. They will need to understand behavior, incentives, and why people default to convenience even when knowing better. “We will need creativity to reimagine systems, not just improve them incrementally. We will need courage to challenge norms, to call out what is not working, and to push for transparency,” says Kunert.
Commodity Markets
Volatile commodity markets are an issue that has become increasingly important over the past decade, and stable prices are likely dependent on more consistent demand for recyclable materials. Continued investment in sorting technology, contamination reduction, and strong end-market relationships will remain critical to long-term stability. “Commodity markets will stabilize only when recycled feedstocks become more reliable, more valued, and more directly connected to manufacturing demand. That means better material quality, stronger domestic processing capacity, clearer specifications, and policies that create consistent demand for recycled content. Over time, I expect more long-term contracts, more producer involvement, more domestic end-market investment, and greater recognition that recycling markets must be intentionally built,” says Oster.
Biderman agrees, “Commodity prices rise and fall for a wide variety of reasons. They will continue to do so in response to domestic factors (e.g., a stronger economy) and foreign factors (changes in demand from other countries). Policy plays an important role in stabilizing markets, and widespread EPR laws or a national recycling mandate could provide a floor for paper and plastic prices.”
“We really need to focus on developing markets for the material we are able to recycle from the waste stream. We will be better able to stabilize markets if recyclers, brand owners, manufacturers and others work together, to identify solutions to the ever-changing stream of consumer products entering recycling. And, at the end of the day, we need to ensure the material we process and sell meets the needs of the industrial consumer, at the end of the chain, to ensure a quality commodity product. In 10, 25, and 50 years, the same will be true … if there are no markets, there is no recycling,” Flower points out.
Next Generation Leadership
Many older generational leaders that are retiring today and will also happen to the next generation in 50 years. Those who are just coming into the industry will be facing the same situation. However, that does not mean that there will need to be an entirely different skillset than what was needed in the past. Though there may be more technology, the leadership skills that were needed in 1976, 2026, or 2076 will need to have an underlying goal. “Future leaders will need the same skills they’ve always needed: technical literacy, business acumen, communication skills, and a deep understanding of policy and data. Additionally, the industry will need to continue to connect environmental goals with practical, scalable solutions,” says Staley.
Biderman points out, “Leaders need to have strategic level vision and the ability to execute plans and programs and motivate their teams. Having strong written and oral communications skills is always helpful. Being able to translate complicated information to employees, suppliers, customers, investors, the media, and others has always been an essential part of any executive leadership position. Finally, being ethical, flexible, and resourceful, and an attention to detail, are important skills—both today and in the future.”
Coniglio emphasizes whether you succeed or fail at the curb, trust is earned one stop at a time. He says looking back helps leaders see more clearly what should guide the future: resilient infrastructure, workforce investment, responsible recovery systems, and the recognition that daily execution and long-term environmental responsibility are inseparable. “Future leaders in waste and recycling will need a combination of operational understanding, recognition of emerging technologies, strategic discipline, and a clear sense of purpose. They will need to understand infrastructure, regulation, markets, and customer expectations—while also knowing how to lead people through change. Listening well, learning from the past, embracing innovation, and taking action will all matter. Just as important will be the ability to build trust with employees, customers, regulators, and community partners in an industry that sits at the intersection of daily service, public health, and long-term sustainability.”
Industry of the Future
Fifty years from now, the waste and recycling industry will continue to be an essential public service—just as critical as water, energy, and transportation systems. Communities will always generate waste that must be safely managed, meaning the core mission of protecting public health and the environment will not change, and Biderman notes with concerns over Climate Change, likely becomes increasingly important, especially in developing countries such as Brazil, India, and Nigeria. One certainty is that costs will continue to rise in the future. Population growth, stricter environmental regulations, aging infrastructure, labor costs, fleet replacement, technological investments, and the increasing complexity of managing materials responsibly will have an impact on customers and municipalities. Flower points out, “How the work is done will change significantly. The industry will shift toward full materials management and a circular economy model, where waste is treated as a resource. Advanced technologies such as automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, and smart sensors will greatly improve collection efficiency, sorting accuracy, and material recovery.”
It may be that 50 years from now the industry will look more like resource management rather than the waste management today. There has already been buzz that it has started to head in that direction, especially with issues of sustainability, circular economy, mining, reuse, and other concepts that were not thought about 50 years ago. However, Oster points out that the biggest changes may not happen at landfills or recycling facilities, but inside homes and product supply chains before materials are ever discarded. “People will have greater visibility into the materials they purchase and discard, and the gap between households and the recovery system will become much smaller than it is today. Will the economics finally catch up to the vision? If they do, future generations may look back on our era as the transition point between the disposal economy and the circular economy. I hope we no longer think of waste management as the end of the supply chain, but as the bridge between use and reuse.”
In addition, equipment and technology will continue to advance. There has already been talk of autonomous vehicles collecting recyclables for smaller businesses and it may be a concept that expands to certain suburban areas in the future. Whether this begins to take shape in several years or 50, smarter fleets and recovery systems are now more advanced than they ever have been before and the need to move forward has been ingrained in the next generations. “The future will require cleaner fleets, smarter recovery systems, stronger circular economy policies, and far better alignment between product design and end-of-life management. It will also require public participation, because no recovery system succeeds without people understanding their role in it. We hope the next generation remembers this era as the moment the industry expanded its sense of responsibility—not only to collect what communities discard, but also to protect public health, recover resources, reduce climate impacts, and help cities operate more sustainably,” says Coniglio.
“The industry of the future should feel less like a set of isolated efforts and more like a coordinated system. One where we collectively identify the barriers that keep us stuck, and more importantly, the motivators that can unify people across sectors, politics, and geographies. It requires alignment at a level we have not yet fully achieved. The waste and recycling industry will not just be about managing materials. It will also be about designing continuity, preserving resources, and protecting the conditions that allow life and business to exist at all.” Kunert comments, “In 50 years, we might not eliminate waste as a concept, but we can absolutely make it socially and intellectually unacceptable to default to it. The goal is not perfection, it is awareness. It is slowing down just enough to challenge the narrative before something leaves our hands. Because the truth is, the materials were never the problem. We were. And that means we are also the solution.” | WA
Today’s operations are more connected, more measurable, and more responsive than ever before:
• Modern material recovery facilities can sort bottles, cans, paper, cardboard, and other commodities with far greater speed and precision, helping produce cleaner, higher-value recyclable materials.
• Routing and logistics tools allow operations to be more efficient, reducing fuel use, saving time, and improving service reliability.
• Customer-facing technology that makes service easier, clearer, and more responsive.
• Continued advancement of low- and zero-emission collection vehicles, and post collection equipment technology.
• More intuitive digital platforms that help customers understand services, sort materials correctly, and engage with sustainability goals.
• Improved recycling and composting technologies that recover more materials and produce cleaner end products.
• Stronger producer responsibility systems that align packaging design with real-world recovery and reuse outcomes.
• In cab technology, telematics, and enhanced data capture continues to play an important role in improving safety across all lines of business in the waste industry, giving drivers real-time visibility into service details, helping them deliver accurate and responsive service at the curb.
• Customer service teams can now track inquiries and service requests more efficiently, which improves follow-through and overall customer experience.
• Online account tools make it easier for customers to manage service, request support, and access information when they need it.
• Digital education tools help customers understand how to sort materials properly, which directly improves diversion outcomes and reduces contamination.
• Data has also become essential for tracking tonnage, measuring diversion, meeting regulatory requirements, and making smarter operational and infrastructure decisions over time.
—Sal Coniglio, CEO, Recology
The future of EPR will be determined less by what happens over the next 50 years and more by what happens over the next five years. EPR programs for a wide range of products have now been enacted across the U.S., from mercury thermostats, medicines and sharps, paint, and carpet to packaging, batteries, and textiles. The success of these early programs will shape the future of producer responsibility throughout America.
Today, affordability is a growing concern for many households and businesses. The key will be demonstrating that EPR is, over the long term, a more cost-effective and efficient model. If these early EPR laws deliver measurable reductions in waste, lower system costs, stronger end markets, and meaningful environmental, economic, and public health benefits, they will create a foundation for broader adoption across additional materials and states. If they fall short, future EPR efforts may face greater skepticism from policymakers, producers, and the public.
Just as importantly, the future of EPR cannot be measured by recycling rates alone. The most successful programs will support broader circular economy outcomes, including source reduction, redesign, reuse, repair, resale, refill systems, and recycling. However, it does not end there. The public wants truthful, easy-to-understand labeling that is harmonized across jurisdictions, as well as systems that are simple and convenient to use.
Achieving a Circular Economy means ultimately eliminating the need for landfills and other disposal options that few communities want nearby. Keeping materials in productive use for as long as possible should remain the goal. The next generation of EPR programs will build upon the lessons of earlier laws. Every implementation teaches us something new. We should strive for information sharing, harmonization of successful approaches, and the creation of simpler, more cost-effective systems.
The future success of EPR will also depend on radical collaboration. Producers, local governments, state agencies, haulers, recyclers, nonprofit organizations, consultants, and community leaders all have a role to play. Some of the most promising solutions emerging today are coming from bringing these groups together in pre-competitive spaces, such as our national working groups, to better understand one another’s perspectives and expertise. If we think of a Circular Economy as a relay race in which materials are continuously passed from one participant to the next, communication and collaboration are essential. Otherwise, the baton gets dropped.
Where statewide action is slow to emerge, local governments will continue developing their own solutions. In some cases, these efforts may take the form of EPR ordinances. In others, they may involve sales bans or disposal fees on products that communities can no longer afford to manage. While this may create additional complexity and inconsistency, local governments can and will act when left with no other viable options.
So, what does the next 50 years of EPR look like? That is up to all of us. Will we lean in and radically collaborate to make EPR work across a wide variety of products and programs? Will local governments be forced to lead from the bottom up? Will states reduce costs by removing outdated and inefficient requirements that stand in the way of effective systems? Will producers focus on long-term value creation or short-term gains?
No one can predict exactly what will happen. However, our experience leads us to believe that most people want to do the right thing. They do not want pollution. They do not want negative public health impacts. They do not want damage to their brands or communities. Given the opportunity, people will find ways to work together better than they have in the past. We see it happening already. Through packaging and other EPR programs, diverse interest holders are coming together to learn from one another and design systems that maximize benefits for everyone involved.
Ultimately, the future of EPR is up to us. It is about creating systems that reduce waste, keep materials in productive use, protect workers and communities, and deliver the environmental, economic, and public health benefits of a truly Circular Economy. It will take all of us doing our part to achieve a Circular Economy as quickly as possible. With more than 8 billion people sharing finite resources, success is not optional. We owe it to the generations that follow us.
We are doing our part by convening national working groups and creating spaces for radical collaboration. We hope you will join us in building circular systems that work for everyone.
Heidi Sanborn, Founder and Executive Director/CEO, and Heath Nettles, Deputy Director, lead the National Stewardship Action Council (NSAC), an organization that has passed implemented more circular economy policies than any other organization in the United States. Heidi and Heath co-convene NSAC’s National Packaging/EPR Implementation Working Group and Recycling Refunds Working Group, bringing together producers, governments, nonprofits, recyclers, and other interest holders into a pre-competitive space to advance practical, scalable circular economy solutions, together.
