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Optimal Waste Intelligence · Archive

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Previously published OWI analysis. Use the navigation below to move between pages.

US Waste-to-Energy Leaves Its District Heating Revenue in the Condenser
8 min read

US Waste-to-Energy Leaves Its District Heating Revenue in the Condenser

Waste-to-energy district heating barely exists in the US, and it isn't the climate. It's that the heat has no PPA a lender will finance against.

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From 82% to 61%: Where a Landfill Diversion Rate Goes Under Audit
9 min read

From 82% to 61%: Where a Landfill Diversion Rate Goes Under Audit

A landfill diversion rate is a fraction with two places to lie. How ADC, weight loading, and residual boundaries inflate it, and how to audit it back down.

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Vet a Waste-to-Energy Plant Manufacturer on the Guarantee, Not the Datasheet
10 min read

Vet a Waste-to-Energy Plant Manufacturer on the Guarantee, Not the Datasheet

Most buyers vet waste-to-energy plant manufacturers on technology. After three commissionings, I vet the availability guarantee and the reference plant instead.

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Most Dead Solar Panels Still Get Landfilled as Trash. Three 2026 State Laws Change Who Pays.
10 min read

Most Dead Solar Panels Still Get Landfilled as Trash. Three 2026 State Laws Change Who Pays.

Most end-of-life solar panels still hit the landfill as ordinary trash. New Jersey, Texas and North Carolina's 2026 rules change who pays to recycle them.

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What a Waste-to-Energy Scrubber Actually Captures Isn't Dioxins
9 min read

What a Waste-to-Energy Scrubber Actually Captures Isn't Dioxins

The scrubber strips acid gas; activated carbon and the baghouse catch waste to energy dioxins. What modern flue gas treatment really removes, myth by myth.

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152 Units, No Fixed Compliance Date: How the Large Municipal Waste Combustor Rule Hands Your Clock to the States
7 min read

152 Units, No Fixed Compliance Date: How the Large Municipal Waste Combustor Rule Hands Your Clock to the States

The large municipal waste combustor rule covers 152 units but sets no compliance date. Your state plan does, and if the state misses, EPA writes it instead.

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Which Waste Projects Actually Qualify for the Clean Electricity Tax Credit in 2026?
7 min read

Which Waste Projects Actually Qualify for the Clean Electricity Tax Credit in 2026?

The clean electricity tax credit turns on a zero-emissions line, not on whether waste is renewable. What 45Y and 48E actually cover for waste in 2026.

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SB 1383 Compliance Costs More Than the Trucks. The Procurement Rule Is Why.
8 min read

SB 1383 Compliance Costs More Than the Trucks. The Procurement Rule Is Why.

SB 1383 compliance isn't the green cart. The costly half is the procurement buy-back most California cities never budgeted, and penalties are now live.

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Waste-to-Energy Ash Is an Offtake Problem, Not a Disposal Line
9 min read

Waste-to-Energy Ash Is an Offtake Problem, Not a Disposal Line

Waste-to-energy ash disposal is a quarter of the input mass, and most US plants still landfill it. Bottom ash reuse and fly ash treatment decide the pro forma.

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Rhode Island Froze a $150M Sludge Pyrolysis Plant Over a Control Efficiency Nobody Could Measure
9 min read

Rhode Island Froze a $150M Sludge Pyrolysis Plant Over a Control Efficiency Nobody Could Measure

Rhode Island froze a fully permitted $150M plant. The real sludge pyrolysis permitting risk was a control efficiency nobody could actually measure.

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Waste to Biofuels Runs on a Credit With a Ceiling Almost Nobody Models
8 min read

Waste to Biofuels Runs on a Credit With a Ceiling Almost Nobody Models

Waste to biofuels pro formas model D3 RIN upside the Clean Air Act won't allow. The cellulosic waiver credit caps it, and the cap moves with gasoline.

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EPA's Biosolids PFAS Guidance Binds No One. It Will Still Shrink Land Application Faster Than a Rule.
10 min read

EPA's Biosolids PFAS Guidance Binds No One. It Will Still Shrink Land Application Faster Than a Rule.

EPA's biosolids PFAS guidance is non-binding, which is exactly why it will shrink land application acreage before any Part 503 rulemaking arrives.

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