PopUP CleanUP attended Waste Expo 2025 in Las Vegas last month, not as an exhibitor, but to roam the floor and learn more about one of the industries that figures prominently in what we do. With California mandating composting and recycling for large scale events and more corporations wanting those services for their events regardless of government mandates, we struck out to learn what was new and improved and to learn more about the waste industry.
Before delving into the more informative aspects of the convention, it goes without saying that Waste Expo is a wonderland for people who fancy big trucks. Sitting in the cockpit of the BOMAG bulldozer felt like piloting the Millennium Falcon. The entire trade show floor was a showcase of all the newest and biggest and brightest vehicles, including many different versions of electric and biogas trash hauling trucks with robotic elements to automate garbage pickup. There was also a mini version of an AI-sorter on the premises with the Taiwanese team on site to answer any questions.
The takeaway from the show was on the emphasis on both returning to our roots (composting, sustainable practices) and embracing advanced and innovative technology. The future is both zero waste and AI.
The most elementary product being displayed was…drumroll please…worms. Yes, you read that right. Earthworms, to be exact. Old Tom’s Wormery boasted several composting apparatuses and a whole host of squirmy, slimy worms. While many booths offered services, equipment and organic compounds to improve composting from the residential side (The Mill Food Recycler) to the industrial one (Econova and Organics Management) nothing is quite as elementary as worms.
Speaking of The Mill Food Recycler, this sleek composter can process approximately 40 lbs of food scraps (including bones and pits) a month. With a capacity of 6.5 liters, the machine is fully automated and works effortlessly while one sleeps. While the Mill works on a residential level, Econova offers dumpster-sized containers including a composter, a rotary composter, an anaerobic biodigester, and a glass crusher which create compost, convert food scraps to methane which feeds power generation, and, as the name implies, crush glass. These are larger machines, more suited toward industrial usage in the agricultural, hospitality, healthcare, and educational sectors. Any organization that generates glass jars and bottles and food scraps would find these machines useful toward achieving zero waste and sustainability goals.
As event pros, most of Waste Expo was outside of our wheelhouse, but as a company concerned with the environment, it was a relief to see at least four companies addressing the issue of forever chemicals, also known as PFAS, or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances. Industrial chemicals that have been circulating in the environment since the 1940s, PFAS don’t break down, have been proven to be cancer-causing, and are linked to issues such as liver disease, obesity, and infertility. However new methods using DMSO (sodium hydroxide and dimethyl sulfide), silicas, and other chemicals to break the chemical head from its tail neutralize its properties by reducing these chemicals to their primary elements. While researchers haven’t figured out how to eliminate PFAS from human bloodstreams, these systems are eliminating them from the water supply system which is an important start.
Recycling methods, materials machinery and innovations were front-and-center throughout the exhibition floor. The Las Vegas Convention Center offered r.cup reusable drink cups and disposal receptacles for those patronizing their food court. After finishing a beverage, the r.cup is returned to yellow containers where r.cup removes it, takes it off-site to be washed and sanitized, and then returns it to the dining facilities for reuse. Lighter and less breakable than glass but sturdier than disposable plastic food and drink ware, r.cup comes fully supported by the company with environmental reports to help your facility catalog their sustainability actions and goals. Since most plastic produced is never recycled and many bioplastics aren’t really able to be composted, r.cup is a legitimate sustainable alternative.
We can’t talk about recycling without talking about artificial intelligence. Possibly the most fascinating exhibit was the team from Taiwan leading the way on fully robotic waste sorting. Given that waste sorting jobs are hard to staff and keep staffed (no one grows up and says, “Mom! Dad! I know what I want to do when I grow up! I want to work in a stinky waste separation facility!), robots are inevitably the way of the future. Moreover, robots can work 24/7 barring any equipment malfunctions, whereas human productivity is (reasonably) constrained by state-mandated hours and work breaks. Already magnets, airstreams, and weight differentials have allowed for the possibility of single stream recycling. Now sensors beamed into different materials can signal to robot arms what materials go where. This is nothing short of revolutionary for the waste and recycling industry going forward.
In our previous post on Recycling in Red States, we discussed how to find recycling facilities no matter where you live in the United States. Not only has recycling become more accessible, but it is also big business, generating millions of dollars a year, particularly in the metal, glass, electronics and cardboard/paper industries.
While event waste is a tiny percentage of all the waste generated annually, it’s not insignificant and more venues and producers are taking advantage of increased accessibility while answering the growing demand for sustainability. At PopUP CleanUP, we aim to help you implement landfill diversion strategies for your event and offer resources to reduce overall waste creation. For more on our services, check out our menu of services here.
