The guidance, now updated once a year, maintains that landfills are likely emitting more PFAS than previously thought. Newer data shows promise for some incineration, but more research is needed.
By Megan Quinn, Waste Dive
Updated PFAS destruction and disposal guidance, released by the U.S. EPA on Thursday, notes “promising” new research into the effectiveness of certain methods for destroying per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances, along with ongoing research gaps and areas of concern.
The EPA’s destruction and disposal guidance document, first published in 2021, summarizes the available research on three “widely used and commercially available” types of technologies: deep-well injection, landfilling and thermal treatments such as incineration. The document isn’t meant to endorse one method over another, the agency says, and it doesn’t establish regulations or requirements.
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In 2025, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin announced the agency would update the document annually instead of every three years, saying “we need to continue to research PFAS” both within the agency and outside EPA’s jurisdiction.
The newly published guidance says certain hazardous waste combustors could effectively destroy some types of PFAS. Yet it also highlights “unknowns” over emission control efficiency and other elements that need further study.
Meanwhile, landfills are likely releasing more PFAS to the environment than researchers previously thought in 2024, the document states. The agency recommends operators choose a hazardous waste landfill when “PFAS concentration of the waste is relatively high,” but notes that more research is needed into the possible pathways PFAS can take once inside any kind of landfill, such as through leachate or air emissions.
