Minnesota’s MSW incinerators effectively destroy PFAS, study finds

By Jacob Wallace | Waste Drive | June 1, 2026

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"Combustion facilities in Minnesota turning municipal solid waste into energy and ash appear to be destroying somewhere between 99.6% and 99.97% of per- and polyfluoroalkyl compounds, according to a study commissioned by the Minnesota Resource Recovery Association.

The study also found that PFAS levels released at the stack were below Minnesota’s inhalation risk assessment level for five of six regulated PFAS compounds. While the final regulated PFAS compound was measured above the risk assessment level at the stack, it registered below that level at the fence line.

MRRA commissioned the study after the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency released its PFAS Blueprint in 2021. The agency subsequently began soliciting information from industrial facilities about their release of PFAS chemicals into the environment, leading MRRA to contract with third-party firm Barr Engineering for a report, said Steve Vrchota, chair of MRRA and executive director of the Pope/Douglas Solid Waste Management partnership."