Seneca Meadows, WCG partner for New York’s first PFAS treatment system

Seneca Meadows Inc. (SMI), a Waste Connections company headquartered in Waterloo, New York, has partnered with the Fort Lee, New Jersey-based Water & Carbon Group (WCG) to design, build and operate the state of New York’s first fixed-plant per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) leachate treatment system.

The 300,000-gallon-per-day facility will employ WCG’s patented Low Energy Foam Fractionation (LEEF) System, which uses fine air bubbles as opposed to chemicals to separate and concentrate PFAS compounds from landfill leachate. According to WCG, the process is engineered to handle complex leachate chemistries and achieves high removal efficiencies while maintaining low energy demand and minimal residual generation.

“This project represents a significant step forward for both Seneca Meadows and New York state,” says Nick Ganzon, U.S. president for WCG. “SMI’s leadership on this issue demonstrates that responsible operators aren’t waiting for regulation; they’re acting now to ensure lasting environmental protection.”

SMI operates a regional solid waste management facility serving municipalities, businesses and industries through disposal and recycling services. The company is a passive receiver of PFAS.

“The Seneca Meadows team is very proud of our track record investing in and implementing industry leading technologies that achieve our incessant goal to provide the safest, best‑in‑class environmental protections before regulations require,” SMI District Manager Kyle Black says. “This project reflects our team’s continued drive and financial commitment to do what’s right before it is required, to listen, to learn and to keep improving the way we safely manage and protect our environment, our team, our neighbors and the communities we serve.”

The Seneca Meadows project builds on the success of the Bethlehem Landfill LEEF System in Pennsylvania, which marked the first full‑scale fixed‑plant PFAS leachate treatment system using foam fractionation in the United States. Commissioned in July 2024, WCG says the facility has demonstrated consistent, reliable PFAS removal performance under varying seasonal and flow conditions.