- Veolia North America is deploying about $350M in 2025 acquisitions and upgrades under its GreenUp strategy, including buying three U.S. hazardous/medical waste firms and expanding the Gum Springs, Arkansas site.
- North America CEO Frde9de9ric Van Heems was asked to step down, and strategy SVP Se9bastien Daziano was named interim CEO.
- Gum Springs will add a high-temperature thermal incinerator with energy recovery and emissions controls, targeted to start in late 2025 and ramp through 2026.
- Veolia is targeting rapid U.S. hazardous waste growth, including 2 million tons/year capacity by 2027 and a larger U.S. footprint via the planned Clean Earth acquisition.
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The recent moves by Veolia signal a concerted push to reinforce its hazardous waste management footprint in North America amid rising regulatory pressure and market demand. The three newly acquired U.S. firms—Ingenium in California, New England Disposal Technologies and New England MedWaste in Massachusetts—are not standalone tuck-ins but critical strategic assets. These acquisitions give Veolia control over Massachusetts’s only permitted medical waste facility, broaden services into consulting and healthcare biotech clients, and enhance service coverage across critical geographies.
The Gum Springs, Arkansas site plays a central role in this scaling strategy. Its forthcoming thermal incinerator will have integrated energy recovery (earning H050 environmental classification), advanced emissions control, and is already partially contracted through capacity agreements (e.g., with Ingenium and Clean Earth/Enviri). Operations are now being positioned to begin by end-2025, with full ramp-up in 2026. This is the backbone of Veolia’s ambitions to treat or process over 2 million tons/year of hazardous waste in the U.S. by 2027.
Leadership transitions may reflect the growing demands of this expansion. Outgoing CEO Frédéric Van Heems, appointed in 2021, was asked to step down for unstated reasons; Sébastien Daziano, senior vice president for strategy, will fill in interim. That points to potential governance or execution-related stress during this rapid scaling.
Financially, these investments are embedded in Veolia’s GreenUp strategy, which directs €4 billion in growth investments (half toward boosters like hazardous waste), targets over €8 billion in EBITDA by 2027, solid organic revenue growth, and disciplined finance, including portfolio rotations and maintaining investment grade. The upcoming Clean Earth acquisition, valued ~$3 billion, will further double Veolia’s U.S. hazardous waste business and is expected to produce its full financial and operational impacts by 2026-27.
Strategic risks remain: permitting delays, community opposition, regulatory complexity (especially for medical, radioactive, and PFAS waste), and integration challenges. Also, competing players like Stericycle/WM continue expanding in overlapping domains, raising the bar on compliance and capacity utilization.
Open questions include: What caused Van Heems’s departure? How rapidly can the new incineration facility reach full throughput? What financial return metrics are expected from these tuck-ins and organic growth? How will Veolia navigate regulatory and ESG risks, especially in states with sensitive communities?
Supporting Notes
- Veolia announced ~$350 million in global investments including three U.S. acquisitions: Ingenium (California), New England Disposal Technologies, and New England MedWaste in Massachusetts.
- These acquisitions give Veolia Massachusetts’s only permitted medical waste disposal facility and control of two of the state’s three household hazardous waste sites.
- The outgoing CEO, Frédéric Van Heems, was asked to step down, with Sébastien Daziano appointed as interim CEO of VNA.
- Gum Springs facility expansion: new thermal incinerator with energy recovery, advanced emissions controls, permit changes, start operations late 2025 and ramp up into 2026.
- Veolia’s GreenUp plan goals: double U.S. business size by 2030; +50% growth in U.S. revenue by 2027; 2 million tons/year hazardous waste treated in U.S. by 2027; global hazardous waste revenue to reach €5.2 billion after acquisition of Clean Earth; EBITDA margin target of 17%.
- The Clean Earth acquisition ($3B enterprise value) will double VNA’s U.S. hazardous waste footprint; ~$120 million synergies expected by year 4; deal accretive to EPS from year 2; 700 operating permits in Clean Earth’s portfolio.