Workers in 19 states to get minimum wage bump in new year

Summary

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Marketplace Morning Report — January 1, 2026

Episode Theme:
The first Marketplace Morning Report of 2026 spotlights two critical economic shifts: a significant minimum wage bump in 19 U.S. states and innovations in recycling technology powered by artificial intelligence (AI), aiming to boost sustainability and efficiency. Hosted by Nova Safo (in for David Brancaccio), the episode explores the impacts of wage changes on American workers and how AI is transforming the recycling industry.

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1. Minimum Wage Increases in 19 States

[01:01 — 03:08]

Key Points:

• Millions Get a Raise:

  • 19 states begin the new year with higher minimum wages; millions benefit.
  • More than a dozen states will hit at least $15/hr by year’s end.
  • Local measures also in play: 47 cities and counties raising minimums.
  • Elise Gould (Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute): Over 8 million workers affected—"disproportionately women, black and Hispanic workers. Many of them are adults, not teenagers." [01:44]
  • About half of the impacted workers live in households earning less than 200% of the poverty line.

• Historic Shift:

  • For the first time, more workers will reside in states with a $15+ minimum wage than those still at $7.25 (the stagnant federal rate since 2009).
  • Elise Gould: "That's over 15 years of a federal minimum wage that is just too low. In many states, the cost of living...is just simply out of reach for people at that wage." [02:14]

• Limitations & Living Costs:

  • 20 states still follow the $7.25 federal minimum.
  • Even new higher minimums may not solve affordability woes, as inflation and high prices persist.
  • Amy Glassmeier (Economic Geographer, MIT): "We still have inflation that is present, we still have high prices at present, and we also have scarcity of certain goods which drive their price up." [02:44]
  • Some wage hikes are now automatically adjusted for cost of living increases—a key policy advance, according to Glassmeier.

Noteworthy Quote:

• Elise Gould [02:14]:

  "In many states, the cost of living to afford a decent standard of living is just simply out of reach for people at that wage. They are living in poverty at that wage."

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2. AI-Powered Innovation in Recycling

[04:42 — 08:36]

Key Points:

• Current Recycling Problems:

  • Only 20% of recyclable household waste is actually recycled in the U.S.
  • The economics: It often costs more to sort/process certain materials than they're worth.

• AI Offers Solutions:

  • Amy Scott reports from a cutting-edge recycling facility in Louisville, Colorado, where AMP Robotics is deploying AI-powered sorting.
  • Matanya Horowitz (Founder & CTO, AMP):
    • The system uses cameras and AI trained on millions of trash images to recognize and sort plastics via pneumatic jets—far more efficient and less physically demanding than manual sorting.
    • "If you or me were to do this sorting ourselves, we would do about 40 picks a minute... These jet devices, they'll do thousands of." [06:51]

• Environmental Impact & Expansion:

  • The technology can sort plastics, organics, and more.
  • AMP is converting food scraps and soiled paper into “biochar” using pyrolysis—a form of carbon sequestration that benefits agriculture and construction.
  • New contract: AMP to process solid waste in eight southeastern Virginia communities, promising to divert half of landfill-bound waste.
  • Dennis Bagley (Exec. Dir., Southeastern Public Service Authority, VA): The deal projects a landfill lifespan extension of 35 years and removes the need for separate curbside recycling. [08:06]
  • Bagley: “I have a philosophy that Americans are inherently lazy and they don't recycle because it takes effort. What this does is takes that element out so everybody becomes a recycler whether you want to or not.” [08:22]

• Market Challenges:

  • The success of these recycling efforts hinges on the market for recycled materials.
  • "Extended producer responsibility" laws in some states aim to shift recycling costs toward producers and enforce recycled content, supporting industry viability.
  • Colorado's law is helping finance a new, AI-powered recycling facility slated for next year.

Noteworthy Quotes:

• Matanya Horowitz [06:51]:

  “If you or me were to do this sorting ourselves, we would do about 40 picks a minute... These jet devices, they'll do thousands of.”

• Dennis Bagley [08:22]:

  "What this does is takes that element out so everybody becomes a recycler whether you want to or not."

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3. Quick Notes & Markets

• [03:08] U.S. stock and bond markets are closed for the holiday; trading resumes tomorrow.
• Recycling Technology Market Updates: Expanded programs and new facilities in Colorado and Virginia signal industry-wide change.

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Memorable Moments & Timestamps

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote / Highlight | |-----------|--------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:44 | Elise Gould | “Those are disproportionately women, black and Hispanic..." | | 02:14 | Elise Gould | "...federal minimum wage that is just too low..." | | 02:44 | Amy Glassmeier | “We still have inflation that is present, we still have high prices…” | | 06:51 | Matanya Horowitz | "If you or me were to do this sorting... these jet devices..." | | 08:22 | Dennis Bagley | "Takes that element out so everybody becomes a recycler..." |

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Conclusion

The episode captures the intersection of economic policy and technological innovation—showing how state policies are addressing wage inequality (with room to grow) while technology is actively improving environmental sustainability through smarter recycling systems. Both stories reveal progress—but also illustrate remaining challenges for American workers and the recycling ecosystem.

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Transcript

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[Nova Safo]

The new year brings higher minimum wages in dozens of cities and states. For Marketplace, I'm Nova Safo and for David Brancaccio. Millions of workers across the country are getting a raise today. 19 states are starting the new year by boosting their minimum wages. Marketplace's Nancy Marshall Genser has more on who's getting a pay hike and why.

[Elise Gould]

More than a dozen states will be at $15 an hour or more by the end of this year. 47 cities and counties will also increase their minimum wages, according to a tally from the Progressive Economic Policy Institute. Elise Gould is a senior economist there. She says more than 8 million workers will benefit from the higher minimums.

Those are disproportionately women, black and Hispanic workers. Many of them are adults, not teenagers. About half of minimum wage workers that are going to be affected live households with less than 200% of the poverty line income.

In fact, Gould says for the first time, there will be more workers living in states with a minimum wage of $15 or more than in states still using the federal minimum wage, which she says has been stuck at $7.25 an hour since 2009.

That's over 15 years of a federal minimum wage that is just too low. In many states. The cost of living to afford a decent standard of living is just simply out of reach for people at that wage. They are living in poverty at that wage, gould says.

Twenty states still use the federal minimum wage, but even the new higher state and local minimums taking effect today won't solve our affordability problem, says Amy Glassmeier, an economic geographer at mit.

[Amy Scott]

We still have inflation that is present, we still have high prices at present, and we also have scarcity of certain goods which drive their price up.

[Elise Gould]

And Glassmeier says, those prices won't be going down, which is why some of the minimum wage increases going into effect today were automatic, tied to the cost of living. I'm Nancy Marshall Genser for Marketplace.

[Nova Safo]

Stock and bond markets in the US Are closed today for the holiday. Trading resumes tomorrow.

[Jimmy Allen]

This Marketplace podcast is supported by Viking, committed to exploring the world in comfort. Journey through the heart of Europe on an elegant Viking longship with thoughtful service, destination focused dining and cultural enrichment on board and on shore. And every Viking voyage is all inclusive with no children and no casinos. Discover [e-mail] every company wants to grow, but anyone who's scaled knows the truth. Growth creates complexity, and complexity kills growth. Bureaucracy creeps in, Culture frays, and suddenly the energy that built your business starts working against it. If you want unfiltered insight on fighting that drift, check out Founders Mentality, the CEO Sessions with executive advisor Jimmy Allen. Each episode, leaders from companies like Audible, Walmart, China and AWS reveal how they stayed fast, focused and human, even at massive scale. Founders Mentality the CEO Sessions business should be simple. Listen wherever you get your podcasts.

[Nova Safo]

Only about 20% of what could be recycled from our household waste actually gets recycled. That's according to the Recycling Partnership and advocacy group. One reason for that relatively low rate is that it costs more to sort and process some materials than they're worth on the other end. But artificial intelligence is changing that equation. Marketplace's Amy Scott has more.

[Amy Scott]

In a hangar like building in Louisville, Colorado, outside Denver, I'm standing in front of a giant conveyor belt 8ft wide and above my head, standing on my tippy toes, I can see it's strewn with crumpled plastic bottles and cans and other scraps.

[Matanya Horowitz]

So that's our data, that's our fuel. But yes, that's garbage.

[Amy Scott]

You know what they say about one man's trash? Matanya Horowitz is founder and chief technology officer of amp, a company that builds AI powered recycling systems. And this is the test lab. That's the warning sound. And then a few seconds later, the machine roars to life.

[Matanya Horowitz]

Yep, here it goes.

[Amy Scott]

As the stream of waste moves down the conveyor belt, it passes under a pair of cameras. A computer trained on millions of images of trash then identifies the recyclable plastics in the mix and sends A message to new pneumatic jets to sort them into different compartments with puffs of air.

[Matanya Horowitz]

This is our double jet. So it's sorting two commodities at once. So number one, plastics are gone on the bottom. Number two, plastics, which are milk jugs up top.

[Amy Scott]

Kind of terrifying.

[Matanya Horowitz]

Yeah, it's pretty strong. It can move like phone books and things like that.

[Amy Scott]

Scary to watch, but. But much safer and less tedious than sorting it by hand. Sorting jobs at recycling plants are notoriously hard to fill. Horowitz says this AI driven system is also way faster.

[Matanya Horowitz]

If you or me were to do this sorting ourselves, we would do about 40 picks a minute. And honestly, after an hour or two, we'll get pretty tired. We probably won't be able to sustain that. These jet devices, they'll do thousands of.

[Amy Scott]

Picks a minute, and that means higher recovery rates at a lower cost. For this demo, Amp's system was just sorting plastic from materials sent for testing from its facility in Cleveland. But the technology can identify and divert pretty much anything from the waste stream. Amp has also developed a process to convert organic material, think food scraps and greasy pizza boxes, into something called bag biochar.

[Matanya Horowitz]

We put it through a process called pyrolysis. It's basically the process they use to make charcoal.

[Amy Scott]

The biochar can be used to make concrete or added to soil in agriculture.

[Matanya Horowitz]

And so this serves as a form of carbon sequestration.

[Amy Scott]

AMP recently announced a new 20 year contract in southeastern Virginia to process solid waste for eight communities with a guarantee to divert 50% of waste from the landfill.

[Nova Safo]

30% in the form of organics and 20% in the form of recyclables.

[Amy Scott]

That's Dennis Bagley, executive director of the Southeastern Public Service Authority in Chesapeake, Virginia. He says this will extend the landfill's Life by another 35 years and eliminate the need for separate curbside recycling.

[Nova Safo]

I have a philosophy that Americans are inherently lazy and they don't recycle because it takes effort. What this does is takes that element out so everybody becomes a recycler whether you want to or not.

[Amy Scott]

Whether there's a market for all that recycled material is another challenge. So called extended producer responsibility laws that several states have passed could help by shifting the cost of dealing with packaging after it's used to producers and requiring minimum levels of recycled content. Colorado's program will help pay for a new recycling facility near Denver opening next year using AMP's AI technology in Louisville, Colorado. I'm Amy Scott for Marketplace.

[Nova Safo]

And I'm Nova Safa with a Marketplace morning report from APM American Public Media.

[Rima Reyes]

Hey everyone. You already listened to Marketplace podcasts, so you know that it's important to understand how economic forces shape our lives. And that feels especially important now as we're all trying to make sense of the latest headlines. I'm Rima Reyes, host of Marketplaces. This is Uncomfortable, a show that explores how money bumps up against our relationships, our choices, and the parts of life we don't always say aloud. And starting January 15th, we are back every single week. New stories, new questions, and the kind of conversations that make you feel less alone in this quickly changing economy. We're tackling questions like should I turn my hobby into a money making side hustle? How do I deal with layoff anxiety? Or what do we owe our parents financially? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to this is Uncomfortable from Marketplace. Wherever you get your podcasts.