Best Environment Companies in Kentucky, United States
The 34 best Environment companies in Kentucky, United States in 2026, ranked by funding and momentum. Funding, investors, founders, valuation, tech stack and live signals. Top: Charah Solutions.
Our analysis of 90 Environment companies
$38.2b in tracked funding; 89% of the stack-profiled cohort runs cloud-native; funding activity peaked in 2025.
Ranked: Best Environment companies in Kentucky
| # | Company | Disclosed funding | Last round | Stage | Founder | Founded | Tech stack | Patents & IP focus | Recent signals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charah Solutions Provider of environmental services and byproduct recycling to the power generation industry | $280M | 97 mo ago | Acquired | — | 1987 | WordPressApple iCloud MailMicrosoft 365+29 | 17 patents Synthetic gypsum fertilizer production and ash management technologies for agricultural applications | — |
| 2 | CRS Reprocessing Services Provider of fluid water management services | $12M | 202 mo ago | Acquired | Scott Massie CEO | 1981 | — | — | — |
| 3 | Greenway Innovations Provider of medical waste management services | $2M | 32 mo ago | Seed | Alison Connor Co-Founder | 2022 | — | — | — |
| 4 | QRS Recycling Provider of waste plastic recycling services | $2M | 133 mo ago | Acquired | Matt Janson Co-Founder | 1974 | — | — | — |
| 5 | Wind Energy Corporation Manufacturer of wind energy turbines | $2M | 186 mo ago | Seed | Jack Phillips Founder and COO | 2007 | — | — | — |
| 6 | Rwra Operator of water reclamation facilities providing sanitary sewer service information | $426K | 150 mo ago | Funding Raised | — | 1995 | TypeScriptBootstrapFullCalendar+13 | — | — |
| 7 | Wasteology Group Provider of customized waste and recycling program management | — | 11 mo ago | Late Stage | — | 2014 | NginxSendgridMicrosoft 365+5 | — | — |
| 8 | Parallel Products Provider of recycling solution for beverage companies | — | 20 mo ago | Funding Raised | Gene Kiesel CEO | 1987 | WordPressMySQLPHP+17 | — | — |
Top 9 Environment companies in Kentucky
#1
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1987 · 477 employees$280Mraised▾
Charah Solutions is a Louisville-based company that specializes in providing remediation and compliance services to the utility industry. The company offers expertise in ash pond management, structural fill projects, and landfill services. Charah Solutions is known for its sustainable solutions and superior service.
- Sep 2018Conventional Debt$280M
#2
Seed · Florence, Kentucky · founded 2022$2.2Mraised▾
Provider of medical waste management services. It provides collection devices for regulated medical waste pickup. It also provides streamlined billing for medical waste pickup and disposal services.
- Feb 2024Seed$2.2M
#3
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1981 · 44 employees$12Mraised▾
Provider of fluid reprocessing management services for the semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, oil and gas service, and metal industries. The company specializes in converting industrial fluids into reusable products and offers on-site reprocessing, customized process engineering, tough ultrafiltration, distillation, dehydration and distillation, centrifuge and filter press solutions as well as lab analysis services, helping clients with their waste disposal needs to reduce the risk of material spillage or emission.
- Dec 2009Venture Debt$12M
#4
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1974 · 43 employees$2Mraised▾
Provider of waste management services intended to maximize recycling potential. The company utilizes latest techniques and technology of recycling offer complete recycling services by processing mixed, pre-picked containers into source separated whole bottle bales, clean plastic flake and pellets, thereby enabling customers to find domestic processing solutions for incidental tons generated and build by sustainable recycling programs keeping the resources out of the landfill or from being exported where the material ends up in the oceans.
#5
Seed · Elizabethtown, Kentucky · founded 2007 · 64 employees$1.5Mraised▾
Manufacturer of wind energy turbines
- Apr 2011Seed$1.5M
#6
Funding Raised · Owensboro, Kentucky · founded 1995 · 35 employees$426Kraised▾
Operator of water reclamation facilities providing sanitary sewer service information. The agency handles billing and rates, service area management, and construction and demolition permitting. It also manages pretreatment and industrial waste, downspout disconnection, and storm water information. The agency engages in contracting, bid awards, and handles concerns related to employment.
- Apr 2014Grant (prize money)$213K
- Apr 2012Grant (prize money)$213K
#7
Late Stage · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 2014 · 44 employees—raised▾
Provider of customized waste and recycling program management. This company offers personalized service, focusing on sustainability and ESG goal attainment. They assist clients in tracking environmental impact, building improved waste management systems, and providing data-driven insights. The programs are tailored to individual client needs, ensuring efficient and consistent service. They help clients develop strong sustainability platforms and achieve their environmental objectives.
- Nov 2025PE—
#8
Funding Raised · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1987 · 133 employees—raised▾
Provider of recycling services and waste processing based in Louisville, Kentucky. The company offers secure destruction and ethanol recycling of unsaleable products and waste streams for the beverage, pharmaceutical, chemical, health and beauty sectors.
- Feb 2025Grant (prize money)—
- 2003PE—
#9
Acquired · Louisville, Kentucky · founded 1954 · 83 employees—raised▾
Provider of metal scarp recycling services
Funding & investor landscape
Notable founders
Market landscape — 10 sub-themes by coverage
Share of Environment coverage by sub-theme.
Regulatory-risk over time rising
Funding & growth over time
funding rising · growth rising
How research on Environmental Monitoring is moving in the United States
A read on the academic research around Environmental Monitoring — which themes are gaining ground, the institutions and researchers driving them, and how the tone is shifting. Based on 3,039 United States-affiliated papers.
- United States Geological Survey157
- Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies112
- Environmental Protection Agency84
- National Research Council79
- National Park Service76
- Software deployment2→31
- Pollution3→27
- Air quality index1→25
- Water quality10→34
- Air pollution3→25
- Air quality index14→60
- Air pollution8→51
- Pollutant4→32
- Sampling (signal processing)14→42
- Water quality23→48
- Human health1→32
- Pollution4→33
- Air quality index6→31
- Pollutant6→28
- Biodiversity1→22
Where environmental monitoring is researched across United States
Location clusters by institution affiliation — each city's volume, stance tone, and a quick read on its hot topic, what's advancing, the opening opportunity, and the main concern.
Who's filing environmental monitoring patents in the United States
United States environmental monitoring patent filing is accelerating — 450 filings from 343 assignees (2016–2025), led by LEEO, Valencell, United Parcel Service; annual filings 47→49.
- LEEO41
- Valencell25
- United Parcel Service21
- Honeywell INT20
- Apple18
- Venturedyne18
- Pillar TECH17
- IND Scient16