Covanta makes emissions data available to public for all New Jersey WTE facilities

Covanta, Morristown, New Jersey, announced that emissions data for all of its New Jersey waste-to-energy facilities is now accessible to the public on the company's website. This is the same data used by operators on-site at each of the three Covanta facilities in the state to monitor operational performance.

The company says that publishing this data will help provide “a layer of transparency to give stakeholders and communities increased peace of mind, as well as a unique birds-eye view into the science behind sustainable waste management.”

"By making this data publicly accessible, it is our hope that people will see beyond the industrial exteriors of our facilities and have an opportunity to engage with the work we are doing on behalf of the environment, and at the same time, develop a greater appreciation for the essential role our dedicated employees play in safely and sustainably managing the waste society creates," Covanta COO Derek Veenhof says.

"Making this information available to our community members is not a regulatory requirement. We are doing so in order to provide greater transparency and understanding of the work we do every day on behalf of our neighbors and communities," Michael Van Brunt, senior director of sustainability at Covanta, says.

Continuous emissions monitoring is an important tool in determining a waste-to-energy facility's compliance with the emission limits set forth in its operating permit established in accordance with the federal Clean Air Act and other regulatory requirements. In 2020, Covanta's facilities in New Jersey operated in compliance with their permits over 99 percent of the time, the company says.

Collectively, Covanta's New Jersey facilities serve the solid waste disposal needs of more than 1.8 million people in the counties of Camden, Essex and Union. This waste is used to power approximately 90,000 homes and helps avoid 1.8 million tons of greenhouse gases annually by keeping waste out of landfills.

Covanta has more than 600 employees in New Jersey and approximately 4,000 in the U.S., Canada, Ireland and the UK.

Facility information and emissions data for Covanta's New Jersey plants can be found for the respective sites: Covanta Camden, Camden, New Jersey; Covanta Essex, Newark, New Jersey; and Covanta Union, Rahway, New Jersey.