| Type | Public (NYSE: CVA) |
|---|---|
| Industry | Renewable Energy/Waste Management |
| Website | covantaenergy.com |
Covanta Energy Corporation (former the Ogden Corporation) is an internationally recognized owner and operator of Energy-from-Waste (EFW) infrastructure and renewable energy projects and has provided reliable and sustainable municipal solid waste (MSW) management to communities since 1986. Covanta Energy is a wholly owned subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation, a public company with shares of common stock trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CVA. It owns and operates worldwide over forty new generation incinerators, often referred to in industry publications as waste-to-energy power generation plants.
Energy-from-Waste (EfW)
Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facilities offer a safe, technologically advanced means of waste disposal while also generating clean, renewable energy, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and supporting recycling through the recovery of metals. Recycling efforts and Energy-from-Waste(EfW) facilities do not compete with each other and recycling efforts typically benefit from having an EfW facility in the community. Our EfW facilities recycle 400,000 tons of metal a year that are typically left in the waste stream after normal curbside recycling efforts. One misconception about EfW facilities is that they require more waste than what is available after recycling to operate efficiently which is not true. After local recycling efforts more than 250 million tons of waste is still sent to landfills each year in the U.S. Methane is a greenhouse gas (GHG), which is mostly emitted from decomposing waste in U.S. landfills. It has more than 20 times the potency of carbon dioxide and is ranked as a dangerous contributor to climate change. The two choices for waste disposal are to landfill the waste, which emits harmful greenhouse gases into the atmosphere such as methane, or use it to create renewable energy at an EfW facility. Energy-from-Waste facilities avoid the production of methane while producing almost ten times more electricity from each ton of waste compared to landfills.
Learn more about Energy-from-Waste(EfW)
Energy-from-Waste (EfW) vs. Incinerators
Many are not aware of the differences between Energy-from-Waste(EfW) and incinerators. The term “incineration,” is an uncontrolled combustion process without energy recovery. Today’s modern EfW facilities are in no way similar to incinerators of the past. Using municipal solid waste (MSW) as the primary fuel source, EfW facilities recover electricity and steam for the communities in which they operate. EfW facilities burn waste in specially designed boilers to ensure complete combustion. The facilities use state-of-the-art pollution control equipment to scrub emissions, preventing them from releasing into our environment. The result is clean, renewable energy. Although the definition of renewable waste varies, we consider EfW-generated energy to be renewable because the fuel, municipal solid waste (MSW), is consistently replenished. All of the energy recovered by the EfW process preserves natural resources and avoids secondary impacts from mining and the combustion of those resources.
The Waste Hierarchy
The waste hierarchy identifies five waste management activities in descending order of preference. The preferred activity is waste reduction; the least desirable is landfill disposal. After “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” we add the fourth "R" to represent the RECOVERY of energy from residual waste, which is preferred over landfill disposal. Using waste as a fuel, Energy-from-Waste(EfW) technology recovers energy from residual waste to generate renewable energy.
What we do
Covanta Energy-from-Waste(EfW) facilities produce electricity for approximately one million homes in communities across North America by converting municipal solid waste into renewable energy. Notably, each ton of waste processed avoids the need to import one barrel of oil or mine one quarter ton of coal. Furthermore, Covanta’s EfW operations offset the production of approximately 20 million tons of carbon dioxide annually by producing electricity without utilizing fossil-fuel, by diverting waste from landfills (Landfills are a substantial producer of methane gas, a greenhouse gas that is twenty times more potent than carbon dioxide.) and by collecting approximately 400,000 tons of ferrous and non-ferrous metals annually for recycling, thereby avoiding the mining and production activities associated with the production of a similar amount of virgin metals.
Covanta operates and/or has ownership positions in 44 energy-from-waste facilities, primarily located in North America but some in Europe and Asian, and 20 additional energy generation facilities, including other renewable energy production facilities in North America. It also owns and operates eight biomass facilities and operates three landfill gas projects that collect and combust methane gas produced in landfills in order to produce electricity. We also operate other waste management businesses complementary to our core EfW business.
Mission
Our mission is to be the world's leading Energy-from-Waste(EfW) company, with a complementary network of waste disposal and energy generation assets. We will build value for all of our stakeholders by satisfying our client communities’ waste disposal and/or energy generation needs with safe, reliable and environmentally superior solutions. In pursuing our mission we will:
• Employ outstanding people with the highest ethical standards
• Provide world class service to all our client communities
• Maintain our facilities in a superb condition
• Advance our operational expertise
• Capitalize on growth opportunities
• Focus on long-term results
We also work to protect and preserve the health and safety of our employees and the well-being of our local communities in all that we do.
Services
Covanta Energy’s core business is Energy-from-Waste(EfW), a process that converts municipal solid waste (MSW) – a.k.a. household trash – into clean, renewable energy. In addition to energy-from-waste facilities, we own, have equity investments in, and/or operate energy generation facilities that use other sources of fuel such as wood waste (biomass) and water (hydroelectric), among others.
We also own or operate complementary businesses associated with our EfW business, including Covanta 4Recovery, L.P., our waste procurement business and ECOvanta, an electronic waste recycling business.
Community Engagement
Covanta Energy has a long history of interacting and engaging with communities. Our community programs are centered primarily on environmental issues which are in many cases related to waste disposal and recycling. Our facility-run volunteer programs assist in cleaning up local rivers, streets and parks, planting trees and participation in local household hazardous waste programs. Our facilities also sponsor or support local education programs, sports teams, food pantries and various recycling collection programs.
Some of Covanta’s national community programs include:
• Mercury and toxics reduction: Mercury Containing Device Collections- Preventing toxics like mercury from entering the waste stream is important to protecting our environment and water supply. In the absence of a nationwide initiative to reduce or manage mercury in consumer products, Covanta has conducted mercury awareness collection programs since 2000 to inform the public that mercury-bearing items, such as thermometers and thermostats, should not be discarded with other municipal solid waste (MSW). Read more
• Water Supply Contamination Prevention: Prescription for Safety Program (Rx4Safety)- When prescription drugs are flushed down the drain or disposed of in landfills, medications enter waterways and contaminate surface waters, having an adverse effect on our drinking water and the environment. In support of national efforts to alleviate these issues, Covanta Energy developed the Prescription for Safety Program (Rx4Safety) to provide safe, free disposal of medications collected at community sponsored drug take-back programs. Covanta’s Energy-from-Waste(EfW) facilities provide safe, environmentally sound destruction that protects water resources and reduces the risk of drugs reaching unauthorized users. Read more
• Reducing Debris in U.S. Coastal Waters: Fishing for Energy and the Trash Free Seas Alliance- Fishing for Energy(FFE) was established to reduce the financial burden imposed on commercial fishermen when disposing of old fishing gear and encourages commercial fishermen to reel in abandoned fishing equipment and deposit it for free at designated drop-off sites near fishing ports. Derelict fishing gear (gear that is lost in the marine environment) can damage ecosystems as nets and heavy equipment settle upon the ocean floor impact navigational safety, damage fishing equipment and boats that are in use, and have economic repercussions on fishing enterprises and coastal communities. The gear collected is stripped of metals for recycling and processed into clean, renewable energy at a nearby Covanta Energy-from-Waste(EfW) facility. Read more
Covanta Energy & Environmental Justice
The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) defines Environmental Justice (EJ) as the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin or income with respect to the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies.
In response to the need to ensure all communities have a fair and just opportunity to participate in the decision making process in matters impacting local environments, we maintain a community outreach and environmental justice policy to support our commitment to engage fully with local communities, to reduce discharges and minimize emissions and to do this in a manner which ensures meaningful community involvement. Developed with input from a variety of environmental justice experts, the policy extends our overall EJ commitment to involving local citizens in major permit activities that we may be considering in a given community at a given point in time.
View Covanta’s Environmental Justice Policy
Awards & Recognition
Covanta Energy is proud to be one of the world's largest owners and operators of Energy-from-Waste (EfW) facilities. But it's truly an honor to be recognized by local, state and federal organizations for our dedication to innovation, safe and sustainable operations and improving the quality of life in the communities we serve.
Business & Community Excellence
• Covanta Harrisburg received the “Top Plant” recognition from the power generation trade publication, Power Magazine.
• Covanta Dade received a certificate of appreciation signed by Miami-Dade’s mayor and county commissioner for its continued support of the South Florida After-School All Stars Program.
Environmental Honors
• Covanta Energy and its partners in the Fishing for Energy program received the Coastal America Partnership Award, the highest level award for partnership efforts, from the President of the United States.
• Covanta Energy received the Energy Innovator Award from the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
Safety Achievements
• Covanta Lancaster received the Governor's Award for Safety Excellence for its exemplary commitment to safety and implementation of successful accident and illness prevention programs and practices.
Covanta in the News
Woman finds her diamond ring in garbage truck, MSNBC/TODAY – November 16, 2011
A Massachusetts woman finds her diamond ring, a family heirloom, at the Covanta Haverhill (Haverhill, MA) facility after accidentally tossing it in the trash at her home. Read more
ECOvanta electronic waste disposal site opens, Philadelphia Business Journal – October 24, 2011
ECOvanta’s first facility was launched in Philadelphia at Covanta’s 58 street trash transfer station. Read more
Lobstermen to help rid sound of abandoned fishing gear, The Suffolk Times - October 18, 2011
This article covers an event launched by Fishing for Energy for the removal of derelict fishing gear in Long Island, NY. The debris was then recycled and incinerated at the Covanta Hempstead facility (Westbury, NY). Read more
The company has been cited for numerous environmental infractions and labor violations during its history.[1][2] On July 14, 2011, the company paid $400,000 in fines for emitting unsafe levels of dioxin from its plant in Wallingford, CT.[3] It is a subsidiary of Covanta Holding Corporation. The company's chairman is Sam Zell. In 2004, Danielson Holding Corporation acquired Covanta for $30 million following the latter's filing of a Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 2003. [4] Danielson owned the National American Insurance Company of California.In the United States, Covanta processes over 5% of the nation's waste, and handles the waste disposal needs of 12 million people.