Covanta Energy  
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Environmental Stewardship

Protecting Our Environment

Environmental Stewardship and protecting our natural resources for future generations is at the core of Covanta's mission. Covanta's Environmental Policy consists of five principals:

  1. Protection - We will conduct our business in an environmentally sound manner that is protective of human health and the environment.
     
  2. Compliance - We will manage our work to ensure compliance with all applicable environmental regulations and requirements.
     
  3. Conservation - We will minimize impact to the environment by encouraging pollution prevention at the source, waste minimization, facilitating use of recycling opportunities and responsible disposal of any production by-products.
     
  4. Qualification - We will ensure that all employees have the necessary information, resources and training to make informed environmental decisions.
     
  5. Commitment - Covanta is committed to be an industry leader in environmental protection by achieving superior awareness and performance through a process of continuous improvement.

Energy-from-Waste  is the most responsible means of solid waste disposal.  It reduces the volume of waste which must ultimately be disposed of in an environmentally-friendly manner, generates valuable renewable energy, and results in a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions when compared to conventional landfilling practices.  According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, Energy-from-Waste facilities generate power "with less environmental impact than almost any other source of electricity." 

All of Covanta's domestic facilities are "renewable", using municipal solid waste, landfill gas, wood and hydro power to generate electricity while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. For example, Covanta processes approximately 15 million tons of municipal solid waste each year conserving 25,000,000 cubic yards of landfill space and generating 8,250,000 megawatt hours of electricity, the equivalent of burning 3.5 million tons of coal.  All of Covanta's Energy-from-Waste projects feature state-of-the-art air pollution controls that meet EPA Maximum Achievable Control Technology (MACT) standards.

Covanta's efforts in pursuing environmental excellence are exemplified by the following accomplishments:
  • Covanta Alexandria admitted to the Virginia Environmental Excellence Program (2006)
  • Covanta Haverhill admitted to EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program (2006)
  • Covanta Hempstead received EPA Performance Track Outreach Award (2004); received ASME Large Waste-to-Energy Facility of the Year (2005)
  • Covanta Honolulu received the KOA Community Environmental Achievement Award (2003)
  • Covanta Kent received the Michigan Clean Corporate Citizen designation (2006)
  • Covanta Lake received the Council for Sustainable Florida's "Sustainable Florida Promising Practices for Outstanding Achievement" award (2003)
  • Covanta Mid-Connecticut admitted to EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program (2004); EPA New England Environmental Merit Award (2005)
  • Covanta Montgomery received the SWANA Waste-to-Energy Excellence Award (2005)
  • Covanta SECONN admitted to EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program (2005); received EPA Environmental Merit Award (2005)
  • Covanta SEMASS admitted to EPA's National Environmental Performance Track program (2005)