The Essex County Resource Recovery Facility, also known as Covanta Essex, is a

waste-to-energy Waste-to-energy (WtE) or energy-from-waste (EfW) is the process of generating energy in the form of electricity and/or heat from the primary treatment of waste, or the processing of waste into a fuel source. WtE is a form of energy recovery. Mo ...

incineration Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

power station A power station, also referred to as a power plant and sometimes generating station or generating plant, is an industrial facility for the generation of electric power. Power stations are generally connected to an electrical grid. Many ...

in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. Opened in 1990, it is owned by the

Port Authority of New York and New Jersey The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, PANYNJ; stylized, in logo since 2020, as Port Authority NY NJ, is a joint venture between the U.S. states of New York and New Jersey, established in 1921 through an interstate compact authorize ...

(PANYNJ) and operated by

Covanta Energy Covanta Holding Corporation is a private energy-from-waste and industrial waste management services company headquartered in Morristown, New Jersey. Most of its revenue comes from operating power plants that burn trash as fuel. Covanta charges a ...

. It is located adjacent to the New Jersey Turnpike between

Raymond Boulevard Raymond Boulevard is a major thoroughfare in Newark, New Jersey. The eastern portion of the road acts as the westbound member of a one-way pair; eastbound traffic uses Market Street and Ferry Street. Raymond Boulevard carries eastbound and westb ...

and the Passaic River in Newark. As of 2012, the facility processed 2,800 tons of

municipal solid waste Municipal solid waste (MSW), commonly known as trash or garbage in the United States and rubbish in Britain, is a waste type consisting of everyday items that are discarded by the public. "Garbage" can also refer specifically to food waste ...

per day, its two generators producing approximately 65 megawatts of power. The facility burns garbage from the 22 municipalities of Essex County and from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

's Manhattan Community Board Districts 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12. As of January 1, 2013 the PANYNJ gave Covanta control of the facility through 2032, with optional extension to 2052. As part of the agreement the

New York City Department of Sanitation The New York City Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is the department of the government of New York City responsible for garbage collection, recycling collection, street cleaning, and snow removal. The DSNY motto "New York's Strongest" was coined ...

will continue to use about 50% of the plant's disposal capacity. Convanta agreed to invest $75 to $100 million for operational improvements, including a modern particulate emissions control system and a new recycling system for ferrous and non-ferrous metals. In June 2013, a refuelling station for trucks using

compressed natural gas Compressed natural gas (CNG) is a fuel gas mainly composed of methane (CH4), compressed to less than 1% of the volume it occupies at standard atmospheric pressure. It is stored and distributed in hard containers at a pressure of , usually in cy ...

(CNG) opened at the facility.

Environmental justice

The facility has been a point of contention with residents of Newark, notably the

Ironbound The Ironbound is a neighborhood in the city of Newark in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. It is a large working-class multi-ethnic community, covering approximately of well maintained streets and homes. Historically, the area was cal ...

. A local community organizing and advocacy organization, the Ironbound Community Corporation (ICC), was concerned about

air pollution Air pollution is the contamination of air due to the presence of substances in the atmosphere that are harmful to the health of humans and other living beings, or cause damage to the climate or to materials. There are many different typ ...

emitted by the nearby garbage incinerator facility. Bright pink and purple fumes were often seen spewing from the facility but Covanta blamed a local hospital for improperly disposed medical waste. In summer 2019, ICC partnered with

Earthjustice Earthjustice (originally Sierra Club Legal Defense Fund) is a nonprofit public interest organization based in the United States dedicated to litigating environmental issues. Headquartered in San Francisco, it has 14 regional offices across the Un ...

, a nonprofit

public interest The public interest is "the welfare or well-being of the general public" and society. Overview Economist Lok Sang Ho in his ''Public Policy and the Public Interest'' argues that the public interest must be assessed impartially and, therefor ...

organization that litigates to protect the environment, and the Environmental Advocacy Clinic at

Vermont Law School Vermont Law and Graduate School (VLGS) is a private law and public policy graduate school in South Royalton, Vermont. It offers several degrees, including Juris Doctor (JD), Master of Laws (LLM) in Environmental Law, Master of Environmental Law ...

to take on Covanta by urging state officials to investigate. Covanta has been found many hundreds of times to exceed air pollution limits or to fail to abide by required safety regulations. Covanta eventually acknowledged that the fumes were produced by its burning of pesticides improperly disposed and agreed to new waste management procedures.Earthjustice, 22 Jan. 202
"A Newark Neighborhood Takes on a Toxic Trash Incinerator"

References

{{PANYNJ navbox Power stations in Newark, New Jersey Waste power stations in the United States Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Essex County, New Jersey New York City infrastructure Energy infrastructure completed in 1990 Waste management infrastructure of New York City

Environmental justice

See also

References